O’Neil Featured Speaker at NEARS Spring Conference

Paddy O’Neil, who in 2002 retired from Norfolk Southern as Assistant Vice President Fleet Planning and Optimization, will be a featured speaker at the NEARS (Northeastern Association of Rail Shippers) Spring 2024

AAR: Carloads Down, Intermodal Up for Week 11

U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 16, 2024 (Week 11) was up 6.7% from the prior-year period, as intermodal gains more than offset carload losses, according to the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) latest report.

Port of Charleston Capacity Set to Expand

South Carolina Ports plans to purchase the former WestRock paper mill site in North Charleston, S.C., to expand port capacity at the Port of Charleston. The roughly 280-acre industrial waterfront property sits adjacent to

How It Works: FLOW Data Inputs and Outputs—Members of the FLOW program (e.g., beneficial cargo owners, ocean carriers, ports, terminals, railroads) share individual logistics data (highlighted in bold in the graphic above) with the USDOT and in return receive an aggregated, anonymized, and holistic view of the relationship between incoming containers (demand), the available assets to move containers (supply), and throughput within a supply chain region. Incoming demand is shared up to 90 days in advance of arrival. (USDOT Graphic)

USDOT Marks Milestone on Second Anniversary of FLOW

The Freight Logistics Optimizations Works (FLOW) platform is now publishing data on inland freight hubs, including rail terminal and warehouse end destination data, that will provide an “enhanced view” of future container import volumes and traffic, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) reported March 20, the second anniversary of the platform’s launch to provide an integrated view of supply chain conditions in the United States and to help users forecast how current capacity and throughput will fare against future demand.

(Port of Long Beach)

Intermodal Briefs: Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles

The Port of Long Beach (POLB) and the Port of Los Angeles report an increase of trade in February.

This map shows the lines of Genesee & Wyoming-owned Meridian & Bigbee Railroad (MNBR) in relation to other rail lines in the territory and the principal geographic points in the region traversed. (Map Courtesy of CPKC)

STB Issues Draft EA for Proposed CSXT, CPKC Acquisitions of Ala., Miss. Rail Line

The Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) on March 18 issued a Draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) for CSX Transportation’s (CSXT) request to acquire and operate the assets comprising the rail line of Genesee & Wyoming-owned Class III Meridian & Bigbee Railroad, L.L.C. (MNBR) that runs approximately 93.7 miles between Burkville and Myrtlewood, Ala., and Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s (CPKC) request to acquire from MNBR and to operate approximately 50.4 miles of rail line between Meridian, Miss., and Myrtlewood, Ala.

MDOT on March 15 awarded CSX a $5 million grant for intermodal terminal improvements in Detroit. (Photograph Courtesy of MDOT via X, formerly known as Twitter)

CSX Lands $5MM for Detroit Intermodal Terminal Improvements

CSX will use a $5 million grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to support equipment upgrades, track work, and paving the dirt and gravel yard at its Detroit Livernois Intermodal Facility in southwest Detroit.

Class I Briefs: CSX, CN, UP, NS

CSX donates $10,000 to the Red Cross for storm relief efforts. Also, CN and Union Pacific (UP) are recognized by CDP as 2023 Supplier Engagement Leaders; CN sends a “supply chain salute” to MacroSource, LLC for their new facility in Memphis, Tenn.; and Norfolk Southern (NS) honors customer sustainability achievements.

“We’re investing in the Port of Thunder Bay to redevelop the marshalling yard and increase cargo handling capabilities, to boost Canada’s competitiveness,” said Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez.

Transport Canada: C$6.7MM to Increase Capacity at Port of Thunder Bay

Transport Canada on March 15 announced an investment of up to C$6.7 million for two projects at the Port of Thunder Bay through the National Trade Corridors Fund.

Commentary

BNSF Desperate for an Inflection

The Smokehouse Creek wildfire in Texas, which severed BNSF’s Transcon route on February 27, was the latest in a series of problems that have significantly slowed BNSF’s network and impacted service. After

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