Rail

Friday, May 17, 2013

   AES Logistics and Aljex Software said Thursday the two companies have integrated AES Logistics rates into Aljex hosted software for quick access by Aljex users.    AES is a provider of transportation services and supply chain logistics including truckload, less than truckload (LTL), ocean and air cargo service. Aljex is a provider of hosted transportation management software for brokers, carriers and other transportation providers.    "Integration with AES provides sourci...

Thursday, May 16, 2013

   Governments in Belize, Central America and the Dominican Republic should create an environment that embraces an integrated, intermodal sea-land network, according to a recent report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).    A stronger supply-chain network would help push global trade forward and would also encourage trade exchanges between the countries in the region.    The two authors of the study, Amar Ramudhin and Don Ratliff, posit that a number of initiative...

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

   The upward trend in cargo volumes at the Port of Virginia continued as the number of TEUs handled in April grew 5.7 percent when compared with the same month last year.    In April, the port handled 179,370 TEUs, an increase of 9,726 units compared with April 2012. Export TEUs tallied 96,261 and import TEUs were 83,109, an increase of 6.1 and 5.3 percent, respectively.    Year-to-date TEU volume is up 6.1 percent, an increase of almost 40,000 TEUs. Rail containers in Apr...

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

   Last month, Genesee & Wyoming’s consolidated carloads increased by 7.3 percent, year over year, to 157,700, with the company’s North American activity increasing by 6.4 percent.     Analysts at BB&T Capital Markets have anticipated a second-quarter carload result of around 472,000, an estimate which they now consider to be on the conservative side.    G&W’s best cargo during April came in the form of petroleum products, which shot up 69.9 percent, year o...

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

   The Port of Long Beach is recirculating a draft environmental impact statement for a proposed grain export facility at Pier T on Terminal Island.    The public is being encouraged to comment on the EIR in writing or at a public hearing scheduled for June 5.    The grain transload facility proposed by Total Terminals International would receive railcars with 53-foot domestic containers full of grain and dried distillers grain with solubles, a byproduct of ethanol pro...

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

   The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has adopted a new arbitration program for disputes between shippers and railroads with clear liability limits.    Effective June 12, the rule change establishes when the parties would be ordered to participate in mediation.    Initially, Class I and II railroads were to be automatically enrolled in the arbitration program unless they specifically opted out of the program by application to the board. Class III rail...

Monday, May 13, 2013

   Charles "Wick" Moorman will give up his duties as president of Norfolk Southern Corp. to James Squires, who has been promoted from vice president administration, effective June 1, the company announced Friday along with a series of changes at the vice presidential level.    Moorman will remain chairman and chief executive officer of the Norfolk, Va.-based Class I freight railroad.    In his new role, Squires will be responsible for the company's administration, fina...

Thursday, May 09, 2013

   Denver-based Rocla Concrete Tie, a railroad tie manufacturer, has been acquired by Altus Capital Partners and the company's senior management team from a Belgian holding company.    Financial details of the purchase were not disclosed.    "We are extremely excited about the opportunity of working with Altus Capital Partners to accelerate growth and create additional value through expansion both in the United States and internationally," Rocla's chief executive officer, Pe...

Thursday, May 09, 2013

   DHL Global Forwarding has added daily intermodal services from Shanghai and a weekly service from Chengdu to the European border.    The offerings will use a combination of rail and truck transportation.    According to DHL officials, customers will see faster shipments of up to 21 days compared with ocean shipments and lower transportation costs.    This service offers the option of booking variable capacity — "ranging from a single container to a whole t...

Thursday, May 02, 2013

Allegretti    The American Maritime Partnership (AMP), a trade organization for the U.S. shipping industry, said Thomas Allegretti has been elected as its new chairman.    Allegretti is president and chief executive officer of the American Waterways Operators, a trade group for the tug and barge industry.    He succeeds James Henry, chairman and president of the Transportation Institute, who will serve as AMP’s vice chairman.    “It is an honor to serve ...

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

   Iron ore exports are moving through Southern California's Port of Long Beach for the first time in 40 years.    The port said SA Recycling, a long-time exporter of scrap metal through the port, is working with CML Metals Corp. to send iron ore from mines in Utah, California, Arizona and Nevada to Asian steel makers. ( However, the U.S. Geological Service notes that in 2012, mines in Michigan and Minnesota shipped 97 percent of the usable ore produced in the Unit...

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

   President Obama has named Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx to succeed Ray LaHood as secretary of transportation.    Foxx must now be confirmed by the Senate before taking his post.    LaHood, who has served as transportation secretary since 2009, announced in late January that he would resign his post as soon as a successor was confirmed. In a letter to DOT employees at the time, LaHood noted his successes over the previous four years. The contentious pilot fatigue rulin...

