North-American rail

While the two companies have a partnership dating back 35 years, the latest transaction strengthens the relationship between the largest intermodal provider in North America and one of the continent’s top intermodal shippers.

Railroad officials informed Georgia and South Carolina port authorities earlier this week, giving them a one-month notice that service will no longer be offered to Chicago, Cincinnati and Louisville.

In addition to pushing for a leadership change, Ancora Holdings also said NS should not invest so heavily in intermodal under its current strategy and criticized the railroad for changing 180 train schedules last year to prioritize container and trailer business.

Shippers will have another domestic intermodal option between Mexico and the US as cross-border intermodal growth outpaces the overall North American market.

The long-awaited decision also seemingly puts to rest the question as to whether the FMC has authority on issues that extend beyond US ports.

The Port of Mobile is looking to boost intrastate rail service with a new intermodal ramp that would give shippers an alternative to using rail from major Southeast ports.

North American intermodal functions mainly as a set of regional networks defined by railroad route structures, one of the handicaps for intermodal as it competes against a “go-anywhere” national truck system, writes analyst Larry Gross.

The railroad is eliminating or adjusting service in four cities this month in a move to shift resources to corridors where it believes freight will surge over the next decade.

North American railroads and truckload companies are hopeful rates and demand will rise this year but say there’s too much uncertainty in the market to offer a confident forecast.

Neither J. B. Hunt nor its shippers anticipated a 6% rise in intermodal volumes in the fourth quarter, but it’s unlikely that will drive higher contract rates in early 2024.

IPI growth could accelerate if external events such as longshore contract negotiations on the East and Gulf coasts or further restrictions on vessels transiting the Panama Canal prompt a significant shift in import volumes to the West Coast.

While companies that use the crossing at Eagle Pass are seeking to reassure existing and potential customers, competitors using Laredo, where no closures have occurred, are wasting no opportunity to talk up that route’s relative reliability.

Although the 2023 peak season was more muted than during the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall decline was not as severe as some feared.

Lower consumer demand for imports and domestic goods reshaped international and US freight markets in 2023.

The move comes after several days of pressure from shipper groups who expressed concerns over the economic impact of the closures so close to Christmas.

With CPKC competitors BNSF and UP unable to send or receive cargo because of the border closures at El Paso and Eagle Pass, they might be tempted to send containers through CPKC’s still-opened Laredo crossing.

Intermodal marketing companies told the Journal of Commerce they are concerned about their ability to sell rail options to shippers if there is a prolonged closure at Eagle Pass and El Paso.

A strong Black Friday and Cyber Monday, coupled with rosy sales expectations, are spurring US retailers to boost their import forecasts for early 2024, according to the National Retail Federation.

The fundamentals for intermodal demand in 2024 appear to be improving in several important respects, according to analyst Larry Gross, though some adverse long-term fundamentals remain in place.

The Blue Ridge Connector will have 18,000 feet of working track and an annual lift capacity of up to 200,000 containers while providing shippers with an all-rail service from Savannah.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District says it will create rules to reduce emissions at Southern California rail yards because Union Pacific insists on including public financing as a precondition for participating in the more collaborative MOU process.

The Class I railroad sees an opportunity to tap growth at the Gulf Coast’s busiest port with new intermodal lanes, while expanding its inland reach from Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The project, in coordination with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, is due to be completed in late 2024 and will help move cargo faster through Western Canada.

With peak season at hand for ag exports, shippers say weak US import volumes have constrained the supply of repositioned containers they need to send goods overseas, risking disruption to their supply chains.

The four-phase, seven-building project with CSX rail connections will support the growing needs of importers and exporters using the port.

Draft legislation would also seek to codify that rail demurrage fees be billed to the ocean carrier, which would then pass along the charge to the responsible shipper or BCO. .

While the moves are considered more of a rejuvenation than a renaissance, railroads are doing a more effective job juggling the interests of investors while providing new products to serve shippers.

Shippers saved nearly 26% using domestic intermodal instead of highway options in the third quarter, approximately in line with long-term averages.

The largest US domestic intermodal provider will no longer partner with CPKC on cross-border loads destined for the Midwest and West Coast, in the latest shifting of alliances on new services between Mexico and the US.

The intermodal routing option from Canada to the Midwest began to fall out of favor beginning in 2021 and accelerated in late 2022 when ISO containers moving in the lane fell below levels last seen six years ago.

The new north-south service will begin next week with trial runs transporting perishable goods out of Latin America to Chicago.

The cracks in the gateway’s attractiveness to importers and exporters out of the US Midwest were showing before this July’s work stoppage and the decline in import demand across North America.

The premium service run by the long-time partners aims to capture so-called just-in-time cargo that has historically been shipped via truck.

Once fully complete by 2025, the current expansion project would allow the port to handle 1.1 million TEUs annually, up from 650,000 TEUs.

The new pool will generate options for truckers and cargo owners moving ocean containers through the major inland market.

Hub Group said its intermodal business trailed competitors in the third quarter despite a mini-peak that developed in Southern California in September.

International intermodal volume in North America fell in the third quarter year over year, but there are glimmers of optimism among some US railroads.

Construction of the C$750 million, 400,000-TEU facility for Canadian and US agricultural and resin exports will be key to achieving more balanced two-way trade through the Western Canadian port.

Despite reporting lackluster third-quarter financial results, the intermodal service provider is cautiously optimistic that the worst of the US freight recession is in the past.

It appears Mexico is beginning to fulfill its growth potential for domestic intermodal, with asset-based carriers ramping up their activity within the country and in the cross-border market, writes analyst Larry Gross.