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West to east coast cargo shift makes trucks cheaper than rail
来源：shippingazette 编辑：编辑部 发布：2023/01/28 15:33:10
NORTH American railways fear international container volume will drop in 2023 because of the east to west coast port cargo shift, reports New York's Journal of Commerce.
A smaller percentage of loads arriving at east coast ports are railed because the length of haul is shorter, making truck rates more competitive.
Containers travelling by rail fell seven per cent year on year in the first 10 months of 2022, according to the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).
Intermodal rail service was below par for the second straight year due to chronic chassis shortages and container backlogs at rail terminals in Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City and Memphis.
The BNSF and the Union Pacific, for example, were forced to stack containers at several "wheeled" facilities, where containers are normally pre-mounted on chassis.
Norfolk Southern opened auxiliary lots to handle the overflow ocean containers. As a result, some importers will continue to limit their use of intermodal until railways and chassis providers can prove they have overcome the challenges of the last two years.
Instead, those shippers are turning to domestic intermodal or trucking to get goods inland from the ports.
The migration of discretionary cargo from the west to the east and Gulf Coasts ports accelerated in the lead up to the west coast longshore labour talks that began in May. That acceleration continued through the end of the year.
A smaller percentage of loads arriving at east coast ports are railed because the length of haul is shorter, making truck rates more competitive.
Containers travelling by rail fell seven per cent year on year in the first 10 months of 2022, according to the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).
Intermodal rail service was below par for the second straight year due to chronic chassis shortages and container backlogs at rail terminals in Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City and Memphis.
The BNSF and the Union Pacific, for example, were forced to stack containers at several "wheeled" facilities, where containers are normally pre-mounted on chassis.
Norfolk Southern opened auxiliary lots to handle the overflow ocean containers. As a result, some importers will continue to limit their use of intermodal until railways and chassis providers can prove they have overcome the challenges of the last two years.
Instead, those shippers are turning to domestic intermodal or trucking to get goods inland from the ports.
The migration of discretionary cargo from the west to the east and Gulf Coasts ports accelerated in the lead up to the west coast longshore labour talks that began in May. That acceleration continued through the end of the year.