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

   Two members of Congress from Southern California are urging the City of Los Angeles and BNSF Railway to take further steps to mitigate the environmental effects of a planned intermodal container transfer facility to protect the health of Long Beach residents who live close by.    The Southern California International Gateway is planned for construction on property owned by the Port of Los Angeles a few miles from the marine terminals. It is designed to shorten the drive for trucker...

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

   A federal appeals court will soon rule on whether an antitrust case against four railroads that allegedly engaged in price-fixing can be tried in the courts as a class action suit.    Dakota Granite Co., Zinifex Taylor Chemicals and 11 other shippers brought a suit against BNSF, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific in 2007. The plaintiffs alleged the carriers illegally imposed surcharges from 2003 to 2008. In that case, the judge allowed for a class-action su...

Monday, April 29, 2013

   For the first 16 weeks of the year, total railroad traffic in the United States has grown by nearly 1 percent over 2012's figures, according to the Association of American Railroads.    The organization measured total carloads and intermodal units of 8.2 million on April 20, showing a 0.7-perecent bump over last year. Total volume, however, of 4.4 million carloads, represented a 2.3-percent, year over year, drop. Intermodal units were up by 4.6 percent.     In ...

Friday, April 26, 2013

   Industry leaders concurred during testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday that the freight transportation industry is doing a lot to make fleets greener, but said Congress could help reduce air pollution by making it easier to adopt clean energy systems and get infrastructure projects completed that reduce congestion.     Fred Smith, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of FedEx Corp., suggested a reduction in corporate tax rates would help companies ad...

Thursday, April 25, 2013

   VTG Aktiengesellschaft, a European railcar and logistics services provider, and Kuehne + Nagel, a large logistics firm, are planning to merge parts of their rail logistics activities.     Both parties entered a letter of intent this week.    “This merger represents an expansion of the long-term partnership that has existed between VTG and Kuehne + Nagel within the scope of their joint company Transpetrol for more than 20 years,” the...

Thursday, April 25, 2013

   The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday morning that the Port of Mobile was open following an explosion Wednesday evening aboard a gasoline barge owned by Kirby Inland Marine.    The agency said it received the initial notification at 8:40 p.m. that there was a barge explosion between the George Wallace Tunnel and Bankhead Tunnel in Mobile Bay. A total of seven explosions were reported, and the fire has been put out.    Three people were transported to USA Medical Center ...

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

   Pacer International/Ocean World Lines has appointed Al Benki to senior vice president of international logistics in the United States and Europe.    He formerly served as the company’s senior vice president of international logistics for Asia and Europe.    Taking Benki’s place in Asia is Danny Yang, who will serve as managing director for Asia.    Benson Chua has become Pacer International/OWL’s managing director in China, while Andrew Luk continues to manage t...

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

   Communications company Parallel Infrastructure is looking to widen its focus after signing 21 new short-line and regional railroad agreements in the past year.    New development efforts may confront different types of infrastructure and future agreements could focus primarily on the properties of public sector entities.    “We continue to expand our footprint nationwide, forming strategic relationships and adding prime corridor property to our growing communications inf...

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

   Bill Shuster, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman, has formed a special panel of six committee members to create a national infrastructure strategy across all modes.    The panel, which will include six Republicans and five Democrats, is to work for six months to generate recommendations for the next highway bill. Shuster    Shuster is expected to formally announce the panel Tuesday, and the panel will begin meeting April 24.    J...

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

   The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) this week launched a new interactive online mapping application, PhillyFreightFinder.    The application is aimed at highlighting the region's freight network, denoting major freight routes, such as highways, rivers and rail lines, and key hubs of employment and goods movement, including ports and freight centers. The application is interactive, allowing the viewer to explore more than 350 individual features, each with a th...

Friday, April 12, 2013

   The Union Pacific railroad has introduced a dedicated intermodal rail service between the Port of Houston’s Barbours Cut Container Terminal, and its Dallas Intermodal Terminal facility.    UP’s Dallas facility is located 12 miles from downtown Dallas in the city Wilmer, Texas.    “The central location of this rail facility and close proximity to the interstate system will allow a seamless connectivity between some of the largest distribution centers and population c...

Friday, April 12, 2013

   The Indonesian logistics industry is set to grow by 14.5 percent in 2013 on the strength of government initiatives, increased manufacturing activities and a growing economy, according to analysts at Frost & Sullivan.    External trade could reach $446 billion this year, a 16.7 percent growth rate.    Foreign direct investment in Indonesia will grow to $42.7 billion, with a large amount of that going into the mining industry. This mining money will help boost industria...

