According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), one rail sector in particular will be the first to feel the brunt of the coronavirus’ impact.
“Intermodal, rather than other rail sectors, is likely to see the earliest impacts from the coronavirus because large amounts of intermodal traffic go to or come from ports—roughly half of U.S. intermodal is exports or imports,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “Unfortunately, extensive flooding and harsh winter weather last year at this time complicate comparisons between this year and last year.
“That said, the fact that overall intermodal originations last week were the lowest for the same week since 2013 is strong evidence that the coronavirus is impacting intermodal volumes. This is emphasized by the fact four of the five carriers of intermodal traffic from west coast ports, the principal gateways serving the Chinese trade, saw declines in their intermodal business handled. Similar declines in the East also suggest that the problem has begun to spread to other regions of the supply chain.”
www.railwayage.com
“Intermodal, rather than other rail sectors, is likely to see the earliest impacts from the coronavirus because large amounts of intermodal traffic go to or come from ports—roughly half of U.S. intermodal is exports or imports,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “Unfortunately, extensive flooding and harsh winter weather last year at this time complicate comparisons between this year and last year.
“That said, the fact that overall intermodal originations last week were the lowest for the same week since 2013 is strong evidence that the coronavirus is impacting intermodal volumes. This is emphasized by the fact four of the five carriers of intermodal traffic from west coast ports, the principal gateways serving the Chinese trade, saw declines in their intermodal business handled. Similar declines in the East also suggest that the problem has begun to spread to other regions of the supply chain.”
AAR: “Intermodal Likely to See Earliest Coronavirus Impacts” - Railway Age
According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), one rail sector in particular will be the first to feel the brunt of the coronavirus’ impact.
www.railwayage.com
