Railroad

Rail stakeholders debate the legacy of precision scheduled railroading and the common carrier obligation.

The Eastern U.S. railroad reported an adjusted net income of $643 million in the third quarter of 2020, compared with $657 million a year ago.

Separate protests in Mexico have been disrupting railways and highways in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Michoacán since mid-August.

Lower volumes blamed for the job reductions in Kansas.

David Fisher’s 30 years of industry experience is expected to advance the university’s graduate program for transportation, logistics and supply chain executives.

Rail freight needs to become more truck-like as to timely inventory reporting.

The railcar manufacturer sees mid-2021 as a possible time frame for a post-coronavirus economic recovery for the rail industry.

The railcar lessor has developed a new strategy that will focus on providing rail-related services and products as part of a broader effort to boost its profitability.

UP expects longer and heavier trains in its future as it seeks to take more intermodal market share away from trucks.

The company is also eyeing opportunities to develop its real estate offerings and will bring on more assets to handle additional volumes, executives said during CSX’s third-quarter earnings call.

Intermodal traffic props up rail volumes and gains for retail sales; CSX, Union Pacific announce new appointments.

Lower fuel prices drove Union Pacific’s operating ratio lower. Meanwhile, third-quarter net profit fell 12% year-over-year.

Just like its other Class I counterparts, CSX grappled with lower volumes year-over-year in the third quarter as the broader economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rail equipment and technology provider is one of many companies that have laid off or furloughed employees because of the lower-volume environment exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Higher rail volumes continue to be a trend in the fourth quarter, but the pace of volume growth could depend on how the COVID-19 pandemic plays out this winter.

Revenue growth in the railcar lessor’s international segment and in its portfolio management program affiliated with Rolls-Royce helped offset losses for its North American segment.

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to put pressure on CN’s volumes in the third quarter.

The railroad has 1,000 acres it can develop with partnering customers.

The Agriculture Transportation Coalition, together with TradeLanes, surveys hundreds of American shippers about the cost to their bottom lines of uncommunicated earliest return dates from ocean carriers.

Canadian Pacific’s net income fell 3% in the third quarter.

An investigation is underway into a fatality that occurred last week at CSX’s Acca Yard in Richmond, Virginia.

Executives are confident about an economic recovery but uncertainty persists over how much volumes will grow in the fourth quarter and into 2021.

Canadian Pacific Railway will pay $312 million for full ownership of a 1.6-mile tunnel linking U.S.-Canada via Detroit and Windsor

Genuflecting toward Wall Street has symbolically become part of the North American Class 1 rail company culture.

Lower operating expenses drove the increase in third-quarter net income.

“Port partners are taking proactive steps to add more resources and service hours to support this untraditional peak cargo volume season.”

U.S. intermodal traffic on a weekly basis rose 8.4% year-over-year. Carload volume still lags although the year-over-year gap is narrowing.

Intermodal containers arrived this week at North Dakota’s first and only intermodal facility in Minot.

The USMCA Corridor would connect rail from the Pacific Ocean in Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada.

The groups say more federal oversight is needed for the transport of liquefied natural gas by rail.

Rail reform law faces backlash from pro-regulation forces; tragic mistake to reverse course, former DOT secretary says.

A rail shippers coalition continues efforts to ask the Surface Transportation Board to consider collecting first-mile and last-mile data.

GoRail sent a letter on the 40th anniversary of the Staggers Act telling the Surface Transportation Board not to make wholesale changes to rail regulation. The letter had over 1,000 signatures from local, state and federal officials and executives.

GameAbove Capital takes equity stake in Pro-Tech Group’s patented technology for better utilization of empty railcars.

Oklahoma looks to have a reasoned approach toward railway change.

The Canadian government will invest C$33.4 million in the inland Quebec port.

Train vs. truck in collisions. Train always wins.

The federal agency says the rule would reduce unnecessary costs and incentivize innovation while also improving rail safety.

Two Class I railroads select members for their respective boards of directors.

Container chassis management model in the U.S. challenges advancement of full-circle tracking technologies.

Brad Hildebrand discussed Cargill’s reliance on dependable rail service during FreightWaves Last Mile Logistics Summit.

U.S. intermodal volumes grew in September amid a continued increase in U.S. imports.

The Eastern U.S. railroad said it expects preliminary operating revenue of $2.5 billion and operating expenses of $1.67 billion in the third quarter of 2020.

Grain members of Surface Transportation Board advisory committee say the railroads have been supplying sufficient amounts of power and crews to meet service needs.

Although the hurricane isn’t expected to make landfall until later this week, the Class I railroads are preparing now for potential service disruptions.

Railway blockades reportedly are costing the Mexican economy more than $18 million a day.

Drayage truckers on the Envase platform have access to an online marketplace that connects them to available parking and storage lots nationwide.

National freight “outlook” is significant for states, municipalities and companies that may want federal money for rail or other transport projects.

CN and Canadian Pacific say they’ll use communication and technology to grapple with winter’s operational challenges.

