“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.