Rail News

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.

U.S. freight shipments and spending took a seasonal dip in January, but remained elevated compared with 2013 and previous years.

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 Hub Group said U.S. intermodal rail service deteriorated further in the fourth quarter from the prior quarter, but it’s now seeing improvement and service could start approaching levels last seen in mid-2013, before last year’s harsh winter, as soon as this summer.

TRAC Intermodal and Direct ChassisLink Inc. have formed a “gray” chassis pool to allow full interchange of most marine chassis in the Pacific Northwest ports of Seattle, Tacoma and Portland.

The port congestion crisis on the U.S. West Coast and changing retail delivery patterns inland both challenged UPS in the fourth quarter, the company said today.

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.

Containerized cargo volume at the Port of New York and New Jersey hit a record 5,772,303 20-foot-equivalent units last year, up 5.6 percent from 2013, the port authority said. ExpressRail, the port authority’s ship-to-rail system serving New York and New Jersey marine terminals, also set a new record.

The world’s longest rail freight service — between China and Spain — has been put on hold because it hasn’t attracted cargo for its maiden return journey from Madrid.

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.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — With transloading capacity scarce in Vancouver, an inland port 200 miles away aims to give forestry exporters the consistency in stuffing their products into containers they might not find in the greater Vancouver area.

Greece’s new radical left wing government is set to freeze the planned sale of the state’s stakes in Athens airport, the port of Thessaloniki and rail companies as it seeks to tear up some of the conditions of its 240 billion euro ($271 billion) bailout agreement.

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.

Congestion and delays at U.S. West Coast ports meant UPS had to scramble to get containerized goods into its inland delivery network and to customers. Higher purchased transportation costs were a factor in lower fourth-quarter earnings.

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.

The China-financed Mombasa-Nairobi rail link that is under construction is facing competition from Africa’s largest private equity firm that has invested $70 million in a competing rail connection that will also link the two cities.

Trucking companies serving a major intermodal complex in the Chicago area face longer trips after the Illinois Commerce Commission ruled that a key route must be shut down to commercial traffic because of safety concerns, according to various reports.

Barring a relapse of intermodal service woes, few shippers are expected to shift their freight back to trucking

U.S. freight shipments and shipper transport spending both dropped from the previous month in December, but remained close to a post-recession high, according to the Cass Freight Index.

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.

Challenges remain for second-tier suppliers of major manufacturers in China’s inland production centres more than 14 years after the Go West policy was introduced to shift factories away from the wealthier coastal areas and boost the economies of its poorer central provinces.

From port congestion and new ocean alliances to driver shortages and rail service worries, the global supply chain is more fragile than at any point in recent memory. Three shippers discuss how they’re adjusting to the challenges.

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.

Barely a few months go by without an automaker announcing plans to move or increase production in Mexico. General Motors, for example, said in December it would invest $5 billion in Mexico by 2018, adding to the $1.4 billion it’s already spent on factories there.

U.S. shippers are the most optimistic they have been in nearly three years about freight growth, but they are also bracing for the sharpest uptick in transportation costs, excluding fuel costs, since 2011, according to a recent survey.

TRAC Intermodal, the largest lessor of intermodal chassis, is being offered for sale by Fortress Investment Group, the private equity company that acquired the company seven years ago.

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.