The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has named Adrian Arnakis, Deputy Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation under Chairman John Thune (R-S.Dak.) as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, effective in November. Arnakis will replace Ian Jefferies as he transitions into his new role as the AAR’s next President and CEO.
September’s change of seasons didn’t cool off the year-long rise in U.S. rail freight commodities and intermodal traffic.
U.S. intermodal traffic realized gains of 5.7% and 6%, respectively, for the week ending Sept. 22, 2018 and 2018’s first 38 weeks, compared to the prior-year periods, the Association of American Railroads reported.
In reporting U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Sept. 15, 2018, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) noted that nine of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2017. Among them were petroleum and petroleum products, up 4,253 carloads to 13,335; chemicals, up 2,153 carloads to 32,650; and farm products excluding grain, and food, up 1,986 carloads to 16,583. Coal was the only commodity group that posted a decrease, down 3,457 carloads to 85,562.
News item: Ian Jefferies, 42, currently Senior vice President for Government Affairs at the Association of American Railroads (AAR), will succeed Ed Hamberger as President and CEO on Jan. 1, 2019. Most notably, Jefferies will serve as the railroad industry’s chief congressional lobbyist and spokesperson.
After what the Association of American Railroads (AAR) termed “an exhaustive executive search,” the organization has chosen one of its own—Senior Vice President Government Affairs Ian Jefferies—to succeed President and CEO Ed Hamberger.
Growing e-commerce and the run-up to end-of-year retail sales helped intermodal shipments gain in the weekly rail freight report from the Association of American Railroads.
Another month, another milestone for surging North American rail freight with one caveat – ongoing uncertainty over U.S. trade policy.
Deep into a summer of simmering trade and economic issues, grain and petroleum continued to lead growing U.S. rail traffic for the week ending August 25.
Rail traffic in the U.S. for the week ending August 18 was 567,477 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.7% compared with the same week in 2017.