CN

At Rail Trends: Grants, real estate key to short line rail growth

Short lines are on the headpin as the North American rail business embraces a welcome rebound.

“It’s been a tumultuous eight years but the railroad industry is turning a corner as a whole, and that’s where [short lines] are going,” said Chuck Baker, president and chief executive of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, speaking at the Rail Trends conference in New York.

“This year I have visited with all six Class 1s and they all have engaged short line teams. They all say...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/at-rail-trends-money-real-estate-key-to-short-line-rail-growth

New contract in sight for CN, Teamsters

Two months after a labor dispute shut down Canada’s rail network, a decision by the country’s labor board has sent the dispute to mediation between Canadian National and its largest union.

Mediation meetings between CN (NYSE: CNI) and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference are slated over seven days in March 2025, the railroad said in a statement Wednesday. If a mediated settlement is not reached in that time, arbitration will be scheduled to take place in April. The arbitrator will then have 60...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/new-contract-in-sight-for-cn-teamsters

CN revenue up 3% on rebound from wildfires, work stoppage 

Canadian National Railway saw modest revenue gains as wildfires and a work stoppage slowed operations in the third quarter.

Revenue was $2.97 billion in the quarter ending Sept. 30, up 3% from the year-ago quarter. Operating income of $1.1 billion was unchanged from a year ago.

The railroad’s operating ratio, or operating expenses as a percentage of revenues, a key indicator, was 63.1%, up 1.1 percentage points from the year-ago period.

Earnings totaled $1.72 per share, up 2%.

window.googletag =...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cn-revenue-up-3-on-rebound-from-wildfires-work-stoppage

Intermodal powers to record volume

Recovery flows and the looming threat of an East Coast port strike helped push intermodal volume to record highs for the week ending Sept. 14.

The Association of American Railroads on Wednesday reported U.S. rail traffic was 522,557 carloads and intermodal units, up 6.8% from the same week in 2023.

Intermodal volume soared to 290,403 containers and trailers, up 13% compared to the same week in 2023 and ahead of all other carloads for the week ending Sept. 14 at 232,154 carloads, unchanged from a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/intermodal-powers-to-record-volume

Impact minimal from Canada rail shutdown 

In Canada, railroad union contract talks and trains came to a near-simultaneous halt, but shippers and logistics executives said the recovery has been almost as swift.

“The work stoppage situation was resolved so quickly, we are not seeing much impact on the recovery,” Shelli Austin, president, InTek Freight & Logistics, based in Indianapolis, said in an email to FreightWaves. “We actually saw more impact on the pro-active planning leading up to the work stoppage.”

The Canada Industrial Relations...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/impact-minimal-from-canada-rail-shutdown

Minnesota DOT seeks comments on freight plan

Trucking and intermodal access highlight the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s proposed all-modes State Freight Plan for future infrastructure investments.

The DOT is asking for public comments on the plan website through Sept. 18. Federal regulations require every state to formulate the review and outlook. The plan covers trucking, railroads, water transport, pipelines and air cargo.

In addition to business, markets and infrastructure trends, the plan details changes in population...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/minnesota-dot-seeks-comments-on-freight-plan

Teamsters Canada returning to work at CN; work stoppage continues at CPKC

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference has taken down its picket lines at Canadian National Railway and will begin returning to work, the union said in a brief statement early Friday.

But the union said the work stoppage continues at Canadian Pacific Kansas City pending an order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board, acting on Thursday’s order from Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon. “Despite the Labour Minister’s referral,” the TCRC said in its statement, “there is no clear indication that the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/teamsters-canada-returning-to-work-at-cn-work-stoppage-continues-at-cpkc

Railroads, unions trade charges as shutdown begins

Canada’s largest railroads, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, early Thursday locked out 9,300 union employees represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), shutting down the country’s rail network in a move that is expected to disrupt supply chains across North America.  

The lockout of train crews and control personnel at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Thursday had been expected after no progress was reported in contract bargaining with federal mediators that ran late...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/railroads-unions-trade-charges-as-shutdown-begins

Union voting on whether to extend strike threat by CN, CPKC rail workers

The union representing more than 9,000 CN and CPKC workers has organized a second strike vote amid stalled contract negotiations with the railroads.

“It is clear we cannot rely on a timely conclusion to these unfortunate circumstances and must protect our rights regardless of outcome,” the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) said in a news release. On May 1, CN and CPKC rail workers voted to authorize a strike that could have begun on May 22.

Canadian Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan referred...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/union-voting-on-whether-to-extend-strike-threat-by-cn-cpkc-rail-workers

Canada’s labor board delays start of potential CN, CPKC rail strike

The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) is reviewing whether a strike by railworkers at CN and CPKC would jeopardize Canadians’ health and safety.

The review delays a possible strike by operating crews with CN and CPKC that could have begun as early as May 22 and could halt the shipment of $1 billion worth of goods per day in Canada, according to RailState, a company that monitors freight trends across the country.

Canadian Minister of Labor Seamus O’Regan Jr. announced Thursday on social...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/canadas-labor-board-delays-start-of-potential-cn-cpkc-rail-strike

+ More