Freight and parcel delays expected in US due to Winter Storm Jayden

Freight and parcel delivery delays are expected in the US due to Winter Storm Jayden, with USPS, UPS and FedEx—as well as multiple rail companies—reporting slow or suspended service across the Midwest.

Rail companies including BNSF, Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific issued service alerts announcing their winter contingency plans for dealing with the extreme conditions. Train speed, weight and length has to be reduced to ease the strain on trains’ brakes, while reduced drayage support has led to congestion at storage yards.

The rail companies have suspended service along some national routes heading into Chicago until further notice.

Meanwhile, USPS has suspended service in locations including Chicago and Detroit. FedEx Freight has done the same in various locations across Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and New York, with partial service in New York from UPS and FedEx Ground.

The storm is a result of a polar vortex from the north. Temperatures have dropped to almost minus 48 degrees Celsius at night, with widespread public closures.

Chicago has been setting fire to its rail tracks to mitigate the cold and keep trains moving.

Source: Supply Chain Dive

Header image: Scottb211 on Flickr, under a CC BY 2.0 license