Class I Briefs: CSX, UP, CSX/NS, CPKC/CN
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Officials from the CSX TDSI terminal (New Boston, Mich.) were recently presented an award for the Highest Quality Review Score at the Association of American Railroads’ Damage Prevention and Freight Claims Conference. (CSX Photograph)
A CSX Total Distribution Services Inc. (TDSI) terminal in Michigan earned an Association of American Railroads (AAR) quality award. Also, Union Pacific (UP) is named a 2023 VETS Indexes 4-Star Employer, and will be the exclusive rail service provider for a new industrial rail park in Buckeye, Ariz.; Vertical Cold Storage closed on its acquisition of MWCold, an operator of two temperature-controlled warehouse facilities in central Indiana, one of which is served by CSX and Norfolk Southern (NS); and Avalon Advanced Materials purchased an industrial site in Thunder Bay, Ontario, with existing Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and CN rail services, for its planned midstream lithium-hydroxide processing facility.
AAR on July 13 recognized the TDSI automotive transload terminal (New Boston, Mich.) with an award for the Highest Quality Review Score. The New Boston team of TDSI, a wholly owned CSX subsidiary, accepted this year’s top destination honor at AAR’s Damage Prevention and Freight Claims Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., according to CSX.
The TDSI New Boston terminal is among the largest automotive transload terminals in North America, handling approximately 500,000 new Ford, Stellantis and General Motors vehicles per year. “The terminal led all North American destination auto ramps this year with a quality audit score of 99.98%,” CSX reported.
Quality scores are determined through unannounced visits by AAR auditors, who evaluate hundreds of items related to facility policy, procedures and conditions, with an emphasis on safe operations and damage prevention, according to CSX.
This is the eighth consecutive year a TDSI location has earned an award for destination or origin terminals, CSX said. In 2022, the TDSI Palm Center terminal in Jupiter, Fla., and TDSI East Brookfield terminal in Massachusetts shared the top destination award. In 2021, TDSI terminals won both top awards, with Strawberry Yard in Louisville, Ky., receiving the highest quality scores for origin and Palm Center obtaining the highest quality scores for destination.
“The New Boston team set a goal at the start of the year to win the top honor, and they delivered with flying colors,” said Bryce Thomas, General Manager of TDSI. “Along with our contractors Auto Warehousing Corp. and New Boston Rail Service, we put together a detailed plan to provide the highest quality automotive transload services in the industry.”
“In addition to the broader New Boston team, it’s important to recognize Phillip Peay, Regional Operations Manager, for his outstanding leadership at the terminal,” Thomas continued. “His support and guidance were crucial to our team’s success in earning the 2023 award, and we are grateful for his dedication to our mission.”
UP has been selected as a 2023 VETS Indexes 4-Star Employer in recognition of its efforts “supporting veterans at every stage of the employee journey—from recruitment and hiring, onward,” the Class I railroad reported via LinkedIn on June 20. UP said that in 2022, more than 6,000 veterans comprised 18% of its total workforce.
Recipients of the VETS Indexes Employer Awards are selected based on their responses to VETS Indexes’ survey, which examines veteran employment metrics via a granular, objective and data-focused questionnaire, according to VETS Indexes, an independent provider of custom indexes within the Environmental, Social and Governance arena.
A total of 239 organizations submitted surveys to be considered for the 2023 VETS Indexes Employer Awards: 47 were selected as 5-star employers, 48 as 4-star employers, 48 as 3-star employers, and 57 as recognized employers. Responding organizations included companies large and small, government agencies and departments, nonprofit groups, colleges, and universities, according to VETS Indexes. They ranged in size from fewer than 100 employees to more than 200,000 employees.
Among the other award winners: Booz Allen Hamilton (5-star employer); Jacobs (4-star employer); Parsons (4-star employer); Transportation Security Administration (4-star employer); Cubic Corporation (recognized employer); and Ensco Inc. (recognized employer).
Separately, the new Buckeye Industrial Rail Park in Buckeye, Ariz., will be exclusively served by UP, the Class I railroad reported June 21 on the Inside Track section of its website. The park’s first tenant, Rehrig Pacific Company, recently broke ground on a 260,000-square-foot manufacturing plant. According to UP, Rehrig Pacific in spring 2024 will begin manufacturing on-site reusable plastic products such as industrial roll-out carts, recycling bins, pallets, and other reusable plastic containers that are made from new and recycled resin for Fortune 500 companies, municipalities and delivery distributors. UP’s Los Angeles Service Unit train crews, based out of its Phoenix yards, will provide service.
