CSX, one of the largest North American intermodal rail providers by volume, is pledging that it will take more freight off the roads n the coming years, promising to hire more while employers are struggling to fill jobs, reports IHS Media.
'The reasons that railroads have not grown historically is because they have a product that's not as good as the truck in terms of reliability,' said csx Transportation CEO James Foote.
'For decades, this industry has ceded share to trucking, and at CSX we are focused on reversing that trend.'
Mr Foote went before the US Surface Transportation Board to get its support for CSX's purchase of Pan Am Railways, a short-line railway in the US Northeast.
The acquisition would help move more containers that are traveling on the crowded I-95 truck corridor to underused rail tracks throughout New England.
'Anybody that can grow their freight railroad at one-and-half times GDP would be off-the-charts rockstars,' said Mr Foote.
'It hasn't been done since deregulation.'
The pledge to get more containers and other freight on the rails comes as Class I railways see limited growth in their intermodal business.
The six largest North American rail carriers hauled 18.7 million containers during 2021.
It would represent a five per cent increase over the amount hauled in 2020.
Meanwhile, 2021 container imports into the US rose 13.7 per cent over 2020.
As for railroads, CSX saw the highest growth for 2021 with container volumes up 10 per cent relative to 2020.
During the third quarter, CSX declared its intermodal trains were on time in 88 per cent of cases.
However, train speeds were down 10 per cent and delays were up eight per cent for its network.
CSX stated both metrics should improve from ongoing hiring efforts and actions being taken to offset the current supply chain challenges.
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'The reasons that railroads have not grown historically is because they have a product that's not as good as the truck in terms of reliability,' said csx Transportation CEO James Foote.
'For decades, this industry has ceded share to trucking, and at CSX we are focused on reversing that trend.'
Mr Foote went before the US Surface Transportation Board to get its support for CSX's purchase of Pan Am Railways, a short-line railway in the US Northeast.
The acquisition would help move more containers that are traveling on the crowded I-95 truck corridor to underused rail tracks throughout New England.
'Anybody that can grow their freight railroad at one-and-half times GDP would be off-the-charts rockstars,' said Mr Foote.
'It hasn't been done since deregulation.'
The pledge to get more containers and other freight on the rails comes as Class I railways see limited growth in their intermodal business.
The six largest North American rail carriers hauled 18.7 million containers during 2021.
It would represent a five per cent increase over the amount hauled in 2020.
Meanwhile, 2021 container imports into the US rose 13.7 per cent over 2020.
As for railroads, CSX saw the highest growth for 2021 with container volumes up 10 per cent relative to 2020.
During the third quarter, CSX declared its intermodal trains were on time in 88 per cent of cases.
However, train speeds were down 10 per cent and delays were up eight per cent for its network.
CSX stated both metrics should improve from ongoing hiring efforts and actions being taken to offset the current supply chain challenges.
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