Despite US rail carloads declining 3.1% in 2012, intermodal
usage continued to increase. For 2012, rail intermodal increased 3.2% helped by increasing automobile manufacturing. This
increase was just 0.1% off of the 2006 record. More than likely a new record would
have been set in 2012 if not for the labor strike at the ports of Los Angeles
and Long Beach in late November and also Super storm Sandy which caused serious
disruption of rail and port operations on the US east coast.
Source: Ti Dashboard
One record the Association of American Railroads noted that
was set was that of the use of containers. In 2012, container volume on US
railroads represented 87% of total intermodal volume, up from 69% in 2000. The
ease of unloading and double stacking of containers attributed to the increase.
US Class I railroads all recorded increases in intermodal
for the year. For the East Coast railroads, CSX reported a 7.4% increase while
Norfolk Southern reported a 4.4% increase. For the West Coast, Union Pacific
reported a 2.0% increase and BNSF reported a 2.6% increase. The smaller Kansas City
Southern Railroad reported a 6.0% decline; however its Kansas City Southern
Mexican subsidiary reported an 8.7% increase. This increase was due to the
large volume of automobiles that were moved into the US from Mexico.
The railroads are optimistic for 2013 as all intend to focus on
increasing carloads by targeting the energy industry but intermodal is also a major
focus. For Norfolk Southern, the railroad plans to increase capacity to handle
additional highway conversions and East Coast imports by establishing new
Crescent Corridor terminals in Memphis, Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama, and
Greencastle, Pennsylvania. Beginning in January, the company also plans to
introduce new long-haul service lanes through Birmingham to the West, Mexico
and the Northeast via terminals in Greencastle and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
In 2012, CSX invested in its National Gateway double-stack
intermodal corridor from Mid-Atlantic ports to the Midwest. New or expanded
intermodal terminals are under way in Columbus, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina;
Cincinnati, Ohio; and Worcester, Massachusetts. According to the company, "This
expanded intermodal capacity will be an important part of competing for an
estimated 9 million truckloads that currently have a length of haul of more
than 550 miles in CSX-served markets."
For Kansas City Southern, the railroad plans to continue to take
advantage of the nearshoring phenomena Mexico is experiencing. According to the
company, as of mid-November, KCS' auto volume was up 21% year-over-year, with much
of that growth from Mexican auto production. "We expect that growth to
continue in the first part of 2013 and to accelerate into the first quarter of
2014, when new Honda and Mazda plants, and an expanded Nissan plant come
online," according to the CEO of Kansas City Southern, David Starling. The
railroad is also experiencing significant container growth at the Port of
Lázaro Cárdenas in Mexico as it is the only railroad with connections to this
port.
