Rail Car News

With a fleet of nine U.S.-flag RoRo ships, American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group (ARC), is the U.S.’ premier commercial RoRo carrier of U.S. government and military cargo. As the world becomes an increasingly contentious place, Eric P. Ebeling, President & CEO, ARC, discusses the vast capabilities of the ARC fleet and logistics network, as well as the challenges and opportunities ahead for U.S.-flag ships in the international trade.By the numbers’ is a simplistic means to gauge the size and shape of any shipping company…

Electric vehicles are crisscrossing the globe to reach their eager buyers, but the battery technology involved in the zero- emission automobiles is exposing under-prepared maritime shippers to the risk of hard-to-control fires, industry, insurance, and emergency response officials said.That risk has been put under the spotlight by the burning car carrier [Freemantle Highway] drifting off the Dutch coast. The Dutch coastguard said the fire's cause was unknown, but Dutch broadcaster…

Romania's Constanta port, Ukraine's main alternative route for grain since Russia's withdrawal led to the collapse of the Black Sea shipment deal, has capacity to handle extra cargoes until mid-August, the head of the port's business association said.He added operators were also seeking to increase capacity.Even before Russia on Monday quit a safe passage grain corridor through Ukraine's own ports, Constanta had emerged as the biggest alternative shipping route. It has handled roughly a third of Ukraine's grain exports since the start of the war.Transit pressure will mount on Constanta…

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced more than $703 million to fund 41 projects in 22 states and one territory that designed to help improve port facilities through the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program. Following is the full list of FY 2022 Port Infrastructure Development Grant Awards:ALASKANorth Extension Stabilization Step 1 Project ($68,700,000), Anchorage, AlaskaThe Project will reconfigure and realign the shoreline within the “North Extension” (the area north of the existing general cargo terminals) at the Port of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District works on unlocking the Great Lakes by providing a much-needed resiliency at the Soo Locks with the construction of the New Lock at the Soo. The New Lock at the Soo will be the same dimensions as the Poe Lock, 1,200 feet long, 110 feet wide and 30 feet deep.Often called the “linchpin” of the Great Lakes navigation system, the Soo Locks are located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan between the upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario. The Soo Locks enable bulk carrier vessels to safely bypass the swift-moving St.

The Ports of Indiana-Jeffersonville said it has completed $24 million in infrastructure enhancement projects following a $10 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant received in 2015 initiating big changes in Jeffersonville. All projects were completed in 2022.The grant provided partial funding for $24 million in infrastructure enhancements that has added four miles to the port’s existing 11-mile rail network. The projects have enhanced and…

HII launched the Legend-class national security cutter Calhoun (WMSL 759) on Saturday at the company’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss.With the assistance of tugs, Calhoun came off the floating dry dock Saturday, after first being translated via Ingalls’ rail car system. The dock was moved away from the pier and then ballasted to float off the ship.Ingalls Shipbuilding is the sole designer and provider of the Coast Guard Legend-class national security cutter.

ESAB Welding & Cutting Products has launched the Robust Feed AVS voltage-sensing feeder, which eliminates the need for a power supply/control cable between the power source and the feeder. The design simplifies cable management in portable applications, eliminating a cable that could potentially get damaged. Voltage-sensing feeder technology also enables the feeder to work with either constant current (CC) or constant voltage (CV) power sources for greater flexibility.Robust Feed improves durability…

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (NYSE: HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division launched the amphibious transport dock Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29). Richard M. McCool Jr., the 13th LPD in the San Antonio class of amphibious assault force ships, will support U.S. amphibious assault, special operations and expeditionary warfare missions through the first half of the 21st century.“The LPD class ships, like all of our programs, are critically important to U.S. national security,” said Kari Wilkinson, president of HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division.

U.S. Great Lakes ports and the St. Lawrence Seaway are reporting a rush of activity as manufacturers stockpile raw materials and businesses take advantage of the congestion-free waterway to export overseas with just two weeks left of the season, the Chamber of Marine Commerce reports.“U.S. Great Lakes ports have roared back this year – recovering from major 2020 declines in traditional cargoes like iron ore and steel but also developing new business and seizing on opportunities for infrastructure investment. This story of recovery and renewal is mirrored in the latest St.

Parker Towing, a barging company in the southeastern U.S., announced it has promoted three employees.Jeremy Headley has been promoted to Director of Sales. Prior to Parker Towing, he worked in barge sales and logistics in the marine industry and as Operations Manager and then General Manager for an environmental services company in Birmingham, Ala. He joined the Parker Towing Company sales team in 2016. As Director of Sales, Headley will continue to work closely with our sales…

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc., supplier of equipment and services to global freight transportation markets, announced on Tuesday that its Board of Directors appointed President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Lorie Tekorius, as the company's next CEO and President, effective March 1, 2022. On the same date, Greenbrier's co-founder, Chairman and CEO William A. Furman will assume the newly created role of Executive Chair until his retirement in September 2022. Furman 's current Board term continues until January 2024.Furman said…

Take a look around you.Perhaps you’re snacking on a banana, sipping some coffee or sitting in front of your computer and taking a break from work to read this article. Most likely, those goods—as well as your smartphone, refrigerator and virtually every other object in your home—were once loaded onto a large container in another country and traveled thousands of miles via ships crossing the ocean before ultimately arriving at your doorstep.Today, an estimated 90% of the world’s goods are transported by sea…

Grappling with slowed business levels caused by the ongoing pandemic, Arkansas' Port of Little Rock reports September was its best month since April of this year.Activity levels at the port's docks increased with 29 barges worked; 21 at the slackwater dock and eight at the river dock. More than 44,000 net tons of cargo was handled including the following commodities: aluminum ingots, sows, and tee bars; nepheline syenite, scrap, steel coils, wetcake and wire rod coils.Year-to-date the docks have worked 286 barges with 434,000 net tons loaded or unloaded to barge.

