CSX Intermodal (CSXI) is expanding its rail-truck network to meet growing demand from the retail sector for a variety of consumer goods, ranging from television sets to tennis shoes.
Jim Hertwig, president of CSXI, said the company is building a new 114-acre terminal in Chambersburg, PA, along with expansions and improvements for its Buffalo, NY, Tampa, FL and Chicago, IL. He noted CSXI’s new Chambersburg facility will have access to nearby warehousing and logistics parks and to Interstate 81. It is scheduled to open in September 2007.
CSXI’s current business mix includes both international (66%) and domestic traffic (34%), Hertwig said, with imported containers to the U.S. up over 30% between 2005 and 2002. Sixty percent of those imports are from China. He said CSXI handles imports mainly from western ports through connections with other railroads, and East Coast ports directly through on-dock and near-dock terminals served by CSX Transportation.
Additionally, a recently expanded agreement with the BNSF Railway (BNSF) will create single-line service for traffic from the West Coast to the Southeast, he noted. “CSX Transportation, the freight rail subsidiary of our mutual parent company CSX, is making significant capacity investments to serve the growing Southeast market,” Hertwig said. “With these investments and the agreement with BNSF, CSXI customers benefit from increased capacity and reliable service.”
Customer service is also being upgraded with CSXI’s door-to-door offering that includes pickup at origin its tractor-trailer owners-operators, with delivery by owners-operators at destination. Simplified order technology, wireless driver communications for instant updates, and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to boost terminal productivity adds to that customer service effort.
“Intermodal offers a practical means of moving large amounts of freight very efficiently,” Hertwig said. “One train can carry 200 containers or more, which conserves fuel and provides an environmentally friendly way to move goods.”
