Class Is, shippers address service, slip-ups at AAR’s fall peak forum
During the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) “Fall Peak Season” shipper forum held yesterday in Kansas City, Mo., AAR President and Chief Executive Officer Ed Hamberger was trying to usher attendees back into the meeting room after a morning break to keep the event on schedule.
“On time and on budget, that’s our motto,” he joked.
“If you were on time and on budget, we wouldn’t be here,” grumbled an attendee.
It’s sentiments like that that prompted 470 people — including representatives from 340 rail shippers — to descend on the Kansas City Airport Marriott to hear Class I senior marketing officers outline their road’s fall peak battle plan and respond to attendee’s questions about service concerns. The event also included a speech by Surface Transportation Board Chairman Roger Nober and U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Floyd Gaibler.
Shippers already were well aware that the Class Is have been handling all-time-high traffic volumes, that some large roads — notably Union Pacific Railroad and CSX Transportation — have struggled to keep up, and all the roads have been adding train and engine-service workers, and locomotives and rail cars to move more freight. So, the Class Is’ presentations offered few surprises.
However, one surprise was Canadian National Railway Co. officials’ decision to withdraw from the presentations. When asked why by a shipper representative during a question-and-answer session, CN Vice President of Marketing Jean-Jacques Ruest said the Class I’s scheduled railroad operating plan enables CN to focus on service on a year-round rather than seasonal basis, so the railroad doesn’t have any specific fall peak plans.
“But when you’re talking about the peak of the peak [season], we try to work with shippers and receivers to work seven days a week,” he says.
During the presentations:
• Burlington Northern San