b'10American Journal of Transportation ajot.comNorth Americas Class Iintermodal2020railroads moving aheadThese transportation titans are weathering the pan-demic better than many, and continue to invest in infrastructure, services, and technology.By Peter Buxbaum, AJOTThebeginningof2020restoftheyear,citingthe representedapotentialturn- impossibilityofpredicting ing point for the United Stateseconomic trends for the rest economy and the fortunes ofoftheyear.ButinAugust, North Americas Class I rail- theCanadianPacificRail-roads. Considering slack man- wayreinstateditsguidance, ufacturing activity and generalannouncing that it expects to globaleconomicweakness,deliverearningsgrowththis manyfelttheeconomywasyear and a 15% increase in its headed for a downturn. Someshareholder dividend.railroadofficialsweremoreAllthingsconsidered, optimistic,anticipatingantheevidencesuggeststhat improvement in internationaltheperformancethisyearof trade thanks to the signing ofNorth AmericasClassIrail-thePhaseOneU.S.-Chinaroads is a success story. They trade deal.have distinguished themselvesmason mega Rail is emerging as the nations largest on-dock intermodal facility, with Savannah poised to become the ThentheCOVID-19(MOVINGcontinued oneast Coast port of choice for manufacturers and retailers across the Southeast and a mid-American Arc of cities from pandemic hit. Chinas Lunarpage 24) memphis to St. Louis, Chicago and Cincinnati. See page 12 for more information.(Photo credit: Georgia Ports/Jeremy Polston)New Year factory shutdowns lasted longer than usual and international economies were shutdownforvaryingperi-ods.Later,asoverseasfac-tories came back online and some economies successfully reopened, the U.S. economy remained a wild card. Hasty reopeningsledtorenewed pandemicspikesandjeop-ardizedin-personschooling this fallsuggesting the pos-sibilityoffutureshutdowns in some locations.Not surprisingly, U.S. rail trafficsufferedthisyearin the wake of COVID-19. The 6.5 million carloads handled throughJulyrepresenteda decrease of 16.2% compared to last year, according to the AmericanAssociationof Railroads. On the intermodal side, the 7.5 million contain-ers and trailers moved in the first seven months of the year represented a decrease of 9.1 percent from last year.H ead of tHeC LassMostClassIrailroads reported double-digit decreases in traffic for the first half of the year. At the Kansas City Southern Railway Company, thenorth-southrailroad thatconnectstheU.S.and Mexico,Trainstartplans were rapidly adjusted in the secondquarter,shrinking from 28 per week to 17, said OliviaDaily,thecompanys vice president of purchasing.But there were also bright spotsamidstallthegloom. In July, three of the 20 car-loadcommoditycategories trackedbytheAARfood products, farm products, and lumber and woodsaw gains comparedwithJuly2019. AndAugustbroughtgood news to the U.S. intermodal sector, with traffic up 2% in thefirsthalfofthemonth and up 5% during the week ending August 22.Earlier in the year, all of theClassIswithdrewtheir financialguidanceforthe'