Through 2017’s first half, total U.S. carloads rose 4.5 percent and total Canadian carloads climbed 11.8 percent compared with first-half 2016 figures, according to Association of American Railroads data. But the traffic rise in both nations after a prolonged period of declines spanning several years hasn’t yet translated into significantly more rail cars entering Class […]

Shortly after President Donald Trump took office in January, he warned that the United States would exit the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) if the pact wasn’t renegotiated in the nation’s favor. The leaders of hundreds of U.S. companies that generate business in Canada and Mexico – including the Class Is – grew anxious […]

Chicago area draymen are charging shippers surcharges of $75 and even double that for every load moving through one of Canadian National Railway’s intermodal terminals even as th railroad said operations have returned to “near-normal levels.” According to CN, reported five-hour-long wait times at the Harvey, Illinois, terminal, which are a product of “unplanned network […]

The Railway Supply Institute ARCI (American Railway Car Institute) Committee on July 25 published its railcar industry order, delivery and backlog statistics for second-quarter 2017. Orders in the quarter improved sequentially to 17,665 cars from 4,814 cars in the first quarter. Deliveries of 10,625 railcars increased 5.8% from 10,042 railcars. The backlog now stands at […]

According to Cowen and Company’s Second-Quarter 2017 Rail Shipper Survey, respondents are anticipating price increases of 3.0% over the next 6-12 months, up 40 basis points from 2.6% in Cowen’s 1Q17 survey and the highest level since 4Q15.