“Green” Transportation Practices Commended

Railex Honored by CSX for Environmental Commitment

“Green” Transportation Practices Commended

-- April 21, 2010

Today Railex announced its receipt of a 2009 CSX Environmental Award. The award will be presented this evening at the second-annual CSX Environmental Awards dinner in Jacksonville, Florida, part of a week-long Earth Day celebration at CSX. 

“We’re honored to be recognized for our commitment to the environment,” said Joe Leuci. “Environmental stewardship is a key component of our business operations and we’re proud that our work with CSX advances this goal.”

CSX, a leading transportation company providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services, recognizes Railex’s commitment to “greening” supply chains by shipping via rail and thereby reducing carbon emissions, decreasing congestion on highways, and conserving fossil fuels. 

The awards specifically recognize customers who led their industry in CO2 emissions avoidance in 2009; demonstrated the greatest improvement in avoided emissions in 2009 versus 2008; or deserve special recognition for their commitment to sustained supply chain practices through the use of rail or intermodal. 

“CSX is pleased to recognize Railex’s commitment to sustainability,” said Clarence W. Gooden, executive vice president, sales and marketing and chief commercial officer, CSX. “We are pleased to be a part of their green supply chain. A single CSX train can haul a ton of freight more than 436 miles on a single gallon of fuel.” 

"As the year goes on, there will be more shipments of produce

"The truck shortage is a lot more acute these days than past years. A lot of truck companies went out of business when fuel prices spiked and the economy went south, so now it's getting difficult to find a truck to ship produce, when a few years ago it wouldn't have been a problem," said Rock Woodlief, potato and onion transportation manager for LMTS.

Higher fuel prices have had drastic impacts on the availability of trucks, but they aren't the only problem. The economy has forced many more companies out of business, creating a shortage that must be shared by many produce companies. Woodlief doesn't expect it to get better, either.

"As the year goes on, there will be more shipments of produce, potatoes in general, and we're having a shortage of trucks where we never had a shortage before, so we see it as a sure sign that it'll get worse as the year goes on," Woodlief said.

LMTS is working to ensure they have enough contracts to move produce, and one method is through networking with their current carriers to find new carriers, but they are also working to satisfy the needs of their current carriers to help them remain interested in carrying LMTS's cargo. Even in a bad market, customer service goes a long way to ensuring the company's needs are met.

The truck shortage has actually had many benefits for the rail industry, as they have been able to pick up at least part of the slack left by the trucks.

"People are looking for alternative methods of transportation, and they look to rail in a higher-diesel market," said Paul Esposito, sr. vice president for Railex, a Riverhead, N.Y.-based rail company that moves cargo across the United States. They move 6,000 car loads of agricultural products annually, 25 percent of which is potatoes, in a controlled operation, allowing them to control distribution through the entire move.

South African citrus has been sold mainly east of the Mississippi River

South African citrus producers will ship 20 percent more fruit this summer to Gloucester Terminals L.C.C. on the Delaware River because, for the first time, some of the fruit is going by refrigerated rail to the West Coast.

The first navel oranges, clementines and grapefruit of South Africa's citrus season, now through mid-October, were unloaded Tuesday from the Tama Hope, docked south of the Walt Whitman Bridge. Stevedores went into the hatches to remove 2,800 pallets, each weighing about a ton.Fresh fruit from Chile, Spain, Morocco and Argentina and bananas from the world's largest producers are a year-around business in the ports of Philadelphia, Wilmington, South Jersey, and Chester.Fresh fruit accounts for about 25 percent of ship cargoes coming into the Delaware River. About 50 percent, excluding bananas, arrive from Chile in the winter.

Historically, South African citrus has been sold mainly east of the Mississippi River. But this year a consortium of 350 South African growers has arranged for a refrigerated rail company, Railex L.L.C., to transport about 30 percent of the fruit by train from Rotterdam, N.Y., to California and Washington State.All South African fruit to the United States passes through Gloucester and has for more than a decade.

"It will be about 20 percent more citrus than was imported last year, another 5,000 pallets," said Marc Solomon, president and chief executive officer of Fisher Capespan, a large importer of South African citrus.

