Intermodal

J.B. Hunt’s long-term intermodal growth plan weighs on Q1 result

J.B. Hunt Transport Services said it would stay the course, increasing intermodal capacity ahead of demand to avoid the service failures the industry experienced during the pandemic. That means carrying a higher cost burden and potentially posting earnings misses like it did in the 2024 first quarter.

The multimodal provider reported first-quarter earnings per share of $1.22 Tuesday after the market closed, 31 cents light of the consensus estimate and 67 cents lower year over year (y/y). A...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/j-b-hunts-long-term-intermodal-growth-plan-weighs-on-q1-result

J.B. Hunt posts big Q1 earnings miss

J.B. Hunt Transport Services missed first-quarter expectations Tuesday, reporting earnings per share of $1.22 compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53. A higher tax rate was a 7-cent headwind in the quarter.

Intermodal revenue fell 9% year over year (y/y) as revenue per load was off by a similar amount (down 5% from the fourth quarter). Total loads were flat y/y but 9% lower than in the fourth quarter. A 92.7% operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenue) was 370 basis...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/j-b-hunt-posts-q1-earnings-miss

FMC building case for new container data-sharing rules

WASHINGTON — The Federal Maritime Commission is seeking another round of comments from container line operators and their customers as part of its quest to build the case for potential new mandates on container shipment data sharing.

The FMC wants to supplement an information request issued last year along with a May 2023 report on the agency’s Maritime Transportation Data Initiative (MTDI). That project, led by Commissioner Carl Bentzel, attempts to measure the extent to which shipment data is...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmc-building-case-for-new-container-data-sharing-rules

Selling profitably on Amazon becomes even harder

Amazon imposes inventory-placement fees and low-inventory fees

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

For anyone involved with selling through Amazon, I recommend going through the latest newsletter published by Cartograph, a company that helps brands sell profitably on Amazon. I interviewed Chris Moe, Cartograph’s CEO, on past The Stockout shows. Those discussions impressed upon me that brands must understand, and play by, Amazon’s numerous and frequently changing rules in order to sell profitably...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/selling-profitably-on-amazon-becomes-even-harder

Baltimore port closure puts truck drivers who haul autos in a bind

With the closure of the Port of Baltimore for the foreseeable future, the question of which truck drivers are most affected inevitably focuses first on drayage.

But Baltimore is not a major intermodal port, with estimates that its share of U.S. intermodal traffic is in the low single digits.

What the Port of Baltimore is, however, is a huge gateway for automobile imports and, to a lesser extent, car exports. And that fact is likely to shake up the niche truck segment of auto haulers.

Guy Young is...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/baltimore-port-closure-puts-truck-drivers-who-haul-autos-in-a-bind

DOT confirms boost in West Coast container imports

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced on Wednesday it is gaining ground on its ability to help importers and container vessel operators navigate shifts in freight flows with new information it is publishing from inland rail terminals and warehouses.

The increase in timely ocean container import data being supplied by private industry into the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Freight Logistics Optimizations Works (FLOW) initiative confirms what has been predicted since earlier in the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dot-confirms-boost-in-west-coast-container-imports

Port of Huntsville handles record intermodal rail volume in 2023

Intermodal traffic continues to expand at the Port of Huntsville in north Alabama.

The port recorded 27,597 container rail lifts at its intermodal center in 2023, a 24% year-over-year increase compared to 2022.

“The key is our customer base is really expanding,” Butch Roberts, CEO of the Port of Huntsville, told FreightWaves. “We have Mazda and Toyota right here in our community; they’re becoming big players. What we’re happy about is that the growth is diverse, it’s different folks adding to it....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/port-of-huntsville-handles-record-intermodal-rail-volume-in-2023

Biden administration rolls out power grid plan for electric trucks

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has selected 12,000 miles of freight-heavy interstates and the country’s largest container ports to begin a 16-year plan to deploy battery-charging and hydrogen-refueling stations for electric trucks.

The four-phase National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy, unveiled Tuesday, initially targets local and regional “return-to-base” trucking operations, first- and last-mile delivery, and port drayage while gradually accommodating long-haul trucking.

A core...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/biden-administration-rolls-out-power-grid-plan-for-electric-trucks

Burning of chemicals after Ohio derailment was unnecessary, NTSB head says

There was no need to burn dangerous chemicals in rail cars in order to prevent an explosion after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board told a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday.

Under questioning by Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Jennifer Homendy testified before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee that temperatures in the cars had stabilized well before the burn was conducted and were too...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/burning-of-chemicals-after-ohio-derailment-was-unnecessary

IMC Logistics acquires California carrier American Pacific Transportation

Memphis, Tennessee-based intermodal logistics provider IMC Logistics has acquired American Pacific Transportation, boosting the company’s drayage truck capacity across California.

“As a result of this acquisition, we will have more than 500 trucks in California, signifying our commitment to our customers in this region,” Joel Henry, IMC’s CEO, said in a news release.

American Pacific Transportation has locations in Calexico, Chino, Commerce, San Diego and Lompoc, California. The carrier has...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/imc-logistics-acquires-california-carrier-american-pacific-transportation

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