Intermodal , Drayage and Chassis

Special Report

both cases . CBP found Dorsey Intermodal chassis used Chinese parts for between 59 % and 69 % of the finished unit , and thus it should have been considered made in China , not Vietnam .

‘ Different laws , different facts ’

In 2021 , Canada enacted antidumping tariffs and duties similar to those of the US to prevent China from flooding the market with chassis sold at below-market rates and harming Canadian domestic manufacturers such as Max-Atlas .

In its complaint to the CBSA , Max-Atlas said it has identified 1,330 Ocean Trailer chassis marketed as built in Vietnam , with as many as 10 subcomponents from China — including axles , lights , mudflaps , steel , suspension systems and tires . Ocean Trailer sold 500 chassis to Canadian Pacific Kansas City ( CPKC ) and 300 to Medlog Transport and Logistics , a subsidiary of Mediterranean Shipping Co ., according to the complaint .

“ Max-Atlas has significant evidence that Vietnamese chassis are made predominantly from Chinese steel , components or subassemblies .”

“ Ocean Trailer has sold THACO chassis to Canadian Pacific , one of Max-Atlas ’ s most important customers — and one of the three largest customers in the Canadian market ,” Max-Atlas wrote . “ Max-Atlas also has significant evidence that demonstrates that Vietnamese chassis are made predominantly from Chinese steel , components or subassemblies .”

Ocean Trailer told the Journal of Commerce that its case and the Dorsey case involve “ different applicable laws , different legal tests and different relevant facts ” due to variations between US and Canadian regulations . The company said that all container chassis were properly accounted for and did not circumvent Canada ’ s antidumping and countervailing duty orders on China .

“ Ocean Trailer believes in the strength of its position and that Max-Atlas ’ s complaint is wholly without merit ,” the company said in a statement . “ Consequently , Ocean Trailer intends to participate fully in the CBSA ’ s ongoing investigation .”

CPKC declined to comment on the ongoing case but referred the Journal of Commerce to a company statement outlining expectations for all its suppliers , including “ upholding strong standards of business ethics in accordance with applicable laws .”

email : ari . ashe @ spglobal . com

COMMENTARY

By Larry Gross

As a forecaster for the intermodal sector , I believe that it is a good practice to look back each year to see what I was saying as the year began … and just how badly I may have missed the mark .

In January 2024 , I told readers of my Intermodal in Depth report to expect North American intermodal volumes to grow 5.5 % for the full year . Now that the Association of American Railroads ( AAR ) has published data for all 52 weeks of 2024 , we can report that the growth in intermodal in 2024 was — drumroll please — 7.5 %, so the forecast wasn ’ t too bad . I ’ d give it a solid “ B ” grade .

But a fair amount of luck was involved , because based on data from the Intermodal Association of North America ( IANA ), which at the time of writing was available only through November , my forecast was substantially low for the international segment and too optimistic for the domestic market . In that sense , coming within 2 percentage points of the total was to a certain extent a fortunate coincidence .

Still , 2024 was a strong year for intermodal . After a rough , weather-related stumble in January , overall weekly volumes leapt ahead of the prior year in February and never looked back , according to AAR data .

Volumes fell below the prior year in a meaningful manner only for one week ( week 40 ). This was due to a double whammy of Hurricane Helene and the effects of the short-lived longshore port strike hitting the eastern US railroads that week . The 2024 volume was also below that of 2023 in week 48 , but that was a statistical quirk relating to the week in which Thanksgiving occurred this year versus last and , therefore , is not meaningful .

The strength in international is due to several factors . One was strong retail sales . A second was a reversal in the long-term trend of West Coast to East Coast migration of import volumes .

Why ? First , the unavailability of the Red Sea due to missile-firing Houthi rebels forced cargo bound for the US East Coast to take the long way around Africa and added cost and time to the voyage . This made the West Coast option more attractive .

Second , the labor situation on the East Coast and the potential for disruption led importers to

20 Journal of Commerce | February 3 , 2025 www . joc . com