“Rehrig Pacific’s groundbreaking represents the first of many exciting opportunities to serve this new industrial park,” UP Manager-Industrial Development Shelly Huckfeldt said. “This development will be shovel ready—with utilities and rail already available on-site, future users can quickly take advantage of the competitive benefits of being a rail-served facility.”
The 260-acre rail park, UP reported, is zoned for distribution, logistics, heavy manufacturing and technology development. It is located 40 miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and provides access to SR-85, I-8 and I-10, which places tenants within a one-day trucking distance to major cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and El Paso, according to UP.
Vertical Cold Storage, a developer and operator of temperature-controlled distribution centers sponsored by real-estate investment firm Platform Ventures, has finalized the purchase of MWCold, an operator of two temperature-controlled warehouse facilities in central Indiana. Vertical Cold Storage made the announcement June 21; terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The CSX– and NS-served MWCold Indianapolis warehouse is a 390,000-square-foot multi-modal facility with 33,000 pallet positions and 46 dock doors. The MWCold Pendleton warehouse is northeast of Indianapolis and can handle a variety of temperature zones, including -20°F for ice cream and other frozen products. It offers 159,000 square feet with 19,600 pallet positions and 15 dock doors.
“The close of this transaction helps leverage Vertical Cold’s position within the industry,” Platform Ventures President and Co-founder Ryan Anderson said. “We look forward to further expanding the facilities’ network and enhancing the support offering for both current and potential customers.”
“We are excited to welcome the MWCold team to Vertical Cold and provide them with the opportunity to continue to grow personally and professionally as we serve our customers by embracing the unique complexities of the temperature-controlled supply chain,” said West Hutchison, President and CEO of Vertical Cold Storage. “We are a team of cold storage veterans focused on integrating the people, processes and technology of our growing network as quickly as possible so we can deliver a consistent level of quality service throughout our network.”
In a related development, Americold Realty Trust, Inc. will co-locate its warehouse facilities on CPKC’s transnational, single-line service network, the two companies reported June 21.
Avalon Advanced Materials (Avalon) on June 19 reported acquiring an industrial site in Thunder Bay, Ontario (965 Strathcona Avenue), which has existing CPKC and CN, road, deep-water port, and utilities services. A midstream lithium-hydroxide processing facility will be built there to help “ensure the long-term security of domestic lithium processing capacity required for North America’s electric vehicle (EV) and battery supply chain,” according to Avalon, a Canadian mineral development company, whose aim is to become “a vertically integrated lithium producer.”
“In addition to accelerating onshore EV production capacity, our plan will help achieve a geo-strategic priority for Canada and other G7 nations to establish stable, secure access to refined raw material,” said Zeeshan Syed, President of Avalon. “While there is more work to do with our government and community partnerships, we are confident we will help close the gap between increasing demand and domestic supply of this key resource and help fortify North American energy security.”
“Thunder Bay has long served as a strategic port for Canadian industry, facilitating trade between Ontario’s north and the rest of North America,” said Ken Boshcoff, Mayor of Thunder Bay. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Avalon to continue that tradition, while bringing jobs and new economic opportunities to the region.”
According to Avalon, the integrated project, when complete, will:
- “Create an estimated 500 jobs in the city of Thunder Bay as well as in Kenora, Ontario and their surrounding regions, respectively.
- “Enable broader development of northwestern Ontario’s lithium assets by producers seeking to utilize the proximity of Avalon’s processing capacity.
- “Create tangential benefits, including the intention to create a regional critical-minerals innovation and R&D hub in partnership with local university and college stakeholders.
- “Create new economic development opportunities for local and regional First Nations communities.
- “Demonstrate best-in-class environmental and sustainability process innovation and enable novel Canadian IP.
- “Create supply chain efficiencies by connecting lithium assets in the north with regional processing capacity thus leading to a decreased life-cycle carbon footprint compared to producers who ship raw materials to processing facilities overseas.”
