b'28American Journal of Transportation ajot.comI ntermodal& l ogIstIcsn ewsCP and Maersk reach agreement thatConsultant says shippers using will benefit North American customersUS West Coast ports cant book and the environment rail on BNSF and UPCanadian Pacific Railway Limited and Maerskdal transportation in North America.By Stas Margonanis, AJOThave reached an agreement to build and operate aOmar Shamsie, President of Maersk CanadaA Northern California logis- we have a lack of railcar capac-world-classtransloadanddistributionfacilityinsaid, This agreement installs more agile supplyticsconsultantwasunabletoityforinternationalshipments Vancouver to expand CPs and Maersk Canadaschain options and capacity to and from VancouverbookcontainersontheBurling- is inaccurate. BNSF is open for supply chain options for customers. The CP trans- forourNorth Americancustomers.Marketplaceton Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) orbusiness and ready to receive all load facility will be an expansion of CPs existingfluctuations, e-commerce demands and omnichan- Union Pacific (UP) railroads forfreightfromoceancarriersat Vancouver Intermodal Facility and thus will ben- nel fulfillment are testing every companyso thisthe first week of September goingthe West Coast ports. We have a efit from turnkey rail infrastructure. integrated logistics solution with CP will clearlyto and from U.S. West Coast portsrailcar fleet in excess of demand Thetransloadfacilityisdesignedtoapplyelevate supply chain performance.and Midwest destinations. and have sufficient locomotives, Maersksglobalintegratorofcontainerlogis- VancouverwarehousespacehasbeentightThe consultant said, I haveequipmentandpeopleacross tics strategy and will offer customers access to ain 2020which, combined with Vancouver portsbeen working in the industry forournetworktohandlecurrent multi-commodity transload facility that will relyexperiencing high utilizations has placed pressurethirty years and I have never seenandadditionalvolumes.As on the substantial use of rail instead of truck inon supply chain performance. So we applied ouranything like this. Its weird. always, we are in constant com-theVancouvermarket,asCPwillshuttlecon- global integrator strategy to simplify the currentTheresultisthatimport- munication with our customers tainers to and from the ocean terminals via rail.situation and create more end-to-end supply chainers of low value products beingand remain focused on meeting Maersksambitiontoestablishasustainablesolutionsbyreducingmulti-modalhandoffs. Weshipped by containers such as teetheir shipment needs.supply chain aligns with CPs initiatives to fightcannowoffermoreresponsivenesstothepaceshirts would be at an economicAndaUPspokeswoman climate change. This compelling combination willof business by giving supply chain leaders moredisadvantagetransportingcon- referredAJOT to an August 26th provide an effective and efficient long-term inter- control of order timing/fulfillment through inlandtainersbytruckasopposedtostatement by Kenny Rocker, exec-modal solution for customers. routing flexibility, better velocity gained from oneby rail between U.S. West Coastutive vice president, marketing:CPsuniquelandholdingsinVancouverday savings of rail versus truck and cost savingsports and Midwest destinations,Wecontinuetoalignour enableustobringtomarketafirst-of-its-kindthrough seamless transload operations into domes- because of the higher cost. resources to handle the increase transloadfacility thatcreatestremendousoppor- tic 53 trailers. We feel this is quite compelling toTheconsultantexplainedindemandandareexcitedto tunity for sustainable growth, said CPs Presidentlower their year-on-year cost goals while creating athat there is a huge shortage ofbuild on the positive momentum and CEO Keith Creel. Together with Maersk, themore sustainable supply chain with less truck emis- rail capacity: There are no railwere seeing this month. And to global shipping leader, we will transform intermo- sions, added Shamsie. cars and there are no chassis. specificallyaddressthesurge The consultant, who is notofintermodaldemand,weare identified,wascontractedtomodifyingouringatewindows research