Railroad

This month, I’m stepping away from my usual supply chain matters to provide a testimonial on a remarkable human being and my friend, William E. (Bill) Greenwood, former COO at Burlington Northern (BN). Bill passed away at age 85 on September 22.

Rail/Intermodal volumes remain uneven as service improvements continue to take hold.

Uncover the True Story of What Happened in the Recent Catastrophic Derailment of Norfolk Southern in Ohio with Insightful Analysis from an Expert With More than 50 Years of Supply Chain, Logistics and Freight Transportation Experience.

Following Atlanta-based Class I railroad carrier Norfolk Southern (NS) roll out of a six-point plan this week to “immediately enhance the safety of its operation,” which was based on preliminary findings made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) after an NS train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3, the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today said it will be conducting a 60-day assessment of NS, related to the derailments and other NS safety-related...

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) issued a memorandum on the situation, replete with information on the current situation and adding that “railroads take their responsibility to move goods critical to the economy safely across the country seriously.”

Rail carloads—at 234,942—were down 3.6% annually, topping the week ending June 4, at 225,274, and the week ending May 28, at 233,633.

Rivals and shippers say the proposed $25 billion rail merger between the Kansas City Southern and Canadian Pacific will have a positive effect on shippers even though the merger will reduce the number of Class 1 railroads in North America to six.

Rail carloads, at 248,905, fell 5.1%, and intermodal units, at 266,364, slipped 6.7%.

Earlier this week, the Washington-based Association of American Railroads (AAR) said it filed comments with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in regards to the STB’s Final Offer Rate Review (FORR) proposed rule, in which the AAR said that it is calling on the STB to withdraw the rule proposal, as it contends it is unlawful.

February shipments, at 1.173, headed up 4.0% compared to January’s 1.128 and were down 2.1% annually ad up 4% compared to January, and February expenditures, at 2.874, saw a 5.5% annual gain and a 2.9% increase over January.

Pricing across the transportation modes

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently caught up with Larry Gross, President of Gross Transportation Consulting to talk about the 2018 Peak Season, capacity, pricing, and things shippers can do to get through the rough patches.

Carloads were up 3.2%, or 41,078 units, annually to 1,319,420, and intermodal containers and trailers rose 6.6%, or 86,010 units, to 1,398,203.

A final rule was issued last week by the Surface Transportation Board, which will require all Class I railroads, as well as the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office, through its Class I members, to report certain service performance metrics to the STB on a weekly, semiannual, and occasional basis.

This ANPR stems from Section 11 the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015 (passed by Congress late last year), which, the STB noted, instructs the STB to “initiate a proceeding to assess procedures that are available to parties in litigation before courts to expedite such litigation and the potential application of any such procedures to rate cases.”