General Information
How America’s supply chains got railroaded
(Source: The American Prospect, February 4, 2022) NEW YORK — When the Union Pacific Railroad closed its Global 3 Intermodal Ramp outside of Chicago in 2019, Union Pacific marketing executive Kenny Rocker promised that closing the facility would bring “more consistent, reliable and predictable service” to shippers who depend on rail. Union Pacific was cutting costs by…
Read MoreRail unions are bargaining over a good job made miserable
(Source: Labor Notes, February 2, 2022) Contract negotiations covering 115,000 rail workers in the U.S. are expected to heat up in 2022. In the flurry of reporting on what’s slowing down the supply chain, little has been said about one contributing factor — the years-long squeeze that major railroads have put on their operations and…
Read MoreAAR: U.S. freight-rail volume fell in most categories last month
(Source: Progressive Railroading 02/03/2022) U.S. freight railroads’ traffic was down 9.5% in January, with decreases reported in both carload and intermodal categories compared with the same month last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data. Last month, the railroads hauled 902,265 carloads, down 3% from a year ago, and 1,001,443 containers and trailers, down 14.6%.…
Read MoreUP, TuSimple partner to move freight on AV truck lane in Arizona
(Source: Progressive Railroading 02/03/2022) TuSimple, an autonomous driving technology company, announced yesterday that Union Pacific Railroad will become the first customer to move freight on TuSimple’s fully automated trucking route between Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. UP will use its Loup Logistics subsidiary to coordinate freight shipments and support seamless movements between rail and the first and last mile of…
Read MoreRail Labor’s largest coalition reaches dead end on path to voluntary agreement
https://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=13519The Coordinated Bargaining Coalition (CBC) released the following statement on January 24, 2022: After more than two years of bargaining with the major U.S. Class 1 railroads, discussions completely stalled last week. Accordingly, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Railway Labor Act, top leaders of 10 rail unions applied to the National Mediation…
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