The US Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) recently released the 23rd annual “State of Logistics Report,” which shows that total U.S. business logistics costs in 2011 rose 6.6 percent to $1.28 trillion compared with 2010.

Authored by transportation consultant Rosalyn Wilson of Delcan Inc. and sponsored by Penske Logistics, the report tracks and measures costs associated with moving freight through the U.S. supply chain. The 2011 report states that, based on an overall 15.3 percent year-over-year revenue gain, railroads gained market share last year, especially in intermodal, and did not experience the capacity problems faced by truckers.

Trucking firms also are using intermodal rail to help offset the impacts of driver shortages and the costs of acquiring and maintaining new equipment, according to the report. Overall, intermodal volume has recovered 84 percent of its 2006 volume, “clearly demonstrating that intermodal is the growth sector in freight transportation,” CSCMP officials said in a report summary.

The report also states that with respect to capacity, railroads are in very good shape from an infrastructure, equipment and personnel basis. In addition, rail rates generally have risen significantly and at a much faster rate than inflation, the report concludes.

With Transnet’s “Back to Rail” strategy, will we see a similar pattern develop in South Africa? Time will tell.