Thomas Finkbiner was president of Pacer Stacktrain-Railex

Railex is proud to announce and welcome Thomas Finkbiner as its new Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Thomas Finkbiner was president of Pacer Stacktrain, and prior to that appointment, he was chairman, president, and CEO of Quality Distribution, the largest tank truck carrier in North America. Before joining Quality Distribution in 1999, Thomas Finkbiner served as vice president of intermodal for Norfolk Southern Corporation from 1987 through 1999. From 1981 to 1987, he served as vice president of marketing and administration for North American Van Lines. He has also held senior executive positions with Airborne Freight Corporation from 1977 to 1981 and Roadway Express from 1975 to 1977. 

He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Rutgers University and currently serves as chairman of the Intermodal Transportation Institute (ITI), a non-profit entity promoting sustainable intermodal transportation systems headquartered at the University of Denver. Mr. Finkbiner also is a member of the ITI Faculty Team, teaching in the ITI Executive Master's Program, which awards a Master of Science in Intermodal Transportation Management from the University of Denver.

We are pleased to have Thomas Finkbiner on board, and look forward to a prosperous future with him.

The companies' sales volume is in excess of 300 million dollars a year

AMPCO Distribution Services and its affiliates is a national produce distribution firm established over 30 years ago, procuring and shipping produce domestically and importing produce year round for the retail and foodservice industries. The companies' sales volume is in excess of 300 million dollars a year, and in addition has seven distribution facilities along the eastern seaboard from New Brunswick Canada to Florida. These distribution centers are designed for packing, re-packing, grading, warehousing, and freight forwarding a variety of produce commodities in order to accommodate the industry's "just in time delivery" needs. AMPCO Distribution Services also operates various sourcing and buying offices throughout the United States and Canada and is respected for its innovation in both inventory management and product marketing. Railex, LLC, a division of AMPCO Distribution Services Management, LLC is ready to meet the challenging needs of transporting perishables across the country.

Union Pacific Corporation owns one of America's leading transportation

The train, originating in Wallula, Wash., and terminating in Albany, New York, is a joint service offering with CSX Transportation that will include a seamless interchange in Chicago. Railex, LLC, a division of AMPCO Distribution Services, will own and operate both new loading and unloading centers and will manage handling and distribution of product on each end.

Union Pacific Corporation owns one of America's leading transportation companies. Its principal operating company, Union Pacific Railroad, links 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country and serves the fastest-growing U.S. population centers. Union Pacific's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Energy, Industrial Products and Intermodal. The railroad offers competitive long-haul routes from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways. Union Pacific connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major gateways to Mexico, making it North America's premier rail franchise.

CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., owns companies providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services that are among the nation's leading transportation companies, connecting 70 river, ocean and lake ports, as well as more than 230 shortline railroads. Its principal operating company, CSX Transportation Inc., operates the largest railroad in the eastern United States with a 22,000-mile rail network linking commercial markets in 23 states, the District of Columbia, and two Canadian provinces. CSX Intermodal, Inc. is a stand-alone integrated intermodal company serving customers with its own truck and terminal operations plus a dedicated domestic container fleet. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at the company's website, www.csx.com.

Union Pacific and CSX to Introduce a New Produce Service in 2006

Union Pacific and CSX to Introduce a New Produce Service in 2006

CSX Press Release -- August 02, 2005

Fresh Washington State produce will soon make its way to New York State aboard Union Pacific Railroad's and CSX Transportation's new dedicated produce unit train. The service, made available through agreements with Railex LLC, is scheduled to begin in first quarter 2006.

The 55-car train will consist of new refrigerated boxcars that can carry as much as four truckloads of produce each. The high-speed travel time - 124 hours - is partly achieved by keeping the train intact from its loading point until arrival as a "unit" at destination.

"We believe this new service will provide an alternative method to ship perishable produce from Washington to New York other than over-the-road transportation," said John Philp, Union Pacific Railroad, assistant vice president - food and refrigerated products.

"We are very excited about this new service option for shippers of perishable goods, which will fill an existing transportation void by allowing for a fifth-morning arrival from Washington State to the Northeast," said Andy Pollak, CEO and owner of AMPCO Distribution Services Management, LLC.

The refrigerated boxcars are a new generation of 64-foot railcars with enhanced insulation, energy efficient cooling systems and GPS monitoring to ensure proper temperature control. The unit train is designed to carry products such as apples, pears, onions and potatoes. In addition, this new service opens the gateway for a variety of other highly perishable commodities currently transported by truck. The train will provide Washington perishable shippers with both a high-speed and reliable transportation alternative while offering the cost savings that rail provides.

