Railroads continue to play a significant role in North America’s economic infrastructure. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration, the U.S. rail freight network covers almost 140,000 route miles and is generally considered the largest, safest, and most cost-efficient freight system in the world. In addition, says the FRA, the almost $80 billion rail freight industry creates more than 167,000 jobs across the country.
In essence, rail freight companies charge businesses to carry cargo across their network of rails. Their rates are overseen by the Surface Transportation Board, a federal agency that regulates financial aspects of surface transportation. Major railroads in North America include Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National Railway.
Keep up with the latest news, trends and reports concerning rail freight transport here!
CN is seeking to generate CA$700 million in additional operating income in 2022 through cutting labor and operational costs and seeking pricing opportunities.
Expanding intermodal, grain and automotive offerings would be part of the growth strategy pursued by a merged Kansas City Southern-Canadian Pacific.
Recent rail news includes investments, technology purchases and cleanup fees.
The Department of Transportation seeks “practical solutions” from the freight industry to alleviate container shortages and supply chain chokepoints.
Kansas City Southern returns to its old flame and opts to merge with Canadian Pacific. Rival railway CN acknowledges its merger plans have been scrapped.
August was a record month for the Port of Virginia in Norfolk, and the trend of higher year-over-year volumes could persist through the rest of 2021 as peak season approaches.
The three have signed agreements committing to work together on developing advanced locomotive power technologies.
August data from Cass shows freight expenditures extend their torrid pace. Freight demand remains high but a lack of capacity is constraining shipment growth.
Major CN shareholder TCI Fund Management wants CN’s board to have more operational experience. The company is also still pushing for the removal of CN’s current CEO.
Kansas City Southern is returning to its original merger partner after federal regulators rejected CN’s proposed voting trust, which would’ve been used to acquire KCS.
Labor and chassis shortages, as well as congestion in the wider supply chain, have contributed to lower U.S. intermodal traffic compared with a year ago.
Container volumes were “strong” in August amid continued retail import volume growth at the Port of Charleston, the South Carolina Ports Authority said.
Work-related fatalities for trucking and delivery driver jobs increased 4% year-over-year in 2019, when 1,005 drivers were killed on the nation’s streets and highways.
The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development and OnTrackNorthAmerica have formed the Southwest Supply Chain Coalition as a way to develop a regional approach to supply chain infrastructure investments.
The Vancouver transload facility will primarily handle fast-moving consumer goods and auto parts.
Hyperloop is a proposed high-speed ground transportation system for passengers and commercial cargo moving at speeds up to 745 mph and powered by emission-free renewable energy, according to Swisspod.
Kansas City Southern shareholders pushed back a vote on whether to approve CN’s merger agreement to Sept. 24.
The agency is seeking comments from freight railroads on whether it should collect data pertaining to first- and last-mile movements.
Stakeholders and observers such as Amtrak, Canadian Pacific and the Vermont Department of Transportation want the Surface Transportation Board to consider placing conditions that would bolster both competitive access and passenger rail service.
Kansas City Southern shareholders must decide whether to continue to pursue merger plans with CN or go with Canadian Pacific.
FreightWaves market expert Mike Baudendistel chats with Norfolk Southern’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Alan Shaw about intermodal challenges and opportunities confronting NS and other Class I railroads.
Elise Gosch, assistant VP of intermodal sales at Union Pacific, shares strategies the company has implemented throughout the pandemic to address shifting customer needs.
Virginia’s competitive advantages: a naturally deep harbor, semi-automated terminals and its own, newer chassis pool.
The Surface Transportation Board rejected CN’s application to establish a voting trust, which would be used as part of the process to acquire Kansas City Southern.
As fall harvest nears, grain shippers and freight railroads are taking steps to ensure network fluidity for export-bound grain trains in and out of the Pacific Northwest.
Will Hurricane Ida impact freight contracts? Will carriers move from shippers’ contracted freight to the spot market?
Federal action addressing matters of concern in the rail industry, particularly regarding safety, seem to be an afterthought.
Canadian Pacific, Norfolk Southern and the broader freight rail industry describe how they plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Class I railroads are keeping an eye on Hurricane Ida as the storm is expected to make landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend.
U.S. rail terminals that handle imports are still grappling with chassis shortages, although efforts are being made to address overflow at the terminals.
Railcar manufacturer Greenbrier’s Q4 orders total over $530 million, plus U.S. weekly rail volumes dip on an intermodal traffic decline.
The facility at CP’s Bensenville, Illinois, rail yard, which is already in operation, will support the construction industry’s supply chain.
Both Canada and the U.S. have provisions that allow for reciprocal switching, or interswitching. But rail shippers’ ability to participate in the program differs in the two countries.
