North-American rail

WASHINGTON — A new study suggesting U.S. freight railcar premiums have soared in recent years...

Canadian National Railway today obtained an injunction against striking union and non-union truck groups that will prevent their drivers from blocking access...

Canadian National Railway told forest product shippers that the ongoing truck strike at the Port Metro Vancouver is preventing the railroad from taking all of their lumber and pulp carload shipments for transloading into containers.

The Canadian government is requiring the nation’s two largest freight railroad to move about 551,000 tons of grains weekly or suffer daily fines of up to C$100,000 (approximately US$90,000).

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Canadian National Railway CEO and President Claude Mongeau yesterday said the railroad is looking at ways to build more resiliency into its network as it grapples with traffic delays caused by the severest winter in decades.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Canadian National Railway CEO and President Claude Mongeau sat down with JOC senior editor Mark Szakonyi at JOC’s annual TPM conference to share his views on intermodal growth, the pace of the U.S. and Canadian economic recovery and whether Class I rail consolidation is ahead.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Surface Transportation Board told BNSF Railway that it’s increasingly concerned about the “deterioration in service” shippers have experienced on the Class I railroad’s network.

Canadian Pacific Railway CEO and Director E. Hunter Harrison told investors last week that he expects rail consolidation among the largest North American railroads within six years, but the scenario he laid out was far bolder than what’s been swirling around the industry for years.

Canadian National Railway and a union representing about 3,000 conductors, train and railyard workers at the railroad reached a new tentative labor agreement last night, averting a strike threatened to begin Feb. 8.

A union representing about 3,000 conductors, train and railyard workers at Canadian National Railway gave the railroad a 72-hour strike notice yesterday evening.

WASHINGTON — The types of questions posed by Surface Transportation Board commissioners to railroads and shippers in late March could give some indication on how the trio, particularly its newest addition, views a controversial competitive switching proposal.

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian National Railway’s $220 million investment in its Calgary area logistics park, which opened a year ago, is a case study in how intermodal is paying off for Canada’s largest railroad.

Canadian Pacific Railway CEO and Director E. Hunter Harrison doesn’t think the Class I industry will go another five to six year without some consolidation.

Canadian Pacific Railway is targeting domestic intermodal as one of the two biggest drivers of growth for the company in the coming years. The railroad said it has already gained market share though new services.

Kansas City Southern Railway expects to see a surge of business from three new Mexican auto plants later than previously anticipated, as the Nissan, Honda and Audi plants are slated to produce only half their full capacity this year.

Archrivals CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway will further their different approaches to attract truck loads to the rails this year, but it’s too soon to say which eastern railroad will dominate one of the fastest growing North American intermodal markets.

Kansas City Southern today reported record revenue of $616 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, up 8 percent year-over-year...

Union Pacific reported record net income of $1.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013, up 13 percent year-over-year, which helped fuel a best-ever full year profit of $4.4 billion...

Norfolk Southern today reported record fourth quarter net income of $513 million, jumping 24 percent year-over-year from $413 million....

The polar vortex didn’t put the U.S. into a deep freeze for long but the widespread chill is still causing transportation problems for shippers, railroads and drayage truckers. Those problems may be contributing to stronger-than-usual business for over-the-road truckers.

CSX Transportation told investors Thursday that it plans to expand its intermodal hub in northwest Ohio, after the railroad's intermodal traffic jumped 11 percent in the fourth quarter.

CSX today reported fourth quarter net income of $426 million, falling 5 percent from $449 million in the same period last year...

Union Pacific Railroad recently began intermodal service between Laredo, Texas and Memphis, Tenn., providing shippers with better access to Mexico’s booming automotive and consumer goods manufacturing industries.

Canadian Pacific Railway will sell the western end of its Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern line to Genesee & Wyoming for $210 million, the latest effort by the former to boost profitability by cutting non-core assets.

Schneider National is making the rare move of offering its own 600-strong chassis fleet, giving shippers more reliable access to lightweight equipment that will allow them to load more goods into the company’s containers.

BSNF Railway CEO Matt Rose will leave his post at the end of the year to become executive chairman, relinquishing his position to Carl Ice, the railroad’s president and chief operating officer.

Norfolk Southern Railway’s new Charlotte, N.C., intermodal terminal began handling shipments Monday, boosting the railroad’s ability to attract highway loads to its major corridor connecting the mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coast.

The derailment of a Metro North commuter train on Dec. 1 in the Bronx, N.Y., could delay certain freight shipments on the Hudson Line, east of the Hudson River, according to CSX.

Federal investigators are determining whether a Caterpillar subsidiary dumped train parts into the Pacific Ocean to conceal evidence of charging railroads for unneeded repairs, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

CSX and GE Transportation have agreed to launch a pilot program in 2014 to explore liquefied natural gas technology for locomotives.

Textainer Group Holdings reported its net income in the third quarter of 2013 was $41.3 million, dropping 18.0 percent year-over-year from $50.4 million.

Genesee & Wyoming reported a net income of $66.2 million in the third quarter of 2013, compared with a net loss of $19.6 million in the same period last year.

GATX reported its net income in the third quarter of 2013 was basically flat year-over-year at $53.8 million.

Canadian Pacific reported its net income in the third quarter of 2013 was C$324 million, jumping 48 percent year-over-year.

Norfolk Southern reported its net income in the third quarter of 2013 was $482 million, increasing 20 percent year-over-year from $402 million.

Canadian National today reported its net income in the third quarter of 2013 C$705 million (about US$685.3 million), rising 6.2 percent from C$664 million in the same period last year.

Shipper acceptance of refrigerated rail has grown in the past several years as new services have proved reliable in intermodal and boxcar sectors.