b'SePTemBeR 14 - 27, 2020intermodal17(SAVINGScontinued fromrelatedshutdownsandhighroads,accordingtoChuckgest containerport complex of page 7) tariffs. But domestic containerBaker, president of the Amer- Southern Californias ports of rebound in truck demand asvolumeslidjust2.5percentican Short Line and RegionalLos Angeles and Long Beach.retailersbegantoreplenishin the first half and appearedRailroad Association. Meanwhile, Class II region-their inventories. poised for an upswing. Itisalmostalwaysgoingals heavily involved in inter-Meanwhile,theKansasTherecentsurgeintobelessexpensiveandmodal business include Florida CitySouthernRailwayCo.domestic container and trailermore environmentally friendlyEastCoastRailway,which is reporting a rise in activityvolumeisexpectedtocon- touseintermodalversusrunsfor351milesbetween at its 362-acre intermodal ter- tinue for the rest of the year,entirelyover-the-roadtruck- JacksonvilleandSouthFlori-minal located 30 miles north- Casey said. Some Midwest- ing, Baker told AJOT. das seaports, providing a com-west of Dallas. ern links in the supply chainBaker added that, with thepetitive alternative to Interstate KCSsWylie,Texas,arededicatedtosupportingadvent of precision scheduled95,andMontanaRailLink, intermodalterminalhasseenonline purchases, in particu- railroading initiatives, railroadswhichbridgesmuchBNSF largegrowthsinceJuneafterlar those that provide supportaredeliveringincreasinglytraffic across Montana.earlysecondquartervolumeto parcel carriers. consistent,reliableintermodalAmongotherClassII declines, and we have seen aThese facilities also sup- services.Thisenhancestheregionalcarriersengagedin large spike in retail and pack- port 3PLs [third-party logis- attractiveness of such offeringsdailyintermodalserviceis age business for major compa- tics companies] who providefor Class Is and the smaller rail- Chuck Baker, president of theCedarRapids-basedIowa nies, said C. Doniele Carlson,services to internet and brick- roads that connect with them. American Short Line and RegionalInterstate Railroad Ltd., which assistantvicepresidentforand-mortarretailers,sheShortlines,bytheirRailroad Association, believeshandlescargoalongthe500-corporate communications andcontinued. An overlay is thenature,arekindofalwaysintermodal opportunities extendmile stretch between ramps at communityaffairsatKansasincreasedamountoftrans- hustlingforthenextpiecebeyond Class I carriers. Blue Island, Illinois, just south City, Missouri-based KCS. loads, as depleted inventoriesofbusiness,hesaid,soINodoubtthebusiestof Chicago, and Council Bluffs, The other Midwest inter- arebeingrestockedatbothknow there are a lot of shortClass III short line in terms ofIowa, across the Missouri River modal hub KCS serves, Inter- inlandfacilitiesandonthelinesthatwouldliketogetintermodal activity is Pacificfrom Omaha, Nebraska.national Freight Gateway, orWest Coast.intointermodal.TheresaHarborLine,whichoperatesIowa Interstates vice presi-IFG, is in Kansas City, Mis- Intermodal activity provideshugeopportunityforinter- on18routemilesprovidingdentandchiefcommercial souri,CarlsontoldAJOT.vastopportunities,includingmodaltogrowfordecadesBNSFandUPlinkstothe(SAVINGScontinued on WehavenotseenalargebeyondthebigClassIrail- going forward. WesternHemispheresbig- page 18)spike in volumes there.Offeringabroaderper-spective, Joni Casey, president and chief executive officer of the Intermodal Association of North America,seesdomes-this years pandemic-affected tic moves leading the way inThe Premier intermodal activity.Domestic intermodal vol- Pacific Gatewayumescontinuetoincrease, aidedbymovesofessential items,suchasPPE[per-sonalprotectiveequipment],The Port of Long Beach offers you the best service on the food and household staples, Casey told AJOT.West Coast, moving your goods to and from Asia and Latin America with speed and reliability.Joni Casey, president and chief executive officer of the Intermodal Association of North America, sees domestic intermodal volumes on the rise.E-commerceisalsoa big driver of domestic moves inbothcontainersandtrail-ers,asOTR[over-the-road trucking]capacityistight-ening in some markets, she added.Midwesterndistri-butionhubsarealreadykey links in the intermodal supply chain, so specific impacts of COVID-19aredifficultto predictand,inlargepart, depend on the future path of the virus.AccordingtoaJuly30 IANA report, total intermodal volumewasdown9.3per-cent in the first half of 2020, comparedwiththeJanuary-to-Juneperiodof2019.The report projects a drop of about 10percentintotalintermo-dal loadings for the full year, thankslargelytopandemic-'