b'8American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(TRACKcontinued from page 4)economic trends.The AAR August report adds that the current stabilityintheFRIsuggestssustaineddemand forgoods,whichsupportseconomicresilience, in contrast to declines exhibited during economic slowdowns.B orderc rossIngsNearshoringthe practice of moving overseas production to Mexico in order to be closer to U.S. consumersis increasingly seen as an intermodal driver. The impact of nearshoring can be seen in therecentstronggrowthinMexicanintermodal traffic, says David Garofalo, IANA Assistant VP, Membership&Communications.Originations from Mexico rose 22.6% compared to the second quarter of 2023.Nearshoring offers several advantages including reducedtransportationcosts,shorterleadtimes andimprovedsupplychainresilience,according to Schneider SVP and GM of Intermodal Michael Baumgardt. Proximity to the U.S. market allows for quicker response times and more flexible production schedules, to achieve operational efficiency while maintaining control over projects in terms of cost-effectiveness, logistics and risk mitigation.Intermodalisagame-changerforcustomers nearshoring their operations to Mexico, Baumgardt asserts. By leveraging a combination of rail and truck transportation, intermodal provides an efficient solutionformovinggoodsacrossborders.This reduces transit times and minimizes handling, which is crucial for maintaining the integrity of products.Baumgardtsaysthatintermodalalsooffers greater flexibility and capacity, allowing businesses to scale their operations seamlessly as they transition their supply chains closer to home.Perhapsoneofthebiggestadvantagesof intermodalincross-bordertransportationisthe abilitytogainaccesstomoreequipmentdue totheefficiencyofintermodalandtheinherent imbalancebetweennorthboundandsouthbound shipments,Baumgardtsays.Itissignificantly easier to send hundreds of boxes at once via train to supply capacity needs than it is for hundreds of drivers and trucks to move one container, truck and driver at a time.(TRACKcontinued on page 14)ITS YOUR MOVE.www.tideworks.com +1.206.382.4470'