Indiana Logistics Summit - a Big Draw
Nearly 500 people descended upon the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis Nov. 16-17 during the 14th annual Indiana Logistics Summit to hear over 20 speakers discuss global logistics issues and their impacts on the regional economy. "Global Connections" was the theme and attendees heard how Québec's $9 billion maritime strategy will impact Indiana as well as how railroads are adjusting to the fossil fuel implosion. Dr. Robert E. Martínez, Vice President for Business Development and Real Estate for Norfolk Southern Corp., the fourth largest railroad in the U.S. with the most extensive intermodal network east of the Mississippi River, kicked off the conference with a keynote address dealing with the future of the rail industry. In ever-changing markets, Dr.
UPS Oposes CP-NS Merger
UPS, one of North America’s largest intermodal shippers, has told federal regulators that it is against Canadian Pacific Railway's (CP's) proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern Corp. (NS). UPS' thumbs-down has dealt a severe blow to CP's $28 billion bid to acquire U.S. eastern railroad NS. UPS Inc. is the largest transport company in the U.S. and one of the nation's biggest users of intermodal services. UPS has asked the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to reject the proposal on grounds that it will lead to diminished service levels and higher costs. UPS also warned that the acquisition would result in a spree of rail-industry consolidation that would impair intermodal service reliability even more.
Train Lobby Pushes to Weaken Safety Rule
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is set to be a chief beneficiary of a bid by Senate Republicans to weaken new regulations to improve train safety in the $2.8 billion crude-by-rail industry, a key cog in the development of the vast North American shale oil fields. A series of oil train accidents, including the July 2013 explosion of a train carrying crude in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, that killed 47 people, led U.S. and Canadian regulators to announce sweeping safety rules in May. Among other things, U.S. oil trains are required to install new electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes. But in late June, the Republican-controlled Senate Commerce Committee approved a measure to drop that requirement, and order years of new research to confirm the safety benefits of ECP brakes.
Driver Shortage Makes Capitalizing on Low Oil Hard for Truckers
A chronic shortage of drivers means America's long-haul trucking companies are struggling to capitalize on cheap fuel prices that could allow them to take goods shipments away from railroads. A 50 percent fall in oil prices from their peak last year should have erased some of the cost advantage railroads enjoy, especially for longer hauls. But for customers hoping to save money by switching from train to truck, the lack of drivers makes that harder. "It's a nice theory, but the math doesn't add up because of the driver shortage," said Jason Seidl, an Cowen & Co analyst. An increasingly common way of shipping freight is by "intermodal" standardized containers that can be hauled by truck, ship and train.
