b'SEPTEMBER 28 - OCTOBER 11, 2020MaritiMe Section 31(BOOKcontinued from page 28) sideration is given to loading restrictionsthe most suitable vehicle (i.e., straddle car- (MODELcontinued from page 30)Jack Hedge, Executive Director, Utahsuchasweightrestrictions,dangerousrier, reach stacker, AGV, tractor, etc.). Itwith Cairo to help drive economic growth Inland Port Authority and formerly withgoods, stacking constraints, etc. To ful- creates multiple transport chains therebyall along the Mississippi River.the Port of Los Angeles, toldAJOT thatfill individual KPIs and support on-timereducingwaitingtimes,emptyvehiclesThe Alexander Cairo Port will pro-U.S.WestCoastportsarealsolosingdepartures, all planning criteria can beand vehicle idle times. videaresourcethat Americanindustry businesstothePortofPrinceRupert,customized.Additionally,thesolutionThe use of AI based optimization soft- needs to reach national and global mar-BritishColumbiaforcontainerstrans- provides an optimized allocation for out- ware facilitates terminal-wide automatedkets,whilecreatingeconomicgrowth ported by the Canadian National Railwaygoing train containers, which is updateddecision-makingwhich,inturn,helpsand good jobs for Southern Illinois in the to and from Chicago and U.S. Midwestas needed after loading begins. container terminal operators increase effi- process, said Larry Klein, chairman of destinations: Imports and exports transit- Rail schedulers serve to optimize theciencies and improve overall productiv- the Alexander Cairo Port District. Were ing through the Canadian Port of Princetrain loading/unloading processes betweenity and asset management. A McKinseyhonored to partner with these leaders in Rupert and Chicago pay $500 to $1000yard blocks and rail tracks and back again.study showed that progressive ports withthe industry and look forward to build-less per move than by transporting con- This is accomplished by real-time adjust- a high degree of automation can reduceing a facility that is ready for the future of tainers to and from the West Coast portsmentstocraneschedulesreflectingjoboperatingcostsby25%to55%,whileglobal shipping.and Chicago on the UP and BNSF. progress and the cranes position to reduceincreasing productivity by 10% to 35%.The Alexander Cairo Port Authority Inan August27thanalysis,TrainstraveldistancesandincreasecontainerAgileoptimizationsoftwareisaninte- has spent years developing a new Mis-MagazinereporterBillStephens,con- handling efficiency. They further enhancegral part of a ports modernization strat- sissippiRiverportterminalthatwould trasted responses of the BNSF and UP tocrane productivity as the optimizer suggestsegy. Easy and quick to integrate with anyinclude a state-of-the-art intermodal rail spikes in summer imports at the Ports ofdouble-cycling when possible thereby cre- existing TOS, it is a cost-efficient way todesign capable of handling both contain-Los Angeles and Long Beach: ating a positive flow relating to handoversfurther enhance work processes and max- ers and other valued cargoes, high speed BNSFRailwayandUnionPacificand equipment transfers. Terminals operat- imize the use of existing equipment, off- cranesandotherterminalcapabilities are facing the same problem: An unprec- ing multiple cranes simultaneously benefitsetting the need for additional equipmentneeded to support modern container ship-edentedspikeinintermodaltrafficthatfrom the optimizers ability to split cranespurchases. With these tools in place, portspinglogisticalrequirements.Theport wants to move out of Southern Californiaand dynamically assign resources to avoidcan adapt quickly to any intermodal chal- will also serve as a hub for moving bulk to Texas, Chicago, and elsewhere in thehandlingbottlenecks.Theworkloadislenges, keeping the supply chain flowing. agricultural products and other materials Midwest . The onslaught of containersadjusted automatically for planned breaks,for domestic and global markets. Eighty and trailers that began in June and con- maintenanceandworkflowdisruptions.c losiNGr emarks percentofinlandbargetrafficinthe tinues today followed record declines inThe rail scheduler prioritizes all loadingThe AAPA is urging the U.S. govern- U.S. passes by Cairos strategic location. April [and] in May due to the economicmovementstopromoteon-timeperfor- ment to pass legislation allowing for $1.5The new port will be serviced by Class impact of the coronavirus pandemic mance. Another key optimization modulebillion in direct grants to help U.S. ports1 railroads and several major highways Stephensfirstcitedtheresponseofis the vehicle optimizer. It provides real- coveroperations,equipmentandinfra- and will be protected from flooding by BNSF: As you can imagine, we quicklytime matching of each transport order withstructure costs and debt service expenses.recently reinforced levees.moved to position resources to be able to handle that increase. BNSF Chief Operat-ing Officer Katie Farmer told an Intermo-dal Association of North America webcast earlier this month. BNSF recalled crews, firedupparkedlocomotives,andpulled miles of cars out of storage and sent them westasbaretabletrains.Itaddeddray-age support and parking spaces at its Los Angeles area terminals. And BNSF even flew terminal personnel from Chicago and elsewhere on the system to its terminals in Southern California Stephens says UP did not move as fast:UPtookamuchmoremeasured approach, even as volume in June jumped 40%inSouthernCaliforniafromone week to the next. UP recalled crews and pulled locomotives and cars from storage, too. But UP did so at its own pace because railroads simply cant handle such sudden swingsinvolume,UPChiefOperating Officer Jim Vena explained on the com-panys earnings call in July.There was no way I was going to flow trains one way and have all the deadheads and extra costs. We took it on a systematic basis, and were fluid now, Vena said Stephensadded,ButUPalsohas usedincreasinglyexpensivesurcharges in Californiafirst $500 per container, then$1,500,andnowarecord$3,500, theJournal of Commerce reportsthat tell potential low volume customers to hit the highway. This hurts UPs partners, the intermodal marketing companies it relies on to fill its railroad-supplied containers.Stephens wondered about the differ-ent responses: Why would BNSF move heaven and earth to capture volume while UP aimed to tightly manage its capacity?He says, The most obvious answer is that UPs response was straight out of the PrecisionScheduledRailroading[PSR] playbook.Containertrafficisntahigh-margin business. Running empty trains, or repositioning empties, increases your costs andburnscrewsandlocomotiveswhile throwing your network out of balance.(HELPINGcontinued from page 30)tools in the software suite for ports and terminals are train load optimizers, rail schedulers and vehicle optimizers. Each hasanimportantroleintheportand terminalprocess.Trainloadoptimiz-ers select the rail containers considered for train stowage to reduce yard work, maximizerailareaproductivity,and cater to double stacking, while ensuring compliance. They create optimized train loadplans,makingreal-timeadjust-ments to reflect new containers becom-ingavailable,andpreviouslyplanned containersnotbeingavailablenowor determined unsuitable for loading. Con-'