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

   The U.S. Department of Transportation plans to issue within the next two weeks a notice of funding availability for the fifth round of TIGER grants, Polly Trottenberg, under secretary for policy, said Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors on Capitol Hill.    Officials expect to make awards by late summer or early fall, she said.    The Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) is a discret...

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

   Port Corpus Christi commissioners on Tuesday approved a grant agreement with the U.S. Maritime Administration outlining the terms and conditions for the use of funds to start construction of the Nueces River Rail Yard.     On June 21, 2012, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded a $10 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to the port for phase I construction of the) rail yard. When complete the rail yard will include an ...

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

   In March, intermodal traffic rose by 0.5 percent, year over year, to 933,208 containers, while the number of carloads declined by 0.5 percent to 1.117 million when compared to March 2012, according to the Association of American Railroads.    Intermodal finished the month with the smallest year-over-year gain in nearly a year and a half, while the carload decrease came in as the smallest decrease since January 2012.    The mixed results didn’t inspire much confidence, but...

Monday, April 08, 2013

   Shipment volumes continued their rise last month, jumping 5.8 percent from February to March after a 5.6 percent increase from January to February, according to the Cass Freight Index.    Money spent on freight also rose last month, increasing 6.5 percent compared to February’s number.    According to the Cass report, analysts foresee freight strengthening in the next few months, but since the economy has still not turned a corner, it’s hard to predict how freight will r...

Friday, April 05, 2013

   The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed the 10-year, $370 million deepening of the Port of Los Angeles' main navigation channel and turning basins, enabling the nation's largest container port to receive a new generation of super-size vessels now being deployed.    Deepening the main channel from 45 feet to 53 feet "has been our single-most important infrastructure project," Port Director Geraldine Knatz said in a statement.    Under federal cost-sharing guid...

Thursday, April 04, 2013

   Importers, exporters and other members of the trade community can expect continuity at U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the wake of the retirement of Commissioner David V. Aguilar on Sunday, Allen Gina, assistant commissioner for international trade, said Wednesday in a Webcast to members of the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade (CONECT) at their annual conference in Rhode Island.    Deputy Commissioner Thomas S. Winkowski has become the acting commissioner, a...

Thursday, April 04, 2013

   In its annual report, the European Shippers Council reiterated that the European government needs to safeguard the 32-billion-euro infrastructure allowance that’s part of the Connecting Europe Facility in the 2014-2020 budget.     ESC hopes the budget will be resolved soon and finalized this sometime this year.     The council stressed the importance of the government allocation, saying there’s a total need for 250 billion euros in transportation funds by ...

Thursday, April 04, 2013

   The City of Long Beach is appealing to the Los Angeles City Council not to approve the Southern California International Gateway rail yard project recently forwarded by the Port of Los Angeles.    On Wednesday, the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission formally went on record supporting the city's position, saying the Port of Los Angeles had not done enough to mitigate the impact of noise and diesel emissions from trucks serving the proposed BNSF Railway facility on the residen...

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

   The North American revenue-earning railcar fleet increased by 1 percent in 2012, according to the 2013 North American Freight Railcar Review, published by Railinc.    The revenue-earning fleet is a subset of the total fleet consisting mostly of freight cars.    The 1-percent increase in 2012 was good news for those in the freight industry, as there was almost no increase seen in the previous report. But the fleet is still not at pre-recession levels. While hoppers and bo...

Monday, April 01, 2013

Graham    Sen. Lindsey Graham said he's working on national port legislation that would create a “merit-based” system for funding port infrastructure.    “This bill changes the way we deepen ports and it sets aside money to make sure there will be money there available to us,” he said.    Speaking last month at a meeting of the South Carolina Ports Authority board, Graham described plans to create a $20 billion fund that would include $9 billion for deepening East Coas...

Monday, April 01, 2013

Obama    President Barack Obama made the case for federal investment in transportation infrastructure during a visit to the Port of Miami Friday, where he observed the construction of a $900 million, privately financed port access tunnel that bypasses downtown streets to carry truck traffic between the port and nearby interstate highways.     The president used the event to tout his job-creation policies as he wrestles with Congress about how to bring down the federal ...

Friday, March 29, 2013

   Trucking lead the way among modal trade in January between the United States, Canada and Mexico, finishing the month with a 59.3 percent share of the $90.5 billion in trade, according to the Department of Transportation.    Year over year, truck trading grew by 3 percent.     Rail was responsible for carrying 14.3 percent of the total trade value, a 4.8 percent year-over-year rise, while vessels handled 9.8 percent. Air was only used to carry 3.8 perce...