Rotterdam's Railex looking to Southeast to expand

Rotterdam's Railex looking to Southeast to expand

Eric Anderson -- TIMES UNION, ALBANY, N.Y. -- March 8, 2010
Railex LLC is planning a new terminal in the southeastern United States to handle produce and other perishables, according to a report in The Produce News.

Railex, which began operations in October 2006 with a single train carrying produce from Washington state to Rotterdam, now operates four trains a week in each direction, two from Washington and two from a recently completed warehouse in central California.

The company employs more than 200 people in Rotterdam, from which produce is distributed up and down the East Coast. Railex has been seeking goods to ship back to the West Coast, and recently has had some success with such high-value items as wines from Germany, Spain, France and Italy, according to The Produce News.

There was no word whether any New York state wine was making its way to either California or Washington.

Railex is seeking to open its southeastern terminal by the end of this year, Paul Esposito, the company’s senior vice presdent of sales and logistics, told The Produce News.

South African citrus to be shipped on Railex cars

South African citrus to be shipped on Railex cars

South African citrus will be more readily available west of the Mississippi this summer, thanks to an agreement between the industry and a leading produce rail service.
Andy Nelson -- The Packer -- May 28, 2010
Riverhead, N.Y. based Railex LLC will ship South African citrus west from the East Coast, according to a news release from the Citrusdal, South Africa-based Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum.

Western retailers will have South African fruit six days after it reaches the Port of Philadelphia, according to the release.

In 2009, South African citrus sales from the Midwest and West made up about 35% of the industry’s U.S. total, according to the forum.

For 2010, officials expect it to be 50% of all sales.

Railex ships fruits and vegetables back and forth from Delano, Calif., and Wallula, Wash., and Rotterdam, N.Y.

Railex makes the cross-country trip four times a week from west to east, and back.

Railex will load the fruit onto Union Pacific trains - dubbed the Fruit Express - near Albany for the five-day journey west. On the sixth morning, the fruit will be available to supermarkets, restaurants, and wholesalers from San Diego north to Portland and Seattle, said Railex's vice president of corporate accounts, Bill Welker.

Railex makes the cross-country trip four times a week from west to east, and back. The trains depart Rotterdam, N.Y., on Tuesday and Thursday nights, with 55 rail cars, to Delano, Calif., and Pasco, Wash. "We take wine, orange juice, anything that's refrigerated and time sensitive," Welker said.

Why does so much fruit come here?

"Philadelphia is incredibly well-suited for the fresh fruit industry in terms of transportation, cold storage facilities, and U.S. Department of Agriculture facilities," Solomon said.

The region has extensive on-dock refrigerated warehouses and a network of inland cold-storage facilities accessible to shippers "that is unparalleled in the United States," said Leo Holt, whose family owns Gloucester Terminals and runs Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia.

In Vineland, Hammonton and Glassboro, which cater to tomato, peach and blueberry growers, "there is lots of management and skilled labor who know how to handle fruit," Holt said. In nearby Kennett Square, there is temperature-controlled storage traditionally geared to the mushroom industry.

South African fruit exports, expected to be between $70 million to $80 million in 2010, will benefit the entire region because many who work on the piers in Gloucester live in South Philadelphia. Others live in South Jersey. "Likewise, the guys who work the container ships over at Packer Avenue live in South Jersey or Wilmington. It's a community," Holt said.

20 percent more S. African fruit arriving this summer

South African citrus producers will ship 20 percent more fruit this summer to Gloucester Terminals L.C.C. on the Delaware River because, for the first time, some of the fruit is going by refrigerated rail to the West Coast.

The first navel oranges, clementines and grapefruit of South Africa's citrus season, now through mid-October, were unloaded Tuesday from the Tama Hope, docked south of the Walt Whitman Bridge. Stevedores went into the hatches to remove 2,800 pallets, each weighing about a ton.

Fresh fruit from Chile, Spain, Morocco and Argentina and bananas from the world's largest producers are a year-around business in the ports of Philadelphia, Wilmington, South Jersey, and Chester.

Fresh fruit accounts for about 25 percent of ship cargoes coming into the Delaware River. About 50 percent, excluding bananas, arrive from Chile in the winter.

Historically, South African citrus has been sold mainly east of the Mississippi River. But this year a consortium of 350 South African growers has arranged for a refrigerated rail company, Railex L.L.C., to transport about 30 percent of the fruit by train from Rotterdam, N.Y., to California and Washington State.

