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Transportation

Hitachi Rail opens C$30m Toronto rail and metro technology centre

Transportation via Railway Gazette
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CANADA: Hitachi Rail has opened a C$30m global centre for the development of digital technology for the rail and metro sectors, taking up 5½ floors at the Consilium Place complex in Toronto’s Scarborough district. Guests at the opening celebration on November 6 included Premier of Ontario Doug Ford, Mayor of Toronto Olivia Chow and Japanese ambassador to Canada Masashi Nakagome. The site will be home to more than 1 100 employees and 100 paid interns. It is the centre of excellence for Hitachi Rail’s signalling and systems business in Canada, overseeing the delivery of projects including the Ontario Line and the modernisation of signalling on Toronto Line 2. It is also home to Hitachi Rail’s Global CBTC Competence Centre. One of the earliest applications of the SelTrac communications-based train control technology now offered by Hitachi Rail was in Toronto, and SelTrac is now deployed on more than 150 lines in 70 cities around the world. A C$105m programme is underway in Toronto to develop SelTrac Generation 9, incorporating AI, 5G and edge computing. Advanced engineering simulators recreate the signalling systems of metro networks around the world in a virtual environment, so Hitachi can develop, test and prove the technology before it is installed on the real railway. Metro that are simulated include London, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore. Hitachi said the new headquarters also strengthens Canada’s sovereign transport capability by anchoring critical signalling technology, engineering expertise and skilled jobs in Canada. It aims to localise more of its global technology portfolio in the country, and create opportunities to export Canadian expertise. ‘Almost 50 years after we established our Canadian signalling business in Toronto, Hitachi Rail is demonstrating its continued ambition to lead the industry with investment in the new HQ and technology centre’, said Arnaud Besse, Managing Director of Hitachi Rail in Canada.

CANADA: Hitachi Rail has opened a C$30m global centre for the development of digital technology for the rail and metro sectors, taking up 5½ floors at the Consilium Place complex in Toronto’s Scarborough district.

Guests at the opening celebration on November 6 included Premier of Ontario Doug Ford, Mayor of Toronto Olivia Chow and Japanese ambassador to Canada Masashi Nakagome.

The site will be home to more than 1 100 employees and 100 paid interns.

It is the centre of excellence for Hitachi Rail’s signalling and systems business in Canada, overseeing the delivery of projects including the Ontario Line and the modernisation of signalling on Toronto Line 2.

It is also home to Hitachi Rail’s Global CBTC Competence Centre. One of the earliest applications of the SelTrac communications-based train control technology now offered by Hitachi Rail was in Toronto, and SelTrac is now deployed on more than 150 lines in 70 cities around the world. A C$105m programme is underway in Toronto to develop SelTrac Generation 9, incorporating AI, 5G and edge computing.

Advanced engineering simulators recreate the signalling systems of metro networks around the world in a virtual environment, so Hitachi can develop, test and prove the technology before it is installed on the real railway. Metro that are simulated include London, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Hitachi said the new headquarters also strengthens Canada’s sovereign transport capability by anchoring critical signalling technology, engineering expertise and skilled jobs in Canada. It aims to localise more of its global technology portfolio in the country, and create opportunities to export Canadian expertise.

‘Almost 50 years after we established our Canadian signalling business in Toronto, Hitachi Rail is demonstrating its continued ambition to lead the industry with investment in the new HQ and technology centre’, said Arnaud Besse, Managing Director of Hitachi Rail in Canada.

Source: Railway Gazette

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US midterm shift adds trade uncertainty as trans-Pacific ocean freight rates stay elevated