Progress Rail will use Union Pacific locomotives that are capable of handling a biodiesel blend of 20%.
As this year’s peak season gets underway, dislocations in the supply chain are increasing. However, this is really nothing new as the industry has been in peak mode for a year.
The past week in social media images features a menacing wildfire in California, tropical storm deluges, a train hitting a tractor-trailer and more.
KCS’ board of directors confirmed plans to postpone the shareholder vote on the CN-KCS merger agreement until after the Surface Transportation Board renders a decision on CN’s proposed voting trust.
News about BNSF, Kansas City Southern, Trinity Industries and TTCI.
Container volumes rose 25% at the Port of Savannah, while auto and machinery units grew 39% at Brunswick.
Although Canadian grain shippers anticipate lower grain harvest volumes for the 2021-2022 crop year, adequate rail service remains a chief concern.
The Association of American Railroads responds to regulator’s inquiry about supply chain congestion, while GoRail advocates for regulation supporting freight rail industry growth.
AskWaves looks at the regulatory might of this small, independent federal agency.
NS plans to reopen a Pennsylvania intermodal facility in response to e-commerce rise, market demand and supply chain congestion.
The past week in social media images features a fire whirl in Northern California, train derailments in the Plains, humongous hail and more.
Kansas City Southern declined Canadian Pacific’s revised bid, opting to stick with CN. But a shareholder vote to approve the CN-KCS merger agreement could be held off if the Surface Transportation Board doesn’t issue its decision on CN’s voting trust by Tuesday.
Canadian Tire is acquiring a 25% stake in Ashcroft Terminal in a deal that will allow the retailer to move containers from the Port of Vancouver more efficiently, while securing rail capacity.
South Carolina ports started the fiscal year off with a bang, moving a record volume of containers in July.
The CEOs of five Class I railroads tell the Surface Transportation Board that the root causes of the congestion facing rail intermodal terminals are beyond the railroads’ control.
August is likely to see a new monthly record for retail container imports, with 2021 doing the same. However, ongoing supply chain dislocation clouds how quickly consumers will be able to get their hands on the goods.
CP is offering a stock-and-cash “superior proposal” worth an estimated US$31 billion.
The Surface Transportation Board will review Amtrak’s request to restore Gulf Coast service, dismissing calls by CSX and Norfolk Southern, whose networks will be affected by the service restoration, to reject the request.
A 26% gain in revenues helped boost BNSF’s net profits in the second quarter of 2021 to $1.5 billion.
The rail manufacturer has been modernizing locomotives to improve their fuel efficiency and longevity.
The pace of U.S. rail volume growth slowed in July, according to Association of American Railroad data. But still expect intermodal growth through 2021 in North America, the Intermodal Association of North America said.
Also on the podcast: The investment drought in oil setting the table for higher prices
The past week in social media images features a mudslide-damaged highway, a truck rollover during a flood, destructive wildfires and more.
A Norfolk Southern employee suffered fatal injuries Wednesday at its Enola yard, outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
NS is investigating the cause of the derailment, which stopped train traffic from Monday afternoon to early Wednesday.
Canadian Pacific and CN shattered records for hauling Canadian grain and grain products in the 2020-2021 crop year, which ran from Aug. 1, 2020, to July 31, 2021. More efficient […]
TRAC Intermodal President and CEO Daniel Walsh chats with FreightWaves about chassis availability and market conditions into 2022.
Transport Canada has approved updates to the rules, regulations and standards regarding switching operations as part of a broader effort to make operations safer.
Four shipper associations have asked the Surface Transportation Board to see if demurrage charges can be applied to privately owned railcars to improve the flow of railcars through the network.
The railroad reopened the Dry Canyon Bridge in Northern California weeks ahead of schedule.
Kansas City Southern told its shareholders to focus on the proposed CN-KCS merger transaction and not on Canadian Pacific’s attempts to cast doubt on the merger’s chances of being approved by federal regulators.
The Surface Transportation Board has accepted CSX’s revised application to acquire Pan Am Railways, allowing the acquisition proceedings to continue.
The “significant” damage has caused BNSF to reroute trains, and the railroad is uncertain when service in the area might be restored.
SMART-TD must negotiate with Class I railroads on train crew size; Rail Customer Coalition calls on STB to take up reciprocal switching; ASLRRA praises progress on infrastructure bill; and Canadian Pacific urges KCS shareholders to vote against the proposed CN-KCS merger.
The past week in images features train cars used to fight fires, a wreck caused by a dust storm, a trucker who flipped in floodwaters and more.
