LEGISLATIVE REPORT, APRIL 2019 – Knock, knock. Who’s there? If at the door are those laboring in official Washington, the answer is, “many new faces”—new congressional committee chairs, regulators, association chiefs, lobbyists and labor negotiators. Does not danger dwell where unfamiliarity and uncertainty lurk?
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted a year-over-year increase, but, as has been the case for some time now, all other rail traffic has declined, according to figures released on April 10 by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) for the week ended April 6.
We traditionally have reported the Association of American Railroads weekly compilation of freight traffic statistics as “straight news,” with commentary restricted to what the AAR may include in the release, which is rare. In this case, there’s a lot going on here, enough to warrant some analysis. The figures are all here, along with supporting charts. But don’t take them at face value.
A gain in intermodal partly offset what was otherwise a dismal week for freight rail traffic, according to figures for the week ending March 23, 2019 released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) on March 27.
As railways push ahead with digitalization, more and more are engaging and implementing solutions from a new form of supplier: the tech start-up. This is changing the railway-supplier relationship and altering the industry’s wider approach to innovation, as IRJ’s Kevin Smith discovers.
North American carload and intermodal traffic again declined compared to 2018, according to figures for the week ending March 16, 2019 released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) on March 20.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) on March 14 petitioned the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to incorporate cost-benefit analysis into rulemaking proceedings. AAR urged that, “in the spirit of good government, such analysis should include the most current and reliable data possible, and that the Board should consider the cumulative impact of regulations when proposing and adopting new rules.”
North American carload and intermodal traffic continued to decline compared to 2018, according to figures for the week ending March 9, 2019, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on March 13.
Rail freight traffic for the month of February 2019 and the week ending March 2, 2019 declined, according to Association of American Railroads figures.
R. J. Corman Railroad Group has joined the Association of American Railroads as a full member.