Tracking the speed, dwell and cars of Class I railroads

Posted on December 6, 2021 by | 1 comment

This interactive page shows key information about Class I railroads in the US. It displays the average speed of trains while moving, average dwell time in a yard waiting to be switched or unloaded, and the number of cars in service. You can select the figures for each Class I rail, and the time shown on the graphs, start and end.

The data comes from the Surface Transportation Board compilation of data provided by the railroads themselves, and is probably a bit late due to the deadlines for submitting figures.

The graph of speed for BNSF is especially interesting. It shows a recent spectacular jump, from under 25 mph to over 26 mph. Clearly the message is getting through to rails that they’d better move cargo.

Dwell time, spent sitting in yards waiting to be switched on, has for BNSF been rising recently, pointing to a new bottleneck. It had better start working on these problems.

We also don’t see which particular sites or segments of the rail line are contributing to the changes in the figures. That’s for each rail to figure out and make corrections. But seeing an overview of what’s going on will provide motivation for rails to do their part to keep congestion down. And a rail does not want to be perceived as slow-moving, for sure.

I hope we can count on the authors to keep updating this page, so the visibility will provide an incentive for rails to improve.

By Matt Leonard and Nami Sumida Updated December 6, 2021

https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/railroad-speed-dwell-carsonline-bnsf-csx-up-cn-cp-kcs-ns/588233/

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FedEx will sell space on empty container imports as a congestion-bypass service

Posted on December 6, 2021 by | Leave a comment

And much more!

One thing that captured my attention in this nice article by Max Garland is the increasing use of 53 foot containers for imports to the US. This is a natural development, too long in coming as long as the US imports so much stuff. It saves the transloading step in SoCal once 40-foot containers get here; they can be moved immediately. A 53-foot container has 30% more cargo per truck move, and can be taken straight to a destination. No longer a reason to transload.

Another interesting point highlighted in the headline is FedEx’s offer to transport cargo in the new containers they are having built in China. I understand 53-foot containers are often being moved on refitted bulk ships rather than standard container ships which have slots for 40-foot containers. And these ships would move outside standard liner routes, which means they can choose where to drop off the containers. Perhaps they can go to ports that would avoid high congestion points. Often they are smaller as well, and take a shorter time to unload.

The article also discusses the jawboning that is taking place to get players in supply chains to move cargo quicker. Apparently the move toward 24-hour service in the supply chain has not gone too far, but some big players are already adopting the idea of it. Maybe the port terminals in LA and Long Beach won’t be able to do it, but the warehouses, trucking firms, and gate access points can, and even that will improve the flow of goods.

When people understand the whole problem and put their heads together, the congestion will abate. And they will figure out how to share the cost pain of doing so. It’s a lot more costly when you don’t have goods for sale on time.

Published Dec. 6, 2021

Max Garland Reporter

FedEx will sell space on empty container imports as a congestion-bypass service | Supply Chain Dive

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How to make a billion when your ships are stuck at anchor

Posted on December 2, 2021 by | 1 comment

This article tells the tale of Zim, the Israeli ocean liner firm, which features Asia to West Coast US routes. The article tells a lot about Zim’s business focus, and its status.

Apparently they earned over a billion dollars, while blanking sailings on some routes as much as 67%. On the ZX2 route, Zim only sailed 9 out of 27 times, blanking the other 18. On the ZX3 route, half the sailings were blanked.

How can you make more money by not sailing as often? Try making the customer wait for the product!

Greg Miller, Senior Editor Follow on TwitterWednesday, November 17, 2021

How to make a billion when your ships are stuck at anchor – FreightWaves

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