Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

IANA: Intermodal freight slump in second quarter represents “floor” of decline

Trade group says 11.9% drop shows impact of pandemic economic downturn.

intermodal q2 chart IANA

Showing the strain of coronavirus shutdowns and closures, U.S. intermodal freight volumes slumped sharply in the second quarter of 2020, but the sector is now poised for a recovery in future months, according to a report from the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).

Total intermodal volumes dropped 11.9% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2020, statistics from Calverton, Maryland-based IANA’s Intermodal Quarterly report showed. That figure included a drop of 15.4% in international shipments, 7.0% in domestic containers, and 14.0% in domestic trailers, all compared to the same quarter last year.


“Second quarter results showed the full impact of the economic downturn attributed to Covid-19. Slowing imports and declining diesel prices affected both international and domestic volumes,” Joni Casey, IANA’s president and CEO, said in a release. “We anticipate that the Q2 drop-off should be a floor going forward."

The results follow similar reports of pandemic-triggered drops in trucking rates and volumes, canceled container ship sailings at maritime ports, and plummeting air freight markets.

Recent

More Stories

warehouse worker pulling cart

Cleo acquires DataTrans to speed procurement automation

Business software vendor Cleo has acquired DataTrans Solutions, a cloud-based procurement automation and EDI solutions provider, saying the move enhances Cleo’s supply chain orchestration with new procurement automation capabilities.

According to Chicago-based Cleo, the acquisition comes as companies increasingly look to digitalize their procurement processes, instead of relying on inefficient and expensive manual approaches.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

photo collage of warehouse tech

Supply chain pros are wary of inflation and labor woes

The top worries that supply chain leaders hope to address with new innovations this year include inflationary concerns (68%) and labor shortages (50%), according to a survey on innovation from the third-party logistics provider (3PL) Kenco.

And many of them will have a budget to do it, since 51% of supply chain professionals with existing innovation budgets saw an increase earmarked for 2025, suggesting an even greater emphasis on investing in new technologies to meet rising demand, Kenco said in its “2025 Supply Chain Innovation” survey.

Keep ReadingShow less
photos of white house and a loaded containership

Supply chain groups push back on Trump tariff plan

Industry groups across the spectrum of supply chain operations today are pushing back against the Trump Administration plan to apply steep tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, saying the additional fees are taxes that will undermine their profit margins, slow their economic investments, and raise prices for consumers.

Even as a last-minute deal today appeared to delay the tariff on Mexico, that deal is set to last only one month, and tariffs on the other two countries are still set to go into effect at midnight tonight.

Keep ReadingShow less
reagan national DCA airport photo

Reagan National airport plans to reopen today after deadly crash

All flights remained grounded this morning at Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport (DCA) following the deadly mid-air crash last night between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter.

In a statement, DCA airport officials said they would open the facility again today for flights after planes were grounded for more than 12 hours. “Reagan National airport will resume flight operations at 11:00am. All airport roads and terminals are open. Some flights have been delayed or cancelled, so passengers are encouraged to check with their airline for specific flight information,” the facility said in a social media post.

Keep ReadingShow less
wind turbine making electricity

GE Vernova to invest $600 million in U.S. manufacturing sites

GE Vernova today said it plans to invest nearly $600 million in its U.S. factories and facilities over the next two years to support its energy businesses, which make equipment for generating electricity through gas power, grid, nuclear, and onshore wind.

The company was created just nine months ago as a spin-off from its parent corporation, General Electric, with a mission to meet surging global electricity demands. That move created a company with some 18,000 workers across 50 states in the U.S., with 18 U.S. manufacturing facilities and its global headquarters located in Massachusetts. GE Vernova’s technology helps produce approximately 25% of the world’s energy and is currently deployed in more than 140 countries.

Keep ReadingShow less