The Current Status of Rail Carload that Could Affect the Supply Chain

Every year, the freight transportation cycles fluctuate and outlooks on how successful shippers will be change. Luckily, FTR, transportation intelligence experts have created a forecasting model to provide a more accurate outlook on where trucking, rail, and intermodal are headed.

According to FTR’s Chief Operating Officer, Jonathan Starks commented, “The domestic shipping market is in a relatively stable environment. This may seem counterintuitive given the weakness that we are seeing in the manufacturing sector and the loosening of truck and rail capacity over the last year.”

What Will Happen to Rail Carloads as We Enter a New Era of Freight Transportation?

As the rail outlook appears to be slowing down, FTR’s rail expert analyst Larry Gross will take a closer look of the rail carload activity and how it affects the state of economy. During the State of Freight webinar scheduled for Thursday, March 10th at 11am EDT, Gross will explain reasons for the downturn, cover prospects for improvement and where it might come from, as well as detail what the rails need to do to change the fundamental equation.

How the Rail Slowdown Can Affect the Supply Chain

Former mainstays such as coal and crude-by-rail are flagging and it is not clear from where replacement volume will be gained, according to FTR.
As Gross noted, “The current swoon in rail carloads is presenting the railroads with perhaps the most fundamental challenge since the deregulated era began. While some of the losses represent normal swings in the economy, a substantial portion of the volume has been lost to fundamental structural change and is never coming back. This webinar will explore the issues and what the railroads must do to remain as relevant as ever in the new era.”

For more information on FTR and to register to for webinar, go to ftrintel.com/webinars.