The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company and Swift Transportation Co Inc, the largest highway truckload carrier, have announced seamless transportation services for perishables.
The two companies will initially provide service for temperature-controlled commodities moving between the West Coast, the Midwest, and the Southeastern United States. BNSF will provide rail car service for long hauls, while Swift will provide highway transportation for short hauls. Both companies will coordinate any transloads and cross docking that may be necessary.
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe is the product of a merger between two of the old names in American railroading the Burlington Northern, which served the Northwest and Central states, and the Santa Fe, long the major rail line in the Southwest from California to Texas and California to Chicago. BNSF operates more than 33,500 miles of track in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. Company headquarters is in Fort Worth, Texas.
Swift Transportation of Phoenix, Arizona, and its wholly owned subsidiary, M S Carriers of Memphis, Tennessee, comprise the largest truckload carrier in North America with more than $2 billion in annual revenue. The combined fleet numbers more than 15,000 tractors. Swift was founded in 1965 and has 35 terminals in 24 states and Mexico. The company has had an average growth rate of 28% per year since 1985.
“BNSF is proud to work with Swift in an effort to make temperature-controlled service easier for our new and existing customers,” says Chuck Schultz, BNSF executive vice-president and chief marketing officer. “Today, many shippers are hesitant to use a rail/truck transportation package because of the complexity of multiple parties. We hope to make the transportation process seamless by providing one point of contact for bimodal shipping. As a result of the opportunity in this market segment, we will be evaluating possibilities for expanding our services.”
Jerry Moyes, Swift chairman and chief executive officer, says, “We are pleased to be in this partnership with BNSF. We see a significant opportunity in this market segment. By working together, we can create service packages which will build on the strengths of both truck and rail transportation.”
Moyes adds, “This new offering is an extension of the programs that we presently operate with BNSF; namely our intermodal service between the Midwest, Texas, and the West Coast, and our I-5 RoadRailer train between Los Angeles and Portland. This new service will not require additional capital expenditures on Swift's part. We will draw on our current fleet of 530 refrigerated trailers. This operation will provide additional loads for our regional and temperature-controlled fleets operating in the Midwest and Southeast.”
