Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper indicated he is prepared to continue intervening in a railway system dominated by two companies in order to keep products such as grain moving for export.

The Senate on March 12 easily confirmed Christopher Hart to be the full-time chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

U.S. rail intermodal traffic rose for the first time in four weeks, rising 4% in the week ended March 7 compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads reported.

Trailer manufacturers have been pursuing weight reduction for years, trimming pounds from body materials and suspension components in response to customer demands for greater hauling capacity.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) has introduced a bill that would delay the implementation of positive train control systems for American railroads until 2020.

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a ruling that offered railroads the prospect of a multimillion-dollar victory in a dispute over the different fuel taxes the states impose on trains, trucks and cargo ships.

Intermodal rail traffic declined 6.5% in February from the same month last year as problems at West Coast ports and bad weather impacted traffic, the Association of American Railroads said.

Orders for new trailers in January slowed after a blistering fourth quarter but still were 18% higher during the month than a year earlier, ACT Research reported.

New trailer orders rose 18% in January from a year ago to 29,853 units, ACT Research reported.