原文標(biāo)題
American freight
Watching the wheels
Truckers and railwaymen face leaner times ahead
美國貨運(yùn)
觀察車輪
卡車司機(jī)和鐵路工人前路艱難

American railways and truckers are at a crossroads
Will their fortunes diverge?
美國鐵路和卡車運(yùn)輸正處于十字路口
他們的命運(yùn)會(huì)不同嗎？

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IN SOME WAYS, freight rail and trucking seem to be direct competitors.Companies that need to get a container of goods from one city to another can choose between them.
從某些方面來說，貨運(yùn)鐵路和卡車運(yùn)輸似乎是直接競爭對(duì)手。把一箱貨物從一個(gè)城市運(yùn)到另一個(gè)城市的公司需要在它們之間進(jìn)行選擇。

Rail is more cost-effective, fuel-efficient and can move greater volumes on a single trip. Trucking is usually faster and, unless the container is going from rail yard to rail yard, more direct.
鐵路的性價(jià)比和燃料效率更高，單趟可以運(yùn)輸更大的貨量?？ㄜ囘\(yùn)輸?shù)乃俣雀?，如果集裝箱不是從一個(gè)鐵路站運(yùn)到另一個(gè)鐵路站，那么卡車運(yùn)輸可以直達(dá)。

In America, both sectors boomed during the pandemic, as service-deprived shoppers stocked up on stuff.
在美國，這兩個(gè)行業(yè)在疫情期間都蓬勃發(fā)展，因?yàn)榉?wù)匱乏的購物者囤積了大量物資。

Now both are bracing for an economic slowdown, which may also affect them in similar ways.
現(xiàn)在這兩個(gè)行業(yè)都在為經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩做準(zhǔn)備，它們受經(jīng)濟(jì)影響也類似。

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Start with rail. Cost-cutting and price rises brought huge profits to American freight-rail firms in 2021 and 2022, despite lower volumes than before the pandemic.

首先說說鐵路。盡管2021-2022年間的貨運(yùn)量低于疫情前，但成本下降和運(yùn)費(fèi)價(jià)格上漲為美國貨運(yùn)鐵路公司帶來了巨額利潤。

Railways embraced “precision scheduling”, which reduces how long full train carriages sit in yards waiting for a long train to be built.

鐵路采用了“精確調(diào)度”法，這減少了整列火車車廂在站里等待組裝長途火車的時(shí)間。

The industry is also consolidating, which leads to greater pricing power.

該行業(yè)也在整合，這使運(yùn)輸公司有更大的定價(jià)權(quán)。

On April 14th Canadian Pacific will complete its purchase of Kansas City Southern, the first big freight-rail merger that the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the federal rail regulator, has approved since the 1990s.

4月14日，加拿大太平洋將完成對(duì)堪薩斯城南方公司的收購，這是聯(lián)邦鐵路監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)——地面運(yùn)輸委員會(huì)（STB）自1990年代以來批準(zhǔn)的首個(gè)大型貨運(yùn)鐵路合并案。

That will leave America with just six large “Class I” rail companies.
這將使美國只剩下6家大型“一級(jí)”鐵路公司。

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Counterintuitively, the merger may end up enhancing competition.

與直覺相反的是，合并可能最終會(huì)使競爭更加激烈。

That is because not all rail companies compete against each other directly.Rather, the country is split into duopolies: CSX and Norfolk Southern rule the east; Union Pacific and BNSF dominate the west.

這是因?yàn)椴⒎撬需F路公司都直接相互競爭。相反，美國鐵路形成了雙寡頭趨勢：CSX運(yùn)輸和諾福克南方鐵路主導(dǎo)東部區(qū)域；聯(lián)合太平洋鐵路和BNSF主導(dǎo)西部區(qū)域。

Those lines meet in the Midwest, where they compete with Canadian National and, now, the enlarged Canadian Pacific, which will provide the first train lines running from Canadian ports through the heart of America into Mexico.
這些線路在中西部交匯，在那里他們與加拿大國家鐵路公司競爭，現(xiàn)在與擴(kuò)大后的加拿大太平洋鐵路公司競爭，后者將提供加拿大港口--美國腹地--墨西哥的首條火車線路。

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Instead of less choice, in other words, customers in America’s most crowded rail corridor, which runs through the centre of the country, will now have the option of moving goods on a single line from the northern to the southern border.
換句話說，美國最繁忙的鐵路走廊貫穿該國中部，客戶現(xiàn)在可以選擇在一條線路上從北部邊境向南部邊境運(yùn)送貨物，而不是減少選擇。

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If the merger is unlikely to boost margins for the industry, could more cost-cutting? Probably not.

