Maersk Launches New Intermodal Container Service in Russia

April 22, 2020 - Maersk’s offer of intermodal solutions for the Russian market is expanding, with the new container service launched in April, connecting the port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea with the dry port Vorsino near Moscow (Kaluga region). The new service is offered by Maersk jointly with Russian partners Ruscon group and Transcontainer JSC and offers a reliable solution for containers arriving to Novorossiysk on Maersk’s ocean services and destined for customers in Moscow and neighbouring regions. At destination, customers can then choose between an end-to-end solution, where containers are delivered by Maersk directly to their premises, and self-pickup from Vorsino inland container terminal.

“With this solution, we want to meet the needs of our customers located in the Russian capital area with a product that brings their cargo closer to their warehouses, production facilities or shops. We offer them the flexibility of picking up their cargo on their own, or using a door-to-door option, based on their preference”, comments Zsolt Katona, Managing Director of Maersk in Eastern Europe.

The service was launched in test mode already in January 2020, and since then has been structured with a weekly frequency, as originally planned. Transit time from Novorossiysk port to destination is 50 hours. The train is dispatched from the Novorossiysk terminal every Thursday at 5 am and reaches Vorsino on Saturdays at 7 am.

About Maersk

A.P. Moller - Maersk is an integrated container logistics company working to connect and simplify its customers’ supply chains. The company operates in 130 countries and employs roughly 76,000 people. Its mission is to enable and facilitate global supply chains and provide opportunities for our customers to trade globally.

SOURCE: Maersk

Special Freight Railcars Could Travel at High Speeds, Federal Researchers Show

April 21, 2020 - For at least the past decade, America’s railroads have been toying with the notion of freight trains moving at speeds approaching some passenger bullet trains.

Now, a new Federal Railroad Administration demonstration study has concluded that specially designed “higher speed freight truck” railcars could be designed for travel on some existing tracks carrying 70 tons per car at speeds of up to 106.5 miles per hour — or even 125 mph using more powerful locomotives.

That would be quite a feat. Trains carrying freight are currently allowed to travel at speeds of up to 70 mph or 80 mph, but unloaded many trains generally only travel from 40-50 mph, according to FRA researchers.

FRA said it could not yet say exactly when such speed freight trains might become reality, but officials say the whole idea is to travel fast enough to open new rail markets and sweeten the revenues of the nation’s railroads.

In a statement to Transport Topics, federal rail regulators said that the faster trains would not be aimed at cutting into markets currently serviced by motor carriers.

Instead, the agency’s March study, titled Validating a 70-Ton Higher Speed Freight Truck Design: Phase II, was largely aimed at an “analysis of potential opportunities. In other words, it was not designed to compete with trucking motor carriers.”

A 2013 study estimated that the potential additional rail revenue from higher speed freight for freight railroads could exceed $4.6 billion annually, and would add approximately $460 million to the freight railroads’ annual profit stream.

“Additionally, there is at least some percentage of another potential $28 billion annual market in long distance road transportation that could be converted to rail, if it included higher speed freight service,” said the 2013 study.

Potential new markets identified by FRA include dedicated train sets like refrigerator car trains, long-distance produce shipments, and overnight city pairs, in addition to the expected markets such as mail and parcel service, FRA said in the statement.

Darrin Roth, vice president of highway policy for American Trucking Associations, said a major factor in deploying the trains will require capital investment in both track and rolling stock.

“On the types of high-density lanes where these trains would likely operate, significant new capacity would likely be necessary because they tend to be at or near capacity already,” Roth said. “That capital investment is likely to be very high and may not be cost-effective.”

FRA said it could not project when such trains could be put into operation.

“The horizon for such trains to begin operation is likely to be driven by market conditions rather than technology availability considerations,” the agency said. “FRA is not in a position to make predictions about market conditions and the resulting horizon for the beginning of operations.”

“In summary, the previous effort [2013] demonstrated good market potential and operating economics for higher speed freight service, and established that the higher speed train prototype could meet the dynamic and structural requirements expected in higher speed freight operations,” the Phase II study concluded. “The purpose of this Phase II effort was to evaluate and confirm the dynamic performance of the prototype higher speed trains through field testing including the higher speed stability regime.”