Canadian grain shipments through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway trade corridor are up 20% in response to continuing world demand for wheat and canola, the latest figures show.Year-to-date shipments of grain (from April 1 to August 31) totaled 5.2 million tonnes, as ships transported Prairie wheat and canola and Ontario wheat and soybeans for both domestic use and for export to markets around the world.The rush of grain, which is carry over from last year’s crops, has helped to offset continuing pandemic-related declines in other key cargoes such as iron ore (down 23%)…

Mary Ann Bucci has spent her entire career in many different aspects of the logistics profession, selling container space on international vessels for SeaLand Service, leasing railcar equipment for GE Railcar Services, and negotiated rail rate for Aristech Chemicals. Having spent the last 19 years advocating for the inland waterways system, specifically for the Port of Pittsburgh District, Bucci weighs in on some of the top issues and key projects underway at one of the nation’s busiest inland ports.Please describe the Port of Pittsburgh Commission’s role in supporting waterway commerce…

New Jersey-based Rand Logistics announced it has entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire rival Great Lakes shipping company American Steamship Company (ASC) from Chicago-based GATX Corporation for $260 million.Headquartered in upstate New York, ASC operates the Lakes' largest U.S.-flagged fleet, annually transporting more than 27 million tons of dry bulk commodities such as iron ore, coal and limestone on vessels ranging in size from 634 feet to over 1,000 feet. ASC reported segment profit of $46.1 million for 2019 (including a one-time gain of $10.5 million), said parent company GATX.Rand, an affiliate of American Industrial Partners (AIP)…

In Washington state, Tidewater Transportation and Terminals inaugurated a $12.5 million ethanol unloading and storage site in Pasco to serve the Columbia and Snake River regions.On Tuesday, August 27, more than 60 area notables, members of the business community, and terminal personnel gathered mid-afternoon for a ribbon cutting ceremony and celebration of the company’s state-of-the-art, onsite ethanol unloading and storage facility in Pasco.The facility consists of a 24-hour ethanol unit train railcar unloading rack with 24 new unloading stations and associated rail spurs. In addition, two 65,000-barrel steel tanks were built in order to provide reliable operating storage when an ethanol unit train arrives.

Texas-based midstreamer Howard Energy Partners (Hep) announced that it’s completed the expansions of its bulk liquid terminal facilities in Port Arthur and Corpus Christi, Texas.The completion of these projects increases HEP’s Gulf Coast terminal storage capacity to 2.6 million barrels with three ship docks, three barge docks, unit train loading capacity for up to two trains per day, and direct pipeline connectivity through wholly-owned pipelines to seven refineries. HEP began operating terminal facilities in mid-2014.“The substantial expansions at our Port Arthur and Corpus Christi facilities signify HEP’s commitment to designing and constructing fully-engineered facilities that are tailored to meet the exact needs of our customers…

When enough to meet the need is not enough to get the help.From my office window in downtown St. Louis, I can see a dramatic illustration of the inefficiency in how our country moves freight. My office faces east, and I look down on a stretch of Interstate 70, that major east-west highway that runs from Baltimore to Interstate 15 in Utah. It is not unusual to see the traffic on this highway heavily congested, even at a standstill at times. This congested traffic usually includes many tractor-trailer trucks.

Canadian National Railway (CN) said that it plans to invest approximately $320 million in Ontario in 2019 to expand and strengthen the company’s rail network across the province.CN’s Ontario rail network stretches across the province, and the GTHA is home to MacMillan Yard, CN’s largest rail car classification facility, and Brampton Intermodal Terminal, CN’s largest intermodal facility.“Following a record capital program in 2018, CN has been able to take on more traffic from different commodity sectors based on contracts with our customers,” said Doug MacDonald, Vice-President of CN’s Eastern Region. “This year, we are continuing to…

A slowing domestic economy will likely lead to a moderate uptick in container imports through 2019, following a robust year that was marked by record-high cargo growth amid a trade dispute with China, said Port of Long Beach.North American imports are projected to grow a modest 1.8 percent in 2019, demonstrating a significant slowdown from the 6.1 percent increase reported for U.S. imports last year, said Melissa Peralta, senior economist and forecaster for TTX, a railcar pooling company based in Chicago.Retailers are expected to pump the brakes on imports during the first half of 2019, primarily because many companies rushed shipments in order to avoid a tariff hike that was supposed to be implemented in late 2018 and then early 2019…

Singapore-headquartered international petroleum storage and logistics provider Global Petro Storage (GPS) has entered into an agreement with the Port of Amsterdam to develop a railcar connection on land adjacent to GPS' existing 11-tank gasoline and bioguel storage and blending facility.GPS intends to develop a rail connection to the public network and to points across Europe that will increase its efficiency and offerings to clients.Port of Amsterdam endorses the importance of good rail connections to and from the Amsterdam port region. Transport by rail is safe and sustainable. This development fits perfectly in the strategy of Port of Amsterdam.Peter Vucins, Director of EMEA at GPS, said the expansion will enable GPS to capture future opportunities.