如果合并不太可能提高行業(yè)利潤率，那么是否可以進(jìn)一步削減成本呢？可能不會(huì)。

Fuel, though down from recent peaks, remains pricier than before the war in Ukraine.

燃料價(jià)格雖然低于最近的峰值，但仍比烏克蘭戰(zhàn)前高。

Precision scheduling has come under scrutiny after a chemical-train derailment in Ohio in February.

在 2 月份俄亥俄州發(fā)生化學(xué)物品列車的脫軌事件后，精確調(diào)度受到了嚴(yán)格審查。

If Congress passes rail-safety legislation, that may reduce efficiency and increase costs. Non-fuel expenses such as insurance are already going up.
如果國會(huì)通過鐵路安全立法，那么可能會(huì)降低鐵路效率也會(huì)增加成本。保險(xiǎn)等非燃料費(fèi)用都已上漲。

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So are labour costs, as rail firms recruit workers to improve service.

由于鐵路公司招聘工人來改善服務(wù)，勞動(dòng)力成本也在上升。

At the start of 2023 they employed 8% more people than a year earlier, even though volumes and traffic had fallen in the preceding 12 months.

盡管在過去12個(gè)月中運(yùn)量和交通量都有所下降，但在2023年初，他們雇傭的人數(shù)比一年前多了8%。

Amit Mehrotra of Deutsche Bank notes that adding staff even as volumes decline is a sign that “rail is playing the long game and focusing on service.” But, he concedes, “the bumper-profit period is over.”
德意志銀行的阿米特·梅赫羅特拉指出，即使在運(yùn)量下降的情況下還增加員工，表明“鐵路要專注于服務(wù)并做好打持久戰(zhàn)”的跡象。但是他也承認(rèn)，“鐵路暴利時(shí)代已經(jīng)結(jié)束了?！?/span>

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The same could be true for hauliers, for many similar reasons.

由于許多類似的原因，對(duì)于卡車運(yùn)輸公司來說情況也是如此。

During the pandemic, demand soared and the number of trucking firms, starting one of which requires little more from an entrepreneur than securing the right licence and a lorry, steadily increased.

在疫情期間，需求激增，加上創(chuàng)辦一家卡車運(yùn)輸公司很簡單，只需要?jiǎng)?chuàng)業(yè)者提供相關(guān)許可證和一輛卡車即可，卡車運(yùn)輸公司數(shù)量穩(wěn)步增加。

Today America has nearly 600,000 such companies, 100,000 more than in 2019.

如今，美國有近 60 萬家此類公司，比 2019 年增加了 10 萬家。

Capacity has been recovering from a covid-induced dip: in February it was 4% higher than the year before.

產(chǎn)能一直在從疫情的低谷中恢復(fù)：2月份比去年同期高4%。

But the market is much softer: in the fourth quarter of 2022 freight volumes fell to their lowest level since 2014.
但市場要疲軟得多：2022 年第四季度貨運(yùn)量降至 2014 年以來的最低水平。

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The combination of robust supply and weakening demand has produced an unusual pricing situation.

強(qiáng)勁的供應(yīng)和疲軟的需求相結(jié)合，產(chǎn)生了不尋常的定價(jià)情況。

Typically, rates in the spot market, which shippers use when they have freight to move straight away, exceed contract rates, which shippers and trucking firms set for a fixed term, usually a year.

一般情況下，現(xiàn)貨市場的價(jià)格（托運(yùn)人在需要立即運(yùn)輸貨物時(shí)）高于合同價(jià)格（托運(yùn)人和卡車運(yùn)輸公司約定固定期限，通常為一年）。

For roughly the past 12 months, says Dan Murray of the American Transportation Research Institute, an industry body, “the spot market has been on life support” (see chart).