Friday, March 29, 2013

   The Port of Long Beach on Tuesday broke ground on a major track realignment to remove a railroad bottleneck and development of a rail support yard to help eliminate many truck deliveries on local streets and improve cargo flow.    The $84 million project, one of four rail projects collectively dubbed the "Green Port Gateway," was funded in part by a $17 million TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation and $...

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

   In May, Florida Coastal School of Law will start a number of programs in logistics and transportation law, including a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree, as well as graduate certificates for lawyers and non-lawyers interested in transportation law.    The programs are offered online and can be completed on the student’s schedule any time. The first term for all programs starts May 6.    “Our goal is to train ‘solution brokers,’ well-rounded transportation and logistics profes...

Friday, March 22, 2013

   The Los Angeles Harbor Commission on Thursday approved a 50-year development agreement and lease for BNSF Railway to construct, operate and maintain an intermodal container transfer facility on port property in nearby Wilmington that proponents say would improve cargo handling efficiency.    Currently, import containers that don't move inland from the dock as a block on unit trains are trucked 24 miles downtown to the City of Commerce to BNSF's Hobart Yard. The near-dock inter...

Friday, March 22, 2013

   A recently introduced bill in the U.S. Senate aims to eliminate antitrust exemptions in the rail industry, which according to the American Chemsitry Council, provides railroads with “unique government protections that help shield them from free markets and competition.”    Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and David Vitter, R-La., introduced the bill Thursday.    If passed into law, the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act would, the senators say, eliminate a “captive shipping”...

Friday, March 22, 2013

   Local government and industry officials at three ports on the opposite end of the spectrum in California are lobbying members of Congress and U.S. Customs to adjust how the agency is implementing forced budget cuts because reductions in manpower to clear cargo are beginning to harm the maritime industry, with potential losses of millions of dollars per day just around the corner.     Port stakeholders say their unique circumstances mean that Customs and Border Protection's ini...

Friday, March 22, 2013

   The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has rejected a petition by the Association of American Railroads to consider product and geographic competition when analyzing whether rail rates for coal transportation are reasonable.    The STB stopped including non-transportation factors in its analysis in 1998.      The agency filed its petition in November, saying that indirect competition from sources outside transportation modes was adversely affecting rail rates. P...

Thursday, March 21, 2013

   CenterPoint Properties broke ground this week on a new ACE Hardware distribution center at Wilmer, Texas.    The 450,000-square-foot facility will be situated on 31.3 acres within the 59.9-acre Sunridge Business Park.    The facility will be leased by ACE for 10 years, and is located about 10 miles outside Dallas, along the LBJ Freeway (Interstate-45). The site is also positioned a half mile from Union Pacific’s Dallas intermodal hub. ACE estimates it will bring in ...

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

   The American Society of Civil Engineers has given the nation’s infrastructure a "D+" and estimated the necessary infrastructure investment will reach $3.6 trillion by 2020.    While the organization ranked the current state of the nation’s bridges and rail both at "C+" and gave U.S. ports at a "C," roads and aviation infrastructure were both given Ds.    In the organization’s Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, released every four years, modal infrastructure i...

Friday, March 08, 2013

   The rail industry opposes a competitive switching proposal made by the National Industrial Transportation League that is being considered by federal regulators both because it is a “property rights question” and for service reasons, said Matthew Rose, BNSF chairman and chief executive officer.    The NIT League proposal, which is backed by several other shipper groups, would make it easier for shippers to make railroads switch freight from one railroad to another.    “It...

Friday, March 08, 2013

   The Los Angeles Harbor Commission on Thursday certified the final Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) intermodal railyard, which it said would increase the efficiency and competitiveness of moving containerized cargo through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.    BNSF will invest $500 million in the rail container transfer facility, which will be located on 185 aces four miles north of the ports.    ...

Thursday, March 07, 2013

   Katoen Natie USA will invest $150 million to build a plastics storage, packaging and distribution facility for petrochemical shippers in Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana Economic Development announced Wednesday.    A company official said the facility will handle the increased chemical production resulting from the booming growth of shale gas production in the United States.    The U.S. subsidiary of the Antwerp, Belgium-based logistics company Katoen Natie NV selected Lo...

Thursday, March 07, 2013

   BNSF Railway later this year will begin testing liquefied natural gas in a small number of locomotives, the company said Wednesday.    The demonstration program aims to determine if the alternative is viable as a power source for long-distance freight moves. Potential benefits include reduced fuel costs and emissions of greenhouse gas and diesel particulates.    Matthew Rose, chairman and chief executive officer of the holding company Burlington Nothern Sa...