The trucking industry’s issues with driver availability along with customers’ commitment to sustainability are factors that could support growth for intermodal beyond 2021 and 2022, executives said during Hub Group’s earnings call on Thursday.
Market alliances that seek to convert truck traffic east and west of the Mississippi River could be a way for Canadian Pacific to grow its network, executives said during the second-quarter 2021 earnings call Wednesday.
Supply chain congestion is more about issues with throughput among various stakeholders and less about Norfolk Southern’s ability to handle volumes, executives said during NS’ second-quarter 2021 earnings call Wednesday.
CP’s second-quarter 2021 revenue totaled $1.64 billion in U.S. dollars.
A 24% increase in operating revenue contributed to record second-quarter net income of $819 million for Norfolk Southern.
Both Union Pacific and BNSF have taken to rerouting trains because large wildfires have temporarily closed portions of their networks in Northern California.
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., doesn’t want federal regulators to approve a voting trust that Canadian railway CN would establish as part of the process to acquire Kansas City Southern.
Employment levels in June for the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads held steady from May, although U.S. rail volumes grew by one-fifth over the same period.
JAXPORT saw a 15% increase in container volume and a 20% growth in vehicle volumes for the first three quarters of its 2021 fiscal year, the Florida port said Monday.
APM Terminals on the U.S. Gulf Coast wants potential importing customers to know it has access to the Midwest via five Class I railroads.
Two groups announced this month their separate efforts to increase supply chain visibility. One technology tool focuses on locating railcars and another aims to forecast volumes at the Port of Los Angeles.
STB Chairman Marty Oberman has sent letters to all the Class I railroads asking them how the railroads are applying storage fees at key container terminals while the supply chain is congested.
Supply chain disruptions for international intermodal are likely to last through the end of the year, Union Pacific President and CEO Lance Fritz said during the second-quarter earnings call on Thursday.
CSX wants to come up with long-lasting strategies to hire talent so that it can ensure that it can grow capacity in the future, said CSX President and CEO Jim Foote during the company’s second-quarter 2021 earnings call on Wednesday.
Union Pacific’s second-quarter 2021 net income grew 59% from a year ago to $1.8 billion amid a 30% gain in operating revenue.
The sale of property rights of CSX-owned line segments in Virginia more than doubled CSX’s net earnings for the second quarter of 2021 compared with a year ago. Net profit was $1.17 billion in the second quarter.
Customers’ push to manage inventories will support rail volumes in the second half of the year, even though potential headwinds in the form of wildfires, supply chain congestion and COVID-19 loom.
Higher revenues propelled CN’s adjusted net income for the second quarter to grow by 16.5% to CA$1.06 billion.
The ocean carrier said Monday that BNSF is reducing import traffic at the ports of LA and Long Beach, while inbound trains from New York area ocean terminals to three Midwestern destinations are also being monitored.
Despite headwinds, KCS thinks it can still achieve double-digit revenue growth for 2021.
The $700 million fee to terminate a merger agreement with Canadian Pacific dented KCS’ second-quarter net income. But revenues were up 37% year-over-year.
The seven-day suspension of service, starting on Sunday, is aimed at helping ocean carriers, UP and other stakeholders to catch up and relieve the congestion at West Coast ports and busy inland terminals, especially Chicago.
U.S. rail traffic was flat year-over-year as the July Fourth weekend impacted volume comparisons. Also, Northwestern University released a report describing how freight rail handled supply chain challenges over the past year.
Hitachi ABB Power Systems Vice President Daniel Simounet talks about where opportunities might already exist to electrify freight rail — provided that the railroads, government and utilities are willing to collaborate together.
Amtrak wants federal regulators to expedite a request to reestablish passenger rail service between Mobile and New Orleans. But CSX and Norfolk Southern say, not so fast.
Fiscal year 2021 was not only a banner year for South Carolina Ports but also a roller coaster one as volume lows in July 2020 transitioned quickly to record number of TEUs handled.
Railcar manufacturer Greenbrier sees near-term support for new railcars, as well as longer-term support as companies focus on decarbonizing their operations.
With 39 ships at anchor, the Port of Vancouver is continuing to feel the strain as CP and CN resume service in a fire-afflicted region of British Columbia.
The reduction in train speeds between Kamloops and Boston Bar is designed to lessen the chances that sparks from a freight train could start a fire amid extreme heat and dry conditions.
President Joe Biden’s order last week calls upon the Surface Transportation Board to examine hot topics among rail shippers, including reciprocal switching. The challenge will be balancing the wants and needs of shippers and the freight railroads.
The past week in images features a funnel spawned by a wildfire, a trucker who drove his rig into a river and a train honoring the armed forces.
One alternative: The team moves to Las Vegas, though that would keep Howard Terminal in place.