All South African fruit to the United States passes through Gloucester and has for more than a decade.

"It will be about 20 percent more citrus than was imported last year, another 5,000 pallets," said Marc Solomon, president and chief executive officer of Fisher Capespan, a large importer of South African citrus.

The train, loaded with the equivalent of 200 truck loads of onions

The train, loaded with the equivalent of 200 truck loads of onions, apples and broccoli packed into cars set with ideal temperatures for each type of food, takes off from Walulla. The train only has to stop to change crews and fuel up--there is no sitting around in railyards waiting for a right train, no jostling of the produce as cars are hitched and unhitched.

Five days later, it pulls into a similar refrigerated warehouse in Rotterdam, where it is then sent by trucks that bring produce north into New England and eastern Canada, and south as far as North Carolina. Railex has signed some big customers early, like grocers Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people ), the nation's biggest retailer, and Ahold (nyse: AHO - news - people ), plus distributors like Sysco (nyse: SSY - news - people ).

And the biggest benefit, according to Pollak: Having West Coast produce sitting in a refrigerated warehouse on the East Coast will allow grocery stores on the East Coast to shorten their order times, increase their inventory turns and reduce inventory costs. Instead of ordering Washington apples for delivery in a week from Washington, customers will be able to order them from Rotterdam, N.Y., for delivery the next day.

"For an East Coast customer to be able to have whatever he wants from the West Coast in 24 hours--you can't beat it," Pollak says. "We're changing the industry here."

River closure could impact truck traffic

Barge traffic along the Columbia-Snake River System is scheduled for a temporary closure at the end of 2010 for repair of locks that will maintain the long-term reliability of the river system, leaving short-term impacts on cargo transportation throughout the Northwest.

"The Portland, Ore. and Walla Walla, Wash. districts of the Army Corps of Engineers are implementing a long-term plan for major maintenance of the lock system, and the stimulus package provided enough funds for three projects to be tackled during lock closure," said Kristin Meira, government relations director for the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, Portland.

"This is good news for the long-term reliability of the system, said Meira."

The navigation locks at The Dalles, John Day and Lower Monumental dams will close December 10, 2010 for major repairs, closing the dams for 14, 14, and 13 weeks respectively. Maintenance outages at McNary, Lower Granite, Ice Harbor Dam, Bonneville, Little Goose and Lower Monumental will be undertaken during this time.

The locks will be closed from Dec. 10, 2010 to March 18, 2011, and barge traffic from the Dallles Dam to Lewiston, Ida. will be impossible, though traffic below the dam will still be passable.

South African fruit exports, expected to be between $70 million to $80 million in 2010

Hammonton and Glassboro, which cater to tomato, peach and blueberry growers, "there is lots of management and skilled labor who know how to handle fruit," Holt said. In nearby Kennett Square, there is temperature-controlled storage traditionally geared to the mushroom industry.

South African fruit exports, expected to be between $70 million to $80 million in 2010, will benefit the entire region because many who work on the piers in Gloucester live in South Philadelphia. Others live in South Jersey. "Likewise, the guys who work the container ships over at Packer Avenue live in South Jersey or Wilmington. It's a community," Holt said.

"The South African fruit for us fills in a lot of gaps in the slow season," said Jim McLaughlin, chief stevedore at the Gloucester terminal. "Summer is notoriously slow for general cargo. The South African fruit is a boost. It's more hours, particularly for longshoremen and truck drivers. It's a trickle-down thing."

The ships will arrive every 10 days from South Africa and "will keep people working who might not otherwise have opportunities," Holt said. "So it's a very important piece of business."

Railex will load the fruit onto Union Pacific trains

Railex will load the fruit onto Union Pacific trains - dubbed the Fruit Express - near Albany for the five-day journey west. On the sixth morning, the fruit will be available to supermarkets, restaurants, and wholesalers from San Diego north to Portland and Seattle, said Railex's vice president of corporate accounts, Bill Welker.

Railex makes the cross-country trip four times a week from west to east, and back. The trains depart Rotterdam, N.Y., on Tuesday and Thursday nights, with 55 rail cars, to Delano, Calif., and Pasco, Wash. "We take wine, orange juice, anything that's refrigerated and time sensitive," Welker said.

Why does so much fruit come here?