container rail bookingsatseveralintermodaltermi-on the UP and BNSF to and fromnals across our network to help U.S. West Coast ports including: manage gate and ramp fluidity.Los Angeles WecontinuetoevaluateourLong Beach terminal activity and will makeOakland anynecessaryadjustmentstoSeattle accommodateyourneedsand, Theresultoftheresearchat the same time, deliver the safe was that: The railroads will notand reliable service you expect.take any bookings right now andOn August 24th, the heads so all the containers going to andoftheSurfaceTransportation fromthe WestCoasttoplacesBoard(STB)andtheFederal such as Chicago and MemphisRailwayAdministration(FRA) must go by truck. sent identical letters to the heads The consultant cited the fol- oftheleadingU.S.railroads, lowingtruckingratespercon- includingtheUnionPacific tainer as examples: (UP) and the Burlington North- Los Angeles/ Long Beach toern Santa Fe (BNSF) expressing Chicago: $7000. concernsabouttheadequacy LA/LBtoNewBerlin,Wis- of U.S. railroad service and the consin: $6,700. adequacy of personnel to trans-Maersk CP Vancouver Canada transloading center rendering.LA/LB to Nashville, Tennes- port freight.see: $7,200. Theletter,signedbyFed- LA/LB to Dallas, Texas: $5000. eral Railroad Administrator Ron Swedish startup unveils electric truck design LA/LB to Jacksonville, Flor- BatoryandSurfaceTranspor-ida: $8,800. tationBoardChair AnnBege-for London, Paris Theconsultantsaidthatinman read as follows:Recently, thepastithadbeenpossibletohowever,wehavebeenmade SwedishstartupVoltaprototype certified. delivery vans from Mercedes totruck a container coast-to-coast foraware of service issues, includ-Trucks AB is seeking fresh fundsElectric trucks and vans arecut its European carbon footprint. $2,000: But those days are gone. ingmissedindustrialswitches to begin manufacturing a heavy- drawing increasing interest fromBackedbymostlyScan- Inaddition,Inthegoodand excessively late or annulled duty electric vehicle that it saystraditional vehicle manufacturersdinavianinvestors,Voltahasold days you could ship a con- trainsduetocrewavailability is safer and cheaper to operatesuch as Daimler AGs Mercedes- raised enough money to hire 16tainerfromthe WestCoasttoissues. As you know, with both thanrivaldesigns.TheVoltaBenz and Volvo AB looking topeople and bring in outside engi- Chicago or Memphis by rail forincreasingintermodalandcar-Zeroprototypetobeunveiledcompete with projects by Teslaneersanddesignerstobuilda$1000 dollars. loadvolumesandaprojected Thursday will be equipped withInc. and Rivian Automotive Inc.prototype, Fowler said. Now, theTheresearchfoundonerobust harvest fast approaching, a360-degreecameraandlow- They are responding to demandcompany is looking for fundingexception. It was possible to shiprailroademployeeavailability, ered seat to give drivers betterfromcompanieslikeAmazon. to move to production, possiblya container on a COSCO vessel totogetherwithsufficientequip-visibility of pedestrians, cyclistscomInc.,whichlastmonththroughcontractmanufacturersShanghai from Memphis, Tennes- ment resourcing, is essential for andotherroadusers,Chiefagreedtobuy1,800electricin the U.K. see via the Port of Prince Rupert,safe, fluid rail service in support ExecutiveOfficerRobFowlerBritishColumbiautilizingtheof the nations economic recov-said in an interview. Canadian National Railway. ery. Given the challenges related The 16-ton truck was designedTheproblem:Thetravelto changing demand patterns and to haul goods as far as 125 milestime was over twenty-one daysoperatingconditions,increased onasinglecharge,makingitwhich is way too slow. communicationandtranspar-asaffordableascomparableHowever,railintermodalency with rail shippers is espe-dieselmodels,hesaid.Voltamovesareacomplexaffair,cially important to ensure they isplanningtodeployinParisparticularly when there is a sig- have the information needed to andLondon,twoEuropeannificantfreightimbalanceasplan their businesses and meet citiesthataretryingtoreducethereisatthemomentonthetheir own customers needs.inner city traffic and pollution,WestCoast.ABNSFspokes- (BOOKcontinued on although it has yet to get its onlyman told AJOT, The claim thatpage 31)'