North-American rail

Despite workers returning to their jobs, the brief work stoppage will impact freight flows in Canada and the US for a few weeks.

The directive came about 17 hours after Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City locked out more than 9,000 workers early Thursday, snarling supply chains for US and Canadian businesses that rely on trains to transport their cargo.

The Port of Vancouver is still berthing ships for now, but ocean carriers are reviewing future calls due to the potential for congestion caused by the Canadian railroad work stoppage.

Demand for domestic containers in the region has exceeded all other North American markets and intermodal providers believe more volume will be coming their way in September.

Canada’s western ports have little capacity to handle idled intermodal cargo should railroad workers strike, but eastern ports have more space to manage any delays.

A shutdown of Canada’s two freight railroads would not only impact loads in that country, but also cross-border traffic to US destinations such as Chicago.

Canada’s labor minister said he won’t force binding arbitration between Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and their main union, setting the stage for a lockout next week.

A potential strike by Canada’s two railroads, while an “inconvenience,” would not pose an “immediate and serious danger” to the public, the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled Friday.

The average contract cost savings for a shipper choosing intermodal rail over truckload in the US was just over 25% in the second quarter, according to the latest Journal of Commerce Intermodal Savings Index.

The $83 million project, which took two years to complete, adds another 455,000 TEUs of annual on-dock rail capacity at NIT.

The percentage of import TEUs arriving in Los Angeles and Long Beach and departing as domestic transloads should rise significantly in the third quarter, analyst Larry Gross says.

Norfolk Southern believes a mandatory reservation system for trucking companies bringing containers into its terminals will improve fluidity and prevent congestion from building.

While intermodal demand is not strong in the eastern US, there is surging demand in Southern California that could result in providers levying peak season surcharges on some shippers.

Ottensmeyer spent 17 years with Kansas City Southern Railway until the merger with Canadian Pacific Railway in 2023, then served on J.B. Hunt’s board of directors.

The gateways say they are well-positioned to take on additional diversions from the East and Gulf coasts should an ILA strike occur after the current labor deal expires at the end of September.

Joni Casey played a critical role in the expansion of the Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Agreement, a set of governing rules over the transfer of containers from one mode to another.

The largest intermodal company in North America is skeptical that the market is turning away from shippers, saying it needs more evidence before believing carriers have gained the upper hand in pricing negotiations.

Mexico’s domestic intermodal market is benefiting from the relatively new “near-shoring” trend, writes intermodal analyst Lawrence Gross.

Market conditions appear more favorable toward carriers today compared with 12 months ago, but the pendulum is close to a balanced domestic intermodal market heading into the back half of 2024.

The February decision from the agency said ocean carriers can mandate which chassis to use for carrier haulage business, but not for merchant haulage.

The market share of loads entering or exiting the port’s Garden City Terminal on train has increased from a year ago as the Georgia Ports Authority grows into a relatively new on-dock rail yard.

The port is the latest inland location in the western US looking to capitalize on strict regulations in California that are driving up costs for trucking companies.

Domestic intermodal service has been significantly better so far this year compared with the pandemic-disrupted years of 2020 to 2022, but shippers remain reluctant to tender some freight to the railroads, a Journal of Commerce survey found.

The current chaos playing out in the container market globally doesn’t have to last that long to have some big impacts on North American intermodal, writes Larry Gross.

After a successful one-off exercise involving 300 containers moving through Terminal 18 in Seattle, the Northwest Seaport Alliance will seek to convince ocean carriers to implement greater use of block stowage of rail cargo on vessels leaving Asia.

Cargo theft on the rails is becoming highly organized, with criminals targeting specific pallets inside containers being carried on a train rather than ransacking boxes at random.

The issue of whose chassis to use to haul a container remains unclear as more truckers opt to use their own, but ocean carriers and pools also look to supply the market.

Intermodal executives are trying to address container thefts through more security measures as shippers become increasingly frustrated with the problem.

The railroad is tackling one of the major pain points at the Atlanta-area terminal after congestion had gotten so bad in recent years that fleets would pay drivers extra just to go into the facility.

The average cost savings for a shipper choosing intermodal rail over truckload was about 26% in the first quarter, according to the latest Journal of Commerce Intermodal Savings Index.

Alan Shaw will remain in his position as CEO of Norfolk Southern, but Ancora Holdings gained leverage on the railroad’s board of directors, winning three seats.

Terminal operators in Vancouver are bracing for a possible strike by railroad conductors and engineers later this month just as the terminals are beginning to experience reduced rail container dwell times.

US rail unions have opposed measures that would allow Mexican crews to take trains across the border because they are reluctant to relinquish jurisdiction on transits within southern Texas.

The chief executives of BNSF and UP argue that while shareholders judge them on financial metrics, it would be a mistake to shun intermodal business simply because its margins are not as good as hauling other types of freight.

Federal conciliators have tried since March 1 to negotiate a deal between Canadian Pacific-Kansas City, Canadian National Railway and the Teamsters rail conference, without success.

The split recommendation from the influential proxy research firm comes one day after Glass Lewis recommended ousting Alan Shaw and COO John Orr.

The endorsement of Glass Lewis for Ancora’s slate of opposition candidates puts the job status of current NS CEO Alan Shaw and COO John Orr in jeopardy.

The intermodal provider has become more aggressive in pricing with shippers this year, jockeying with competitors for market share by lowering contractual rates for a second consecutive year.

Joe Hinrichs warns that focusing on better margins at the expense of intermodal business is short-sighted, defending his decision to extend sick pay leave for labor and arguing that empowering workers is key to delivering better service.

Shippers have long struggled to get direct access to rail milestone data that matches the depth and accuracy of ocean visibility markers.