"Philadelphia is incredibly well-suited for the fresh fruit industry in terms of transportation, cold storage facilities, and U.S. Department of Agriculture facilities," Solomon said.

The region has extensive on-dock refrigerated warehouses and a network of inland cold-storage facilities accessible to shippers "that is unparalleled in the United States," said Leo Holt, whose family owns Gloucester Terminals and runs Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia.

All South African fruit to the United States passes through Gloucester and has for more than a decade.

South African citrus producers will ship 20 percent more fruit this summer to Gloucester Terminals L.C.C. on the Delaware River because, for the first time, some of the fruit is going by refrigerated rail to the West Coast.

The first navel oranges, clementines and grapefruit of South Africa's citrus season, now through mid-October, were unloaded Tuesday from the Tama Hope, docked south of the Walt Whitman Bridge. Stevedores went into the hatches to remove 2,800 pallets, each weighing about a ton.

Fresh fruit from Chile, Spain, Morocco and Argentina and bananas from the world's largest producers are a year-around business in the ports of Philadelphia, Wilmington, South Jersey, and Chester.

Fresh fruit accounts for about 25 percent of ship cargoes coming into the Delaware River. About 50 percent, excluding bananas, arrive from Chile in the winter.

Historically, South African citrus has been sold mainly east of the Mississippi River. But this year a consortium of 350 South African growers has arranged for a refrigerated rail company, Railex L.L.C., to transport about 30 percent of the fruit by train from Rotterdam, N.Y., to California and Washington State.

All South African fruit to the United States passes through Gloucester and has for more than a decade.

Railex service delivers South African citrus to West Coast terminals by train

Railex service delivers South African citrus to West Coast terminals by train

Joel Gebet -- The Produce News -- July 29, 2010

South African citrus is making its way to the West Coast this year in large volumes for the first time in the decade that it has been exported to the United States, and Railex LLC is playing a major part in the logistics enabling this to take place.

Railex, a division of Riverhead, NY based ADS Management LLC, is known for its four refrigerated, temperature-controlled unit trains that depart from its West Coast terminals in Delano, CA, and Wallula, WA, and terminate on the East Coast at its terminal in Schenectady, NY, weekly.

This year, importers of South African citrus are utilizing Railex’s trains to move their product as the trains make their return trips back to their respective terminals on the West Coast.

“2010 is the first time in the 11 years we have been exporting to the United States that we will be able to extend our geographic footprint to include the West Coast,” Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum Chairman Gerrit van der Merwe said in a press release issued in late May. “An arrangement with Railex will enable retailers to have our fruit available and consumers to enjoy our citrus within six days of leaving the port in Philadelphia.”

"People are looking for alternative methods of transportation, and they look to rail in a higher-diesel market

"As the year goes on, there will be more shipments of produce, potatoes in general, and we're having a shortage of trucks where we never had a shortage before, so we see it as a sure sign that it'll get worse as the year goes on," Woodlief said.

LMTS is working to ensure they have enough contracts to move produce, and one method is through networking with their current carriers to find new carriers, but they are also working to satisfy the needs of their current carriers to help them remain interested in carrying LMTS's cargo. Even in a bad market, customer service goes a long way to ensuring the company's needs are met.

The truck shortage has actually had many benefits for the rail industry, as they have been able to pick up at least part of the slack left by the trucks.

"People are looking for alternative methods of transportation, and they look to rail in a higher-diesel market," said Paul Esposito, sr. vice president for Railex, a Riverhead, N.Y.-based rail company that moves cargo across the United States. They move 6,000 car loads of agricultural products annually, 25 percent of which is potatoes, in a controlled operation, allowing them to control distribution through the entire move.

"The truck shortage is a lot more acute these days than past years.

Ten million tons of cargo, worth an estimated $2 billion, moves through the system annually, much of it agricultural products. Potato growers will feel less of an impact, because most of the crop is trucked to the Port of Seattle, although they will see increased competition for trucks. Rail companies will be increasing cars to compensate, but the cargo space will be shared by everyone affected by the closure, potentially creating problems.

"A lot of wheat has to go by truck, so it's going to make it tough to find trucks if the trucks are tied-up taking wheat to market," said Chris Voight, executive director of the Washington Potato Commission.

"This is going to be more of a problem for packing sheds and processors. They're the ones who have to be a little nervous, because they're the ones who have to compete with the wheat industry."