SOURCE: Transport Topics

China-Europe Freight Train Service Resumed in Wuhan

April 8, 2020 - China-Europe freight train service from Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province, resumed regular operations on Saturday, March 28, allowing more goods such as medical supplies and daily necessities to flow more efficiently between the two regions, according to the Wuhan branch of the China State Railway Group.

On Saturday morning, the X8015/6 rail carrying 50 cargo containers left the Wuhan station en route to central Europe. It is the first freight train of its kind to leave Wuhan after the COVID-19 outbreak began, and it is estimated to reach Duisburg, Germany in 15 days.

Nearly 90 percent of all goods aboard were produced locally in Wuhan, including 166.4 metric tons of medical supplies such as medical fabrics. There were also auto parts, electronics and telecommunication cables on the train, and all these goods would aid in pandemic control and construction projects in European countries such as Germany, France, Hungry, the Czech Republic and Poland.

The company said the normalization of railroad operations marked the city’s logistics and production are gradually recovering from the epidemic, and will serve as a strong support for commerce and trade.

The train’s schedule and operations have been optimized to be more efficient, with some fees on international goods and relevant paperwork waived to save time during this global health crisis. More freight trains ferrying goods between the two regions will likely be in place in the future.

From March 23 to 26, the China-Europe freight train service connecting Hefei, Anhui province, and Europe had resumed operation. It traveled to Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, carrying goods including cars, refrigerators, washing machines, auto parts, electronics and many medical supplies.

SOURCE: China Daily

AAR Reports Total Carloads and Intermodal Units Down 7.6 Percent in Week 11

March 23, 2020 – The Association of American Railroads (AAR) on March 18 reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 14, 2020 (Week 11).

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 463,017 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.6 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending March 14 were 226,039 carloads, down 5.9 percent compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 236,978 containers and trailers, down 9.1 percent compared to 2019.

“Intermodal, rather than other rail sectors, is likely to see the earliest impacts from the coronavirus because large amounts of intermodal traffic go to or come from ports – roughly half of U.S. intermodal is exports or imports,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray.

“Unfortunately, extensive flooding and harsh winter weather last year at this time complicate comparisons between this year and last year.  That said, the fact that overall intermodal originations last week were the lowest for the same week since 2013 is strong evidence that the coronavirus is impacting intermodal volumes. This is emphasized by the fact four of the five carriers of intermodal traffic from west coast ports, the principal gateways serving the Chinese trade, saw declines in their intermodal business handled. Similar declines in the East also suggest that the problem has begun to spread to other regions of the supply chain”

Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2019. They included grain, up 1,288 carloads, to 19,911; motor vehicles and parts, up 1,180 carloads, to 19,104; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,164 carloads, to 13,294. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 16,545 carloads, to 55,542; nonmetallic minerals, down 2,468 carloads, to 30,254; and metallic ores and metals, down 992 carloads, to 19,975.

Forest Products

Total carloads of North American rail traffic for forest products in Week 11 were 16,441, down 3.7% compared to the same week in 2019. The forest products category include: primary forest products, lumber & wood products, and pulp & paper products.

For the first 11 weeks of 2020, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 2,549,159 carloads, down 6.2 percent from the same point last year; and 2,712,444 intermodal units, down 7.8 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 11 weeks of 2020 was 5,261,603 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 7 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending March 14, 2020, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 332,044 carloads, down 3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 312,938 intermodal units, down 9.8 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 644,982 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.4 percent. North American rail volume for the first 11 weeks of 2020 was 7,223,977 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.3 percent compared with 2019.

Canadian railroads reported 84,612 carloads for the week, up 6.3 percent, and 60,886 intermodal units, down 12.8 percent compared with the same week in 2019. For the first 11 weeks of 2020, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,553,013 carloads, containers and trailers, down 1.6 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 21,393 carloads for the week, down 5.0 percent compared with the same week last year, and 15,074 intermodal units, down 8.9 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 11 weeks of 2020 was 409,361 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 4.2 percent from the same point last year.

SOURCE: Association of American Railroads (AAR)