Rail News

Canadian National Railway (CN) is offering rebates on demurrage charges for shippers that pick up containers from its Chicago and Memphis terminals during periods of lower traffic in an attempt to mitigate congestion at the busy inland intermodal ramps.

Canadian National Railway (CN) is offering rebates on demurrage charges for shippers that pick up containers from its Chicago and Memphis terminals during periods of lower traffic in an attempt to mitigate congestion at the busy inland intermodal ramps.

The US Surface Transportation Board wants the seven Class I railroads to explain their policies and practices for demurrage fees, but the agency is holding off on regulating them more — for now.

Norfolk Southern said that changes to the layout of the Landers intermodal yard in Chicago and additional lift equipment will help speed the flow of ocean containers.

CSX and Union Pacific are working hard to restore fluidity on intermodal networks, but both companies said that issues may persist through the end of the year.

Canadian National completed inspections and repairs to a bridge damaged in a wildfire that has disrupted intermodal and other freight services to the Port of Vancouver.

BNSF Railway is rationing the number of ocean containers it will move between Southern California and Logistics Park Chicago for two weeks in an effort to relieve mounting congestion caused by a flood of imports to the Midwest.

BNSF Railway is rationing the number of ocean containers it will move between Southern California and Logistics Park Chicago for two weeks in an effort to relieve mounting congestion caused by a flood of imports to the Midwest.

BNSF Railways has ended domestic intermodal service between Northern California and CSX Transportation’s terminal in northwest Ohio, with a source saying a lack of shipper interest was behind the move.

Canadian National Railway services to Vancouver are sporadic as wildfires slow trains and imports pile up at Port of Vancouver docks. Three out of the four marine terminals are reporting container dwell times that are on average 10 days or more.

Union Pacific’s emergency measure is meant to help move a stack of containers at its Global IV terminal outside of Chicago where an estimated 2,000–3,000 containers sit without chassis.

Rail from China to Europe has been a solid alternative to air and ocean for several years, but its cost competitiveness on the trade lane has been amplified by the disruption afflicting the rival modes.

The only way to really grow intermodal is to convert freight from highway to rail, which will only happen when the industry puts forth a compelling combination of reliable, reasonably fast service with economic savings versus truck.

The new Balli intermodal play in India builds on Maersk’s ongoing efforts to target new customer segments predominantly tethered to transshipping in the absence of long-haul direct carrier calls in the region.

Regular intermodal service to and from Vancouver may not return for a week as Canadian National investigates whether a fire damaged part of its track running through British Columbia.

Norfolk Southern has shut down domestic intermodal traffic on four busy domestic intermodal lanes into central Pennsylvania for non-asset partners, a signal the eastern US railroad is struggling to handle volume surges and a 53-foot chassis safety recall.

A fire that destroyed a British Columbia town is causing a backlog of intermodal and other rail freight at the Port of Vancouver that will result in delays of up to four days.

Trailers are just as important to over-the-road trucking as containers are to intermodal rail, and just as scarce.

CSX has temporarily cut the number of reservations to bring in domestic containers in Chicago because of overwhelming volume, a common theme among the Class I railroads struggling in the Windy City.

Union Pacific Railroad has decided to cap storage fees for inaccessible containers at Chicago’s Global IV terminal after one shipper was slammed with a bill for more than $10,000.

Amid multimodal capacity shortages, Norfolk Southern is increasing daily accessorial charges on shippers who hold onto its 53-foot domestic EMP and TMX containers, hoping to speed turns for containers and chassis and maintain capacity that is under pressure.

CMA CGM has acquired a rail operator in Spain, adding an intermodal dimension to the ocean carrier’s expanding integrated service portfolio.

Norfolk Southern is significantly cutting domestic intermodal service on two dozen lanes as an emergency measure because of the safety recall of 5,100 chassis.

The plight of one BCO on the hook for huge storage fees is familiar to fellow importers struggling to access thousands of containers at Union Pacific Railroad’s Global IV terminal in Joliet, Illinois.

A shortage of railcars and backlog of rail containers that first surfaced in Los Angeles-Long Beach this winter have migrated up the coast to Seattle, resulting in significant congestion at the Northwest Seaport Alliance’s largest container terminal.

An industry group is urging participants along the supply chain to quickly turn around equipment as the July 4th holiday will see severe tightness for containers and chassis.

Norfolk Southern Railway told customers that a chassis safety recall involves more than 5,000 domestic 53-foot chassis that have problems with their wheels.

Vancouver-based Freightera, an online trucking marketplace, has found that more environmentally friendly motor carriers are often lower in cost as well.

Norfolk Southern Railway and Union Pacific Railroad are having trouble getting containers to shippers, in part because their supply of 53-foot chassis is very low.

Heightened cargo demand and congestion issues at transshipment hub Colombo, Sri Lanka, are spurring new containerized rail services to India’s interior.

BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad are looking for creative solutions to increase space to store containers in their Chicago terminals amid another spike in inland intermodal volume.

Union Pacific has raised surcharges out of California for a second time in 2021, a sign it is concerned about having enough rail-owned 53-foot containers to supply core contract customers through the upcoming peak season.

BNSF will adjust its free time calculations on June 7, tightening the window for shippers to pick up containers that are made available after 5:00 p.m., just two weeks after Norfolk Southern slashed its free time clock.

New data suggests intermodal rail in India could become an attractive mode of freight transport if supported with needed capacity and competitive pricing.

After a rough six-week period following the paralyzing February snowstorm in Texas, intermodal terminals are operating with fewer delays in Dallas-Fort Worth, with chassis available and driver productivity bucking national trends.

Besides allowing a single-network rail service through Canada, Mexico, and the US, KCS merging with either CN or CP would provide new import and exporter options for US Midwest shippers.

Despite duties in China, vessel space limitations at US ports and equipment shortages at inland rail hubs, US containerized agricultural shipments increased seven percent in 2020.

Based on its performance in 2021, precision scheduled railroading seems to have been a better idea in theory than it has turned out to be in practice.

If railroads are to continue diverting intermodal traffic from the highway, they must conquer the “live” segment, requiring more agility to be competitive with dock-to-dock trucking.

The JOC Intermodal Savings Index hit a new record in Q1, but rising spot intermodal rates and surcharges could reduce savings in Q2.