Railroad Freight

Rail carloads—at 964,356—headed up 30.4%, or 224,623 carloads, annually, and May intermodal containers and trailers—at 1,151,824—saw a 26.2%, or 238,927 units, decrease.

The RRIF Express’s objective is to reduce the time and costs related to securing loans to modernize aging freight and commuter rail infrastructure, according to DOT. And it added that it will expand eligibility and provide more flexibility for a pilot program to expedite long-term, low-cost loans for America’s short line and regional railroads.

Rail carloads—at 227,543—were off 6.5% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers——at 295,110—saw a 9.5% annual gain.

With this week marking the 40th anniversary of the landmark Staggers Act, various freight railroad stakeholders have banded together to take a look back at how it has fundamentally shaped the sector since it was enacted. The Staggers Act, which was named for the late West Virginia Rep. Harley Staggers and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on October 14, 1980, has provided myriad benefits for freight railroad stakeholders, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads—at 1,119,546—were off 9.7%, or 119,909 carloads, annually. And intermodal containers and trailers—at 1,423,883—saw a 7.1%, or 94,351 unit increase.

The Washington, D.C.-based Surface Transportation Board (STB), an independent adjudicatory and economic-regulatory agency charged by Congress with resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers, recently announced that it made its annual determination of revenue adequacy for United States-based Class I railroads for calendar year 2019.

Rail carloads—at 224,146—were down 10.5% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers—at 294,144—saw a 5.5% annual gain.

A report in today’s Wall Street Journal said that Blackstone Group and Global Infrastructure Partners made a takeover offer for Class I railroad carrier Kansas City Southern (KSU). The report noted that KSU currently has a $17 billion market value, citing sources familiar with this development. A dollar price for the acquisition offer was not available.

Rail carloads—at 190,639—saw a 27.5% annual decline, and intermodal containers and trailers—at 238,076—saw an 11.2% annual decline.

Rail carloads—at 184,415—plunged 30.2% annually, which marked the lowest weekly annual percentage decline, for total carloads, going back to 1988, when the AAR first started tracking railroad volumes. This tally trailed the week ending May 9, at 184,144, and the week ending May 2, at 189,100.

For November, the most recent month for which data is available, the SCI edged up 0.6% to a 7.0 reading on the heels of three consecutive readings at 6.4 from August through October.

Earlier today, Class I freight railroad carrier CN said it has reached a tentative agreement with the company’s 3,200 conductors and yard crews working on CN’s mainline and yards in Canada for a new collective agreement.

Carloads-at 1,224,477-fell 8.4%, or 112,703 carloads, annually, and intermodal units-at 1,331,944-were off 7.8%, or 111,910 units, compared to October 2018.

Rail carloads, at 243,321, were off 9.4% annually, and intermodal units, at 269,826, were off 8.3%.

Rail carloads, at 247,028, decreased 8.5%, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 268,033 units, were off 5.8% annually.