CSX outage: interchange is moving again, but sources differ on how normal the network is

CSX has told customers its technology outage is not a cyberattack, but the first week of November opens with the railroad still working through the aftermath. The outage began Tuesday, Oct. 27, and cut the railroad off from the systems that exchange data with other major railroads. Reports from the weekend disagree on how far recovery has gone, which is itself a planning problem for anyone moving freight through the East.

What happened

According to American Rails, which cited Trains and The Blade, the failure hit yard inventory, crew calling, train bulletins, work orders, shipment tracking and billing. Train dispatching and positive train control stayed up. CSX spokesman Austin Staton said on Oct. 28 that the company's security team found no cyberattack and no data breach. CSX has not named a cause.

American Rails reported on Oct. 30 that by Thursday, Oct. 29, CSX said core functions had returned to many critical applications and that interchange with other Class I railroads had resumed. It also said the documents truckers need to pick up and deliver at intermodal terminals, including North Baltimore, Ohio, had been restored. The same report cited RailState trackside sensor counts, not a CSX figure, showing CSX freight traffic ran 46 percent below its 30-day average for 29 hours before returning to normal. That morning, BNSF-to-CSX volume was 141 percent of normal while CPKC-to-CSX was 63 percent, which RailState attributed to the backlog clearing.

PLP Networks' Oct. 31 logistics update gave a more cautious picture. It said restoration was partial and staged, restrictions remained in place, and CSX was unable to estimate when operations would return to normal.

What it means for carriers

Drayage and over-the-road carriers serving CSX ramps should expect uneven terminal performance for now. When a railroad cannot issue waybills or release delivery documents, containers sit, appointments slip and drivers wait unpaid. Carriers should confirm release status before dispatching to a ramp, and track detention at CSX-served terminals so it can be billed.

A rail backlog can also push freight onto trucks. Any rail-to-truck conversion during the disruption is likely to be short-haul and expedited, so watch for spot postings out of Ohio, the Southeast and the Northeast corridors.

What shippers and brokers should watch

Ask your intermodal providers whether they hold CSX-routed units, and what they will do if dwell times grow. Brokers with contract intermodal commitments should line up truckload backup capacity now, before it is needed.

The disruption lands in a market where DAT reported van spot rates down only two to three cents a mile for the week ending Oct. 24, so extra demand for trucks would meet a market that is still tight. PLP Networks also noted that import containers waiting for rail at Los Angeles and Long Beach have grown, and a port watchmen strike threat is still on the calendar for Nov. 4, which adds to the pressure on inland moves.

The next signals to watch are a CSX statement on a root cause, any official return-to-normal date, and terminal dwell reports from the Midwest and Southeast.