. . . “Heavy road and rail traffic, plus delays at Pacific ports, prompt firms to find other ways to move freight. That’s boosting some all-water shipping services and air-cargo volume, and spurring new rail networks.” [bow]
The Chicago Tribune ran that title and caption on Monday, June 27, and if you can go online or want to (tribune.com) it might be worth your while. The article does not go out of its way to beat up Class I RR’s or the trucking industry, but views the enormous boom in shipping–particularly from the PRC–as a problem that is partially surmounted by alternative modes of shipping. (Even a renewed emphasis on the Panama Canal. [oX)]) The article specifically singles out a small shipping line called the Osprey Line for its innovative approach to freight expediting (or should I say “logistics”)?[wow]
I’d highly recommend the article. Although only about 20 “cut” paragraphs long, this mini-feature says what it means and means what it says, and is well researched and written. [2c]
Here is the Tribune article. It goes to show a couple of things. Frist, we are in a system with world wide interconnections. If you just think about a carload or trainload from A to B you are probably going to miss a great deal. Secondly, government regulation will put up barriers to shipers finding better paths to their customers. As an example the US has the Jones Act. If you move something between US ports it must move in a US flag ship. The resulting high costs helped me keep a lot of chemical traffic on the SP between the TX/LA Gulf Coast and the LA Basin. If a foreign flag chemical parcel tanker had come into the lane several thousand cars of petochemicals per year would have been going via the Panama Canal.
"TRENDS
NEW ROUTES FOR FREIGHT
Alternative shippers move full steam ahead
Heavy road and rail traffic, plus delays at Pacific ports, prompt firms to find other ways to move freight. That’s boosting some all-water shipping s
By Geoff Dougherty
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 27, 2005
ABOARD THE M/V SEA TRADER – As the sun rose over the Port of Tampa’s deserted wharves, Second Mate Rusty Smith maneuvered his 278-foot ship into a berth. With a pop and hiss from the ship’s bow thrusters, the Sea Trader glided smoothly to the dock.
Longshoremen pounced on the ship, making short work of 800 tons of cargo the Sea Trader had brought from Houston.
“We’ll be gone by nine o’clock,” said Smith. “Just enough time to get a newspaper.”
Meanwhile, a local radio deejay complained about Monday morning traffic backups that would only worsen as rush hour began.
While annoying for some, that traffic represents the Sea Trader’s future. The ship is one of few container carriers running port-to-port ocean routes in the United States. The ship’s route was designed to circumvent the country’s increasingly congested highways, rails and Pacific ports.