Moving from Intermodal back to the truck is normally driven by service needs. In a recent discussion with a transportation manager for a $1 billion company said he was moving to the truck for cost reasons. Is anybody else experiencing this?
BNSF Railway and JB Hunt have had a series of arbitrations – dating back to 2004. Now Hunt says earnings could take an $18 million hit for Q3, while BNSF says it owes more than $100 million. The bigger issue is that Hunt will get intermodal capacity from BNSF.
According to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, freight rates from Asia to the US West Coast are up 79% from January to October. But rates from Asia to Europe, the biggest trade route in terms of capacity and volumes, are flat at around $888 per box, well below the break-even level of roughly $1,400.
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