美國運(yùn)輸研究所（一個(gè)行業(yè)機(jī)構(gòu)）的丹·穆雷說，大約在過去 12 個(gè)月里，“現(xiàn)貨市場在生命線上掙扎”（見圖表）。

In February, spot rates were more than 70% lower than the year before—and below contract rates.
2月份，現(xiàn)貨價(jià)格比去年同期低70%以上——且低于合同價(jià)格。

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This price signal could lead some truckers to call it a day. Others may, like their railway rivals, try to consolidate.

這個(gè)價(jià)格信號(hào)可能會(huì)讓一些卡車司機(jī)收工不干了。其他卡車運(yùn)輸公司可能會(huì)像競爭的鐵路公司一樣，嘗試整合。

On March 21st Knight-Swift, one of America’s biggest truckers, agreed to buy biggish but struggling US Xpress.

3月21日，美國最大的卡車運(yùn)輸公司之一Knight-Swift同意收購規(guī)模較大但陷入困境的US Xpress。

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In the longer run, however, things may be looking up for American truckers and railwaymen alike.

然而，從長遠(yuǎn)來看，美國卡車司機(jī)和鐵路工人的情況可能都會(huì)好轉(zhuǎn)。

The government is ploughing hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to boost domestic manufacturing, particularly of green-energy equipment and semiconductors.

政府正在投入數(shù)千億美元的補(bǔ)貼來促進(jìn)國內(nèi)制造業(yè)，尤其是綠色能源設(shè)備和半導(dǎo)體行業(yè)。

If those handouts have the desired effect, that could mean more intermediate goods, in addition to finished products, to ferry around America’s vastness.
如果這些補(bǔ)貼產(chǎn)生了預(yù)期效果，那意味著除了成品外，還有更多中間產(chǎn)品需要在美國廣袤的土地上運(yùn)輸。

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語詞匯量864左右）
原文出自：2023年4月8日《The Economist》Business版塊。

精讀筆記來源于：自由英語之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene本文編輯校對(duì): Irene
僅供個(gè)人英語學(xué)習(xí)交流使用。

【補(bǔ)充資料】（來自于網(wǎng)絡(luò)）
精確調(diào)度Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR)是一種運(yùn)營鐵路的方法，通過在單個(gè)車廂上安排和管理貨物運(yùn)輸，以實(shí)現(xiàn)最大資產(chǎn)利用率。這是一種商業(yè)策略，旨在通過整合網(wǎng)絡(luò)、放棄效率低下的服務(wù)和線路，并將交通從以貨物場為中心的輪轂-輻條運(yùn)營轉(zhuǎn)移到點(diǎn)對(duì)點(diǎn)的列車運(yùn)動(dòng) 。PSR已經(jīng)被多家美國鐵路公司采用，包括聯(lián)合太平洋鐵路、諾?？四戏借F路、CSX運(yùn)輸、加拿大太平洋鐵路和加拿大國家鐵路。

【重點(diǎn)句子】（3?個(gè)）
Rail is more cost-effective, fuel-efficient and can move greater volumes on a single trip. Trucking is usually faster and, unless the container is going from rail yard to rail yard, more direct.
鐵路的性價(jià)比和燃料效率更高，單趟可以運(yùn)輸更大的貨量?？ㄜ囘\(yùn)輸?shù)乃俣雀欤绻b箱不是從一個(gè)鐵路站運(yùn)到另一個(gè)鐵路站，那么卡車運(yùn)輸可以直達(dá)。

The combination of robust supply and weakening demand has produced an unusual pricing situation.
強(qiáng)勁的供應(yīng)和疲軟的需求相結(jié)合，產(chǎn)生了不尋常的定價(jià)情況。

In the longer run, however, things may be looking up for American truckers and railwaymen alike.
然而，從長遠(yuǎn)來看，美國卡車司機(jī)和鐵路工人的情況可能都會(huì)好轉(zhuǎn)。