The Democratic sweep of both houses of Congress in last week’s U.S. midterm elections has introduced new uncertainty for trade and logistics, as container imports slow after an unusually long peak season. The political shift leaves the Trump administration facing competing pressures, says rate platform and SONAR data contributor Freightos (NASDAQ: CRGO) in an update. Voter concerns over affordability could encourage restraint on tariffs and efforts to ease energy prices, including through de-escalation of the war in Iran. Conversely, a more difficult legislative environment could push the president toward trade and foreign policy as areas for executive action. The incoming Democratic-controlled Congress will have greater oversight and appropriations powers when it takes office in January, potentially complicating negotiations with China even where the president retains authority to act. For now, U.S.-China maritime policy continues to move toward de-escalation. Both countries have extended the suspension of reciprocal port fees until January 10, 2027, providing shipping lines and cargo owners with temporary relief from the punitive charges. The extension forms part of a broader rollover of the bilateral trade truce, Freightos says, and creates additional room for negotiations ahead of an expected meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in China later this month. Whether that helps produce a longer-term agreement remains uncertain, particularly as technology, security and shipbuilding policy intersect with trade negotiations. Import surge begins to cool The policy uncertainty follows a prolonged U.S. ocean import season that began gathering momentum in May and continued through the summer. According to the National Retail Federation, U.S. ports processed 2.37 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) of loaded imports in September. That was up 3.4% from August and 12.6% from a year earlier, making September the third-busiest month in the report’s history. The NRF attributed the extended surge to renewed tariff pressures in the second quarter, which encouraged frontloading by importers, alongside consumer spending that remained resilient despite inflation. The report projects October arrivals at 2.26 million TEUs, roughly 5% below September, and November at 2.05 million TEUs, approximately 14% below the peak. Its published full-year forecast puts imports at 26 million TEUs, up 2% from 2025. Trans-Pacific ocean rates fell slightly this past week as carriers’ planned general rate increases failed to take hold. Nevertheless, rates remained around peak-season levels at $8,200 per 40-foot equivalent unit (FEU) to the U.S. West Coast and $9,700 to the East Coast. West Coast labor risk persists Easing arrivals have not eliminated pressure on inland transport. Cargo at some West Coast ports has faced extended dwell for intermodal rail. That’s complicated efforts to move merchandise through supply chains even though most holiday goods have already reached the United States. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 26, which represents watchmen at several Los Angeles and Long Beach container terminals, agreed to a contract extension until November 20 while talks with employers of the Pacific Maritime Association continue. A strike would threaten further disruption at a time when importers are still working through the inland movement of peak-season cargo. On Asia-Europe routes, Freightos said rate hikes failed to gain traction. North Europe prices fell 5% last week to $3,400 per FEU, while Mediterranean rates declined 1% to $4,300. Despite those falls, rates remained 50% and 88% above year-earlier levels, respectively. Why it matters: The election adds uncertainty to trade policy just as importers navigate high freight costs and a slowing but still strong shipping season. Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here. Read more: US postpones ‘million-dollar’ China ship tax until January Rising Q3 transportation costs squeeze manufacturers, reward railroads and reshape trade Cosco profit rockets 81% as ocean freight revenue climbs in Q3 Asia-U.S. West Coast ocean container spot rates up 343% since start of Iran war, says Xeneta Strike at Los Angeles-Long Beach port delayed as union contract talks continue The post US midterm shift adds trade uncertainty as trans-Pacific ocean freight rates stay elevated appeared first on FreightWaves.

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Diesel 101: Why Truck Stop Diesel Is Still Above $6 a Gallon as Crude Falls

SONAR’s new sitrep traces diesel from crude to truck stop and explains why prices are holding near record highs, even as Brent drops. Diesel is expensive because refined product supply, not crude, is the bottleneck. Middle East and Russian refinery damage, longer tanker routes and thin U.S. inventories have pushed the diesel crack spread to about three times its early-2026 level. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1', [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], 'div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0'); }); SONAR’s truck stop diesel index (DTS.USA) was $6.23 per gallon on Nov. 9, 2026, up 65% from $3.78 a year earlier. That is about $0.89 per mile in fuel at 7 miles per gallon. SONAR’s new sitrep, Diesel 101: Prices and Logistics Markets, breaks down where that price comes from and what it means for carriers, shippers and brokers. Key takeaways Crude is falling faster than diesel. Brent is down 21% from its Oct. 30 high, but truck stop diesel is down only 2.5%. The crack spread is doing the work. The diesel crack against Brent was $2.51 per gallon on Nov. 9, versus a $0.87 average in January and February. Retail lags wholesale. The FUELS spread (truck stop minus rack) widened to $1.52 from $1.23 on Oct. 30 as rack prices fell faster than pump prices. EIA sees higher diesel for longer. Its November outlook raised the 2027 retail diesel forecast 12%, to $5.03 per gallon from $4.49. The index in your contract matters. On Nov. 9, SONAR’s daily truck stop price was about 10.5 cents above EIA’s weekly national average. 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Brokers: Spot quotes embed a fuel assumption that can go stale within a week while the crack spread is moving. What’s inside the full sitrep How crude becomes diesel, and why a 42-gallon barrel yields only about 12 gallons of it Brent, WTI, rack and truck stop prices put on one per-gallon basis A worked 3-2-1 crack spread example across four SONAR crude series A refiner-profit model linking crack spreads to industry net income A 2026 event timeline from the Hormuz closure to the November Brent plunge EIA quarterly forecasts converted to fuel cost per mile and per truck-year The leading indicators to watch for the next move Subscribe to SONAR to read the full Diesel 101 sitrep → or checkout FreightWaves Market Monitor which also include SONAR research. Frequently asked questions Why is diesel so expensive right now? Refined product supply is the bottleneck, not crude. 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Transportation

FedEx enhances European road and air networks

FedEx Corp. said it has completed projects that improve freight flows through its European road and air networks as the integrated logistics giant implements broader plans to improve profitability in its European division. The company on Monday announced the opening of a new road hub in Alzenau, Germany, to support the movement of freight and bulk shipments across the country and Europe, just in time for the busy peak shipping season. The 166,840-square foot facility features 32 loading bays, trailer parking for 50 vehicles and will create about 85 jobs. The FedEx (NYSE: FDX) terminal is located in an existing building and is equipped with state-of-the-art sorting and handling technology for processing freight, oversize boxes and parcels that are routed on a conveyor system. “By enhancing our road network, we are creating greater connectivity, flexibility, and reliability for businesses. 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