UP: Rail Shipper Tips: Five Sources for Rail Industry Insights

Rail Shipper Tips: Five Sources for Rail Industry Insights

Whether you're a beginner or long-time rail user, this list of railroad resources and train magazines will help you stay on top of the latest railroad news and trends

Get rail industry insights from these five railroad magazines

Are you a seasoned railroader looking to keep up on the latest industry news? Or are you new to rail and curious about how it all works? Wherever your experience falls, these magazines are the definitive sources to learn what’s going on in the industry.

International Railway Journal (IRJ)

https://www.railjournal.com/

The IRJ is a railroad magazine that has been publishing since 1961, making it the world’s first globally distributed railroad industry magazine. IRJ journalists have inside knowledge, and IRJ editors travel the world to bring readers the latest rail industry news and developments in rail transport.

IRJ’s rail industry resources are offered in the following categories:

Financial
Passenger rail
Freight rail
Fleet
Infrastructure
Policy
Technology
Railroad news by region

Railway Age

https://www.railwayage.com/

Railway Age is a monthly magazine for rail industry management at North American freight railroads and passenger railroads. As the transport industry’s oldest trade magazine, Railway Age places an emphasis on technology, operations, strategic planning, marketing, and other issues such as legislative and labor/management developments.

On the web, Railway Age offers resources in these categories:

Railway news
Freight rail
Passenger rail
Mechanical matters related to freight cars and train locomotives
Railroad maintenance of way
Communications and Signals
Railroad safety
Railway finance
Regulatory matters
Freight forecasting

RT&S

https://www.rtands.com/

RT&S (formerly “Rail Track & Structures") is dedicated to providing engineering and maintenance-of-way coverage – everything related to track and structures.

RT&S posts these types of railroad updates on its website:

Breaking news related to railroad tracks and structures
Freight rail coverage
Passenger rail coverage
Track construction
Track maintenance
Railroad track and structure safety
Railroad bridges and tunnels
Railroad grade crossings

Progressive Railroading

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/

Every month, Progressive Railroading provides information on North America railroad industry trends, railway technology and the latest railroad industry news.

On its website, Progressive Railroading publishes:

News related to rail industry trends, intermodal, sustainability and more
Top railroad industry stories
Railroad job postings
Products, including freight cars, passenger cars, locomotives and freight, passenger and locomotive products
Education and events, including rail industry events, eBooks and webcasts

Trains Magazine

http://trn.trains.com/
Trains has been covering a wide range of railroading topics since 1940, from railroad news, railroad industry insights, and commentary on today's freight railroads, passenger service, transit, train locomotives, train technology, preservation, fan opportunities and more. This diverse content is developed for everyone from the railroad enthusiasts to seasoned professionals. Trains provides readers current, informative, and entertaining coverage of contemporary and historical railroad and train topics.

The Trains website offers railroad enthusiasts and seasoned railroad professionals information on:

Railroads and locomotives, including history, hotspots, maps and train photography tips
Train news and book reviews
Railroad community forums, blogs, events and clubs
Train videos, train photos and a railroad web cam
Train basics including the ABCs of railroading and “Ask Trains,” a place for readers to ask questions about trains and railroading

Learn More

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Upcoming Webinar - Nearshoring: Best Practices for Shipping to and from Mexico

On Thursday, May 16 at 1:00 p.m. CT, Union Pacific is hosting a 1-hour webinar on nearshoring, a business strategy that involves companies shifting manufacturing and production operations to Mexico, closer to main markets in the U.S. If this is something you’re interested in, you can use this link to register.

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For decades, this model was working. Then came the pandemic, and the resulting supply chain disruptions (especially for overseas shipments) began to poke holes in offshoring strategies. With products stuck overseas sometimes for months on end, the drawbacks of offshoring started to outweigh the benefits.

Lessons learned from the last few years have prompted some companies to bring operations back to North America, specifically to Mexico. Establishing production facilities closer to end markets minimizes the impacts of potential supply chain disruptions while keeping costs in check. This is the genesis of the nearshoring trend.