U.S. Railway Delays
Freight moving through U.S. railways are facing delays lasting several days and sometimes weeks. Issues related to inclement weather and surges of import cargo, from peak season holiday shipping, are just some of the contributing factors adding to congested freight yards causing delays.
On December 1st, a mixed-freight, Norfolk Southern train on its way to New York from Indiana was derailed near Amherst, OH. Fortunately, there was no hazardous material involved however normal train service was not restored on the main lines near Amherst until December 3rd requiring rail traveling through the area to use alternate routes, in an effort to mitigate further delays.
Restrictions on Rail
To better ensure smooth operations at intermodal facilities, BNSF Railway has imposed restrictions on channel partners, limiting the number of trailers and shipping containers loaded onto trains leaving Chicago and Los Angeles. Norfolk Southern Railway, too, has responded to the volume increase by restricting truckers from bringing freight into the 63rd Street terminal in Chicago on Monday, December 14th. One of this terminal’s primary focus is serving parcel carriers, and therefore two-way interline and local shipments were blocked to keep the terminal operating efficiently.
This comes at a time when cargo moving through the United States is unusually high, compared to years past. Fourth quarter intermodal volumes are up an average of 9% year-over-year with BNSF Railway seeing the highest increase in volume at 12.3% year-over-year.
The growth in volume can largely be attributed to the rise in e-commerce and parcel volumes which have obstructed U.S. railway networks for months.
As Green continues to monitor the situation, stay up-to-date on freight news by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. For continuous updates, make sure to check out our website at greenworldwide.com.
