Class I Briefs: BNSF, UP

UP has opened its grain transload facility collocated at the Global IV intermodal terminal in Joliet, Ill. (Photograph Courtesy of UP)

Service and capital project updates were the focus of Oct. 27 customer messages from BNSF Group Vice President, Consumer Products Tom Williams and Union Pacific (UP) Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales Kenny Rocker.

BNSF’s Williams, in a video posted to the railroad’s website (view above), provided a fourth-quarter intermodal update.

“I know we’ve all had a long summer working through ongoing supply chain challenges,” he reported. “But I’m very excited about where we are today and where we’re headed, thanks to the incredible work of our team at BNSF and their efforts to reset and restore our network. We’re seeing exceptionally positive momentum as we look to provide you with a more consistent and reliable offering and also expanding near-term and long-term capacity for growth.”

Williams said that capital investments play a key role in BNSF’s ability to operate “a safe and reliable network as well as meet the needs of our customers. Proof of our commitment is the fact that since 2000, we’ve invested more than $73.5 billion into our network.”

With the holiday shipping season approaching, Williams highlighted a few “near-term capacity projects that will help keep shipments moving smoothly and quickly.” They include:

• Completion this year of a multi-year expansion of BNSF’s Alliance (Tex.) Intermodal Facility with 1,100 new parking stalls. “The additional capacity will provide us with more room to load and unload trains while also providing our trucking partners with fast access to units,” Williams said.  
• Addition in September of a new fourth track into BNSF’s San Bernardino (Calif.) Intermodal Facility. “This is part of a multi-year commitment to increase efficiency and includes adding two additional loading and unloading tracks as well as parking capacity,” Williams said.  
• Additional capacity at BNSF’s Cicero Intermodal Facility in Chicago. “We’ve recently added 400 parking stalls just in time for peak shipping,” Williams said. “Our multi-year plan there also includes additional loading and unloading track capacity.”
• August opening of BNSF’s new Tacoma South Intermodal Facility at the Port of Tacoma, Wash. Williams said it has “great potential for shipments originating in the greater Seattle area. Tacoma South will unlock domestic intermodal capacity as part of a joint effort between J.B. Hunt and BSNF.”

“As you can see, we’re focused on matching our resources with volume to improve velocity, and are confident the actions we’re taking will build momentum and increase network productivity,” Williams reported.

“But we’re not stopping here,” he stressed. “BNSF is planning the first of its kind Barstow International Gateway in Southern California, strategically located in the High Desert, 130 miles from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. This project is a $1.5 billion state-of-the-art master-planned rail facility. It will be the largest facility in North America on more than 4,500 acres. You’ll be hearing more details from me and my team about this exciting new project in the weeks and months to come.”

Williams concluded that BNSF appreciates the efforts customers have made “to prioritize the prompt pick-up of shipments and extending receiving windows to help improve traffic flows, reduce lot congestion at our inland facilities, and provide the space needed for processing inbound freight as quickly as possible. It’s crucial that we keep this up.”

BNSF, he said, recognizes “that having a transportation partner that you can rely on is incredibly important. I assure you that BNSF does not take our role in the greater supply chain for granted. We’re passionate about being the best intermodal provider and working to support your needs.”

UP’s Rocker, in an Oct. 27 “Status of the Railroad” web post, told customers that “[o]verall network performance steadily improved in the third quarter, and while we have seen positive momentum, pockets of our manifest and unit train networks are still challenged. Congestion across the entire supply chain continues to exist, which is pressuring our intermodal service product, especially at some of our inland intermodal terminals. However, our Commercial and Operating teams continue to work together to improve the service product for you.”

UP is making progress on crew resources, he reported, but there is still “room to improve.” To date, the Class I railroad has graduated 890 employees and has an additional 518 in training, all of whom are expected to graduate by January 2023. Hiring “continues to be challenged on the northern portion of the network,” according to Rocker, and UP “will continue to utilize borrow-outs to support demand. Currently, we have approximately 240 borrow-outs trained and in service.”

UP Weekly Metrics

Rocker presented UP’s latest weekly metrics, which were reported to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Oct. 21. They are compared to performance in mid-April and based on the STB definitions for industry reporting, he noted.

• Car Velocity: Improved 12% to 197 miles per day.
• First Mile, Last Mile: Improved one point to 91%.
• Trip Plan Compliance (TPC):
  —TPC Bulk: Improved 10 points to 76%
  —TPC Manifest: Improved 12 points to 71%
  —TPC Intermodal: Degraded one point to 72%
• Operating Inventory: Decreased by 5% to 191,094 cars. This reflects active inventory minus cars placed at customers’ facilities, Rocker noted.

“Our Operating team continues to assess the network and adjust our resources to support customer demand while maintaining fluidity,” Rocker wrote.

Grain Transload Facility Launch

Also in his online post, Rocker announced the opening of UP’s grain transload facility (see video above) collocated at the Global IV intermodal terminal in Joliet, Ill. The facility, whose construction began in 2021, is now operational for UP’s Midwest agricultural producers. “We are loading soybeans and dried distiller grains (DDGs) into marine containers to travel by rail to the West Coast ports for export,” Rocker reported. “This new facility offers greater access to containers for exporters and faster container turnaround times for ocean carriers—a win-win solution for both our agricultural and ocean carrier customers.”

Rocker concluded his customer message by saying UP remains “committed to improving our service to the levels that you expect. We appreciate your collaborative efforts to work with us to ease the supply chain congestion together.”