As LM has been reporting, the influence of the pandemic knocked a critical dent into the state of U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes over the course of the final yr. Nevertheless, volumes are actually recovering at a major tempo because of the huge variations in enterprise situations between 2020 and 2021.
In response to information from the Affiliation of American Railroads (AAR), U.S. carload volumes had been up 7.3% by the primary 5 months of 2021 on an annual foundation, and the weekly carload common for Might far outpaced the Might 2020 weekly carload common.
For the month of Might 2021 alone, U.S. rail carloads noticed a 30.4% annual acquire, based on AAR. And as group information editor Jeff Berman not too long ago reported, rail intermodal volumes have additionally proven a powerful rebound in comparison with a yr in the past, with Might U.S. container and trailer quantity seeing a 26.2% annual improve.
In the meantime, U.S. container and trailer volumes by the primary 5 months of 2021 are up 19.2% yearly, whereas common U.S. weekly intermodal quantity for Might confirmed a 20.7% annual improve. In response to AAR information, that marked the Seventh-highest weekly U.S. intermodal common for any month, and essentially the most ever for the month of Might.
“Quantity information from the AAR has been nothing however encouraging, and we count on that to proceed over the subsequent few months,” says Berman. “And whereas there are some stresses to the system, like extra strain on intermodal because of the truck driver scarcity, suppliers are engaged on sustaining general service ranges despite the challenges.”
And whereas the rail/intermodal market is making strides to get again on monitor, the readers of Logistics Administration inform us that the eight intermodal suppliers listed on this class have performed a terrific job sustaining world-class service regardless of the disruptions of the previous yr.
J.B. Hunt Transport Providers put up the very best weighted rating of our 4 Quest for High quality winners within the 2021 Rail/Intermodal Service Supplier class with a formidable 49.52. And, J.B. Hunt led the way in which in On-time Efficiency (11.88), Info Know-how (8.24), Buyer Service (9.65), and Gear & Operations (9.34). Norfolk Southern put up the highest mark within the Worth attribute
class with a ten.54.
On this yr’s Intermodal Advertising Corporations class, ArcBest posted the highest rating out of the 4 winners with a notable 52.58, and led the way in which in every of the 5 attribute classes.
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