Analytics

FRA RD&T Aims to Assist First-Responders

FRA’s Office of Research Development & Technology (RD&T) is sponsoring a research project titled “Assessing the Safety Benefits of a Real‐Time Railroad Crossing Blockage Information System for Emergency Responders.” As part of the project, the agency has contracted Winnipeg, Manitoba-based TRAINFO to develop a model to identify the risk of first responders being exposed to active rail crossings and to quantify benefits of live rail crossing data in the overall emergency response process.

Charting U.S. Rail Freight Through a Troubled First Half

Over the next few days and then amplified by mid-month investor reporting, we will learn more about how U.S. rail freight is trending. Association of American Railroads six-month data is out. In the interim, Susquehanna Financial Group (SFG) data scientists have circulated their freight market view. As well, we’ve added some FreightWaves SONAR intermodal data to the mix.

FreightWaves SONAR: Carrier Cuts Send Trans-Pacific Rates Into Orbit

This will raise eyebrows no matter how innocently it arose: Carriers intentionally cut trans-Pacific sailings to align capacity with virus-stricken demand, but demand turned out to be higher than expected. Spot rates skyrocketed and some analysts now predict rates could fuel big profits for carriers in a year when U.S. importers face a pandemic-induced recession.

You Can’t Control The Weather, But You Can Mitigate Its Effects

The operational team at a Class I railroad was working to finalize train departure schedules for the next week. That’s when it spotted something on the railroad’s weather intelligence dashboard: An unexpected high-wind storm was coming in three days and was forecast to hit a train en route, potentially derailing cars and causing hundreds of thousands in damages.

FreightWaves SONAR: LA Freight Market Is Heating Up

As the freight economy recovers, several important trends are centered around Los Angeles: import volume, outbound freight volume, and intermodal’s degree of competitiveness with truckload. In short, LA is hot with an improving freight market boosting both truckload and intermodal as shown in the FreightWaves SONAR charts below.

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