The independent federal rail agency is looking at the market factors determining exemption from board oversight. The board also separately declared five Class I railroads as being revenue adequate in 2019.

The inability of ocean carriers to timely inform shippers of schedule changes results in costly logistics disruptions and potential for lost international sales.

Warehouse/storage jobs up a whopping 32,200.

The rail sites are for manufacturers wanting to expand their footprint domestically or tap into the export network.

U.S. intermodal traffic continues its upward trend but carloads are still lower year-over-year.

Alaska and South Dakota received $6.9 million in grants from the Federal Railroad Administration for rail-related projects.

It is too early to call the intermodal recovery a long-term win for the railroads.

Individuals who allegedly crossed border illegally were reportedly found climbing moving train and locked in grain hopper.

U.S. rail volumes were down by only 1.3% compared with the same period in 2019. Intermodal traffic provided the boost.

The railroad will convert to flat switching at the Pennsylvania yard.

The grants help localities, short lines and passenger railroads improve the safety and efficiency of their rail networks.

The new standard developed by the Railway Supply Institute builds upon existing federal and trade standards.

The U.S. railroads with operations that cross the U.S.-Mexico border are bolstering their networks to manage an anticipated increase in volumes.

Bias-ply tires persist within the nation’s container chassis fleet, but equipment providers vow that their days are numbered with the ongoing switch to radial tires.

Cass data for the month of August shows significant acceleration in demand and rates but the comparisons to 2019 still lag other data sources.

But despite the increase between July and August, employment totals of the U.S. Class I rail operations are still down year-over-year.

2020 could end up for the railroads as the worst overall freight volume loss year-over-year in the past 15 years.

The provision of sizable infrastructure is an example of the government’s positive role in the market for transportation.

FreightWaves chatted with Norfolk Southern’s Chief Sustainability Officer Josh Raglin to learn how the company’s sustainability efforts complement operations.

Newly released case study says gateway’s work could become model for other Canadian ports

U.S. rail volumes, including intermodal traffic, fell in a week that was shortened by Labor Day.

Online sales depend heavily on a robust industrial real estate infrastructure.

FreightWaves CEO and Director of Freight

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $1 billion in BUILD grants. A handful of those grants went to projects improving freight rail traffic flows.

The deal comes amid wider efforts from both companies to expand their reach and increase supply chain efficiency.

A bountiful harvest, anticipated surge in export volumes as well as wild card factors could test U.S. rail network capacity post-PSR.

Changes with significant impact on rail customers are taking place across New England.

Kathryn M. Farmer will assume the role of president and CEO in January, taking the reins from current President and CEO Carl R. Ice. Ice is retiring but will remain on BNSF’s board of directors.

The hurricane is expected to make landfall in the New Orleans area sometime Tuesday.

The wildfires in Washington state aren’t a major threat to BNSF’s Washington operations, but the railroad deployed trains to help area first responders. Union Pacific grappled with wildfires near a Northern California subdivision last week.

Iowa transportation company Travero plans to open a multimodal cross-dock operation by next September.

“Depressed railcar demand” and the need to cut costs factored into the manufacturer’s decision.

A Colorado county has paved the way for the construction of a 620-acre rail-served industrial park in the greater Denver area.

More than 20 years of investment and dedication to the U.S. wind energy industry pays off for Anderson Trucking Service even during the worst of times.

U.S. intermodal traffic continues upward trend; separately, Kansas City Southern reportedly rejects takeover bid.

Information sharing is part of Executive Director Gene Seroka’s quest for more efficient operations.

The railroad didn’t say where the layoffs occurred, but they affect union and management employees across the 23-state network.

CBP’s Virtual Trade Week symposium kicked off Tuesday with a panel on the advantages of United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The Class I railroads update agencies on service issues; shippers use the opportunity to ask for data collection on first-mile and last-mile movements.

The Board is modifying what data it collects from the waybill samples of the U.S. freight railroads.

Whether you’re an employer looking to fill freight-related positions or a job-seeker, Freight.Careers.com is the go-to website.

Trucking jobs are up, but warehouse jobs are up even more

The year-over-year growth comes amid reports of congestion at some West Coast ports.

Railroads and union disagree over Federal Railroad Administration final rule enabling use of continuous rail inspection technology.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that U.S. Class I railroad Kansas City Southern is in play again. Blackstone and Global Infrastructure Partners are reported to have made an offer.

Intermodal was supposed to be the growth engine for rail.

CN orders 50 electric trucks from Lion Electric Co. to support its intermodal operations in its largest urban markets in Canada.

Canadian Pacific and CN say the deepwater ports are key to gaining market share.

A district court judge has signed off on a $48.9M class-action settlement for employees of two of the nation’s largest railway suppliers that are alleged to have engaged in no-poaching agreements.

Class I railroad crews will spend the next two days clearing downed trees and restoring electric power along tracks in southern Louisiana.

CSX expects the construction of two new intermodal terminals, one in North Carolina and the other in Ohio, to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.