North-American rail

Canadian National Railway said it will lock out 4,800 union workers, some of whom are tied to its intermodal services, on Monday night if Unifor doesn’t agree to accept binding arbitration this weekend.

Kansas City Southern Railway’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, who has helped lead the railroad’s successful push into the U.S.-Mexico cross-border market, has been promoted to president.

Canadian National Railway intermodal shippers face the prospect of a decrease in service if 4,800 union members walk off the job over a dispute on whether the railroad should pay into its community fund.

Canadian Pacific Railway and union locomotive engineers and conductors have agreed to enter into binding government arbitration, ending a strike that began Sunday and could have severely crippled U.S. and Canadian supply chains.

CSX Transportation’s chief operations officer, Oscar Munoz, has taken on role of president at the railroad from Michael Ward, who will remain CEO and chairman, after the company’s board of directors voted for the changes Wednesday.

Canadian intermodal shippers could see a reduction in Canadian Pacific Railway service if a union representing 3,300 locomotive engineers, conductors and train workers follow through with their threat to strike later this week if the railroad doesn’t meet their contract demands.

U.S. West Coast port congestion is not only costing BNSF Railway intermodal volume, it's also hampering the railroad’s carload services.

Weekly U.S. rail volume hit an all-time high in January and traffic for the entire month was the second-highest ever — even as U.S. West Coast port congestion has hampered international intermodal traffic and spurred some shippers to divert cargo through Canadian ports and the respective rail networks.

Union Pacific Railroad’s has promoted its president and chief operating officer to CEO.

The major North American freight railroads this year plan to spend 7.4 percent more on their U.S. networks and on hiring than last year, as they see growing demand and are working to restore service to mid-2013 levels.

A key metric of U.S. intermodal rail service continues to show improvement even as volume builds, giving shippers a better shot of seeing the level of service they saw in 2012-2013 as soon as the spring.

Canadian National Railway expects intermodal to stay strong as shippers frustrated with U.S. West Coast port congestion push U.S-bound loads through Canadian ports and onto its network running through Chicago and down to New Orleans.

Railroads and trucking companies said shipping delays would be unavoidable Tuesday in the wake of severe winter weather that dropped as much as 2 feet of snow in some corners of the Northeast.

Norfolk Southern Railway said poor network velocity cost it some domestic intermodal volume in the fourth quarter, but the railroad said overall service has turned a corner, allowing it to better handle expected domestic and international intermodal traffic growth this year.

Grain handlers in the northern Midwest say they are getting faster rail service, speeding soybean exports to the Pacific Northwest.

Kansas City Southern Railway’s intermodal traffic increased 8 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2014, despite congestion from other U.S. railroads and cross-border diversions that cost it some volume.

Canadian National Railway turned down a request by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference to extend the current conciliation process by 60 days, saying additional time isn’t required to reach an agreement.

Canadian Pacific Railway said it expects mid- to high-single-digit intermodal revenue growth this year, as domestic intermodal traffic builds steadily and container lines boost volume on improving services.

Union Pacific Railroad said U.S. West Coast port congestion will remain a drag on its volume growth until the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and waterfront employers agree to a contract.

CSX Transportation doesn’t think lower fuel prices for over-the-road trucking will derail its growing intermodal business.

Roughly 1,650 Canadian Pacific Railway maintenance workers represented by the Unifor union have voted to strike if a contract with the railroad can’t be reached by Feb. 15.

The potential impact of a U.S. West Coast port lockout on intermodal service - should it come to that - varies by expert but analysts agree that the railroads will act fast and decisively if it does occur.

The Norfolk Southern Railway chief marketing officer who was key in creating faster and more reliable intermodal services at the railroad will retire later this winter.

U.S. intermodal shippers surveyed by an investment research firm pulled more freight off intermodal trains and put it back on trucks during the third quarter than vice-versa, the first time the survey tracked intermodal conversion losing ground since 2010.

U.S. intermodal volume last week slipped 0.7 percent year-over-year but a key metric of rail performance improved, suggesting that the major railroads continue to make headway in improving overall service.

BNSF Railway is lifting its embargo on interchanging westbound ocean containers headed to U.S. West Coast on-dock facilities two days after the railroad implemented the ban.

International rail operator Genesee & Wyoming is expanding its footprint in the central U.S. by acquiring three short line railroads for about $40 million.

BNSF Railway today stopped taking international intermodal shipments headed to U.S. West Coast ports from inland interchange points, citing terminal operators’ reduction of longshore labor and in anticipation of “further slowdowns” and congestion.

North American intermodal volume in November shrank 1.9 percent year-over-year, a rarity for an industry that has experienced steady for years.

Montreal area shippers will now have improved access to the intermodal network of CSX Transportation after the railroad opened a $100 million terminal near Montreal at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec.

U.S. intermodal trains on average are moving faster, but they still have a ways to go before delivering the level of service shippers had come to expect before last winter.

A road improvement project will help make the industrial development around BNSF’s relatively new intermodal rail terminal in the Kansas City area more attractive when work is completed in 2016.

Canada and U.S. shippers expect to ship more volume via the Class I railroads next year and pay more to do so, but they’re still frustrated with the level of rail service, according to a recently released survey from RBC Capital Markets.

The Port of Houston Authority has selected Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. to design the first phase of a new rail line to the port’s Bayport terminal.

U.S. intermodal volume growth appears to be slowing, reflecting the winding down of the peak season and potential delays caused by U.S. West Coast port congestion.

BNSF Railway plans to spend a record $6 billion on capital projects next year and will invest $500 million more this year than it originally planned, it said today.

The Teamsters union Tuesday expanded its organizing efforts in Southern California to include drayage companies that service the intermodal rail sector, but striking truck drivers didn’t hamper cargo movements.

Norfolk Southern Railway’s proposed purchase of 282 miles of track in Pennsylvania and New York could allow the railroad to make much-needed improvements to its intermodal service.