Growers across the United States are finding it increasingly difficult to find trucks to move their product. L&M Transportation Services (LMTS) in Raleigh, N.C., has seen a big loss of trucking opportunities for the past several years.

"The truck shortage is a lot more acute these days than past years. A lot of truck companies went out of business when fuel prices spiked and the economy went south, so now it's getting difficult to find a truck to ship produce, when a few years ago it wouldn't have been a problem," said Rock Woodlief, potato and onion transportation manager for LMTS.

River closure could impact truck traffic

River closure could impact truck traffic

Everett Brazil III -- Spudman -- June 2, 2010

Barge traffic along the Columbia-Snake River System is scheduled for a temporary closure at the end of 2010 for repair of locks that will maintain the long-term reliability of the river system, leaving short-term impacts on cargo transportation throughout the Northwest.

"The Portland, Ore. and Walla Walla, Wash. districts of the Army Corps of Engineers are implementing a long-term plan for major maintenance of the lock system, and the stimulus package provided enough funds for three projects to be tackled during lock closure," said Kristin Meira, government relations director for the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, Portland.

"This is good news for the long-term reliability of the system, said Meira."

The navigation locks at The Dalles, John Day and Lower Monumental dams will close December 10, 2010 for major repairs, closing the dams for 14, 14, and 13 weeks respectively. Maintenance outages at McNary, Lower Granite, Ice Harbor Dam, Bonneville, Little Goose and Lower Monumental will be undertaken during this time.

The locks will be closed from Dec. 10, 2010 to March 18, 2011, and barge traffic from the Dallles Dam to Lewiston, Ida. will be impossible, though traffic below the dam will still be passable.

basic things that you would have to know in transporting your vehicle

The basic things that you would have to know in transporting your vehicle are the destination, prices and the type of vehicle that you will be transporting. It would be best that you try filling out these forms because it would be able to provide you with a good idea of what theses companies are capable of doing.

You have to make sure that you go through this process for each of the companies that you want to go with. It will be much easier on your part to decide on a company. This will be based on the testimonials, feedback and ratings received by these companies. No matter what kind of service you need, it is still important to stick to this system because it is able to provide the best kind of transport service that would exactly fit your needs. This industry has been running for several years now and they want nothing more but to be able to provide their consumers with the best type of service.

VITAMINS About Railex Vitamins Solutions

Railex, a state-of-the-art, refrigerated unit train that offers coast-to-coast rail transit in 5 days is revolutionizing the transportation and logistics services in the vitamin industry. Railex’s platform provides inventory visibility, reliability as well as optimum handling and sustainable solutions to manage your supply chain.

Railex Benefits:

• Railex offers further inventory transparency with traceability through RF infrastructure and technology. Every pallet is labeled and barcoded and can be tracked via our GPS system so you always have real-time access to your inventory.
• Separate computer controlled temperature zones during storage and in transit enable the simultaneous shipment of mixed commodities.
• 24 hour security monitored facility
  • Camera surveillance and digital video recording
  • Sealed box cars
  • Security system with Prox card restricted access
  • Facilities are AIB, SQF, and HACCP certified
  • Quality control inspection available at both origin and destination
• As a further safety precaution Railex has $2 million in cargo insurance.
• Unmatched capacity. Railex can accommodate TL and LTL “Less Than Truckload” shipments.

FedEx's Reed agreed that it's not easy to add facilities in heavily populated areas

Cunningham also noted that highway congestion is one of the factors driving rail growth. In order to keep up with growing demand, railroads will have to add capacity—and that is enormously difficult, he told session attendees. "The issue is infrastructure and how to pay for it," he said. One problem is that the places where additional infrastructure is needed most are the places that have the least available space: fast-growing metropolitan areas. Even where railroads can expand, the high price—a new intermodal facility can cost $200 million—and the lengthy approval and construction processes mean that it will be a long time before any rail projects can have an impact on capacity.

FedEx's Reed agreed that it's not easy to add facilities in heavily populated areas. "You just don't plop down trucking facilities in the L.A. basin or the Northeast anymore," he said.

Congestion is one reason O'Neal predicts a future in which distribution centers will have to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure that freight both arrives and departs on time. "Every major institution that ships or receives is going to have to go to a 24/7 operation, have better driver facilities and amenities, develop contingencies for service delays, and put realistic expectations on the table," he said.