Thursday, March 07, 2013

   This Sunday emergency response agencies around the port of Los Angeles and Long Beach port complex will conduct a full-scale exercise that will provide a “vivid depiction of a unified command working together on a simulated incident” inside the Alameda Corridor.    The drill, which will take place between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., will include the L.A. Fire Department, L.A. County Fire Department, Vernon Fire Department, Compton Fire Department, L.A. Police Department, L.A. ...

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

   The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has named eight new industry members to sit on the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee, including two experts from the air cargo sector.    The 13th COAC convenes today in Washington for the first meeting of its new term.    COAC provides policy-making advice about commercial operations to the secretaries of DHS and Treasury, but primarily works with U.S. Customs and Border Protection within DHS.    DHS ad...

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

   Norfolk Southern is no longer sorting manifest railcars and building blocks of cars by destination at its yard in Roanoke, Va., because it is uneconomical, the railroad announced last week.    The volume of general merchandise cars there has declined by about 30 percent since 2006, and the geographical location and layout of the Roanoke yard made it expensive to operate and redundant within the NS network, the railroad said.    The Roanoke Terminal will continu...

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

   The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered Norfolk Southern Railway Co. to pay $1.2 million to three workers for wrongfully terminating them for reporting workplace injuries, in violation of whistleblower provisions in the Federal Railroad Safety Act.    The company has also been ordered to expunge the disciplinary records of the three workers, post a notice regarding employees' whistleblower protection rights and train workers on these rights, the Lab...

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

   The European Shippers Council has denounced a European Court’s recent judgment that gave a Deutsche Bahn subsidiary management of the German railways.    The European Union had brought a court challenge alleging that Germany wasn’t properly adhering to unbundling, a measure in the current EU railway package that separates rail transport and infrastructure management services, achieving a greater level of competition in the European railway sector.    The court ruled, how...

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

   Auto dealers and wholesalers who buy used vehicles via Ally Financial’s SmartAuction online now have the option to transport them via ShipCarsNow.    ShipCarsNow, a Union Pacific subsidiary, provides auto transport throughout the United States via door-to-door rail and direct truck service. It’s connected with other Class I railroads and more than 7,000 trucks to provide SmartAuction the ability to transport cars.    “As the used vehicle market continues to gain momentum,...

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

   U.S. Customs is using plans for how to resume business in the wake of a natural or man-made disaster as a guideline for dealing with the forced budget cuts that went into effect March 1, the agency said in a memo over the weekend outlining how it will try to minimize the impact of the sequester process.    Officials reiterated that they are eliminating overtime work and personnel will begin to to lose a day per pay period in unpaid leave in mid-April. Their strategy redirects...

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

   A congressional watchdog agency found that agriculture inspection fees collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service continue to come up short.    Specifically, the Government Accountability Office’s analysis discovered a more than $325 million gap between fee revenues and total program costs in fiscal year 2011, or 38 percent of Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) program costs. APHIS, for example, does not collect AQI fees...

Monday, March 04, 2013

   The National Industrial Transportation League said Friday it estimates shippers could save more than $900 million if the U.S. Surface Transportation Board would increase competition by giving shippers greater ability to have freight switched between railroads.    During a telephone press conference, NIT League President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Carlton discussed a comprehensive study and analysis of the League's proposed new rule to govern competitive or rec...

Friday, March 01, 2013

   The $754 million hit that U.S. Customs will take to its budget through Oct. 1 under the automatic federal budget cuts that kick in today will significantly decrease the efficiency of port operations, agency officials have told industry stakeholders in a series of outreach sessions.    Customs and Border Protection leaders on Friday held a conference call with several trade associations to outline where they were making cutbacks and how the reduced manpower would impact operat...

Friday, March 01, 2013

   Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., on Thursday introduced new legislation to address current problems facing locks and dams on inland waterways.    Casey said the Reinvesting In Vital Economic Rivers and Waterways Act of 2013, also known as the RIVER Act, will help ensure locks and dams projects stay on schedule and on budget. This bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., will also increase the overall investment in waterways projects.    Casey hi...

Thursday, February 28, 2013

   Across-the-board funding cuts mandated to take effect on Friday would cut deeply into U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations, potentially doubling wait times from two to four or five hours for travelers and commercial trucks at air, land, and sea ports, agency leaders reiterated to industry trade associations in a conference call on Friday, according to one of the groups.    In testimony on Capitol Hill earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said t...