Where does most freight (excluding intermodal) get loaded and unloaded? Do most industries have their own sidings or do the truck their freight to and from a trans-load facility?
I’d say most carload freight comes from or to industry sidings - whether or not you include unit-train loading and unloading facilities for bulk commodities such as coal, grain, ethanol, fertilizer, etc. - not trans-load facilities.
Trans-loads are generally a second-choice substitute for a direct industrial siding, used when a siding is not possible or practical for some reason such as location of the plant too far from an active rail line, etc. There’s the added costs for the employee and all equipment to make the transfer from the railcar to the truck or vice-versa, plus the cost of the dray/ haul to the plant and back. Further, the truck can usually haul only 1/4 to 1/5 of the railcar, so that’s a 4 or 5 to one advantage that’s being given up. Finally, the transfer station uses some additional amount of land that costs money, needs to be improved, incurs taxes, usually has to have employees and security, snow plowed, etc., etc., none of which are involved (or much less) for a classic industrial siding.
For low volumes - a couple up to maybe a dozen cars a day or so - and an industry located on a busy main line, a trans-load may nevertheless be preferable to the railroad, rather than obstructing its money-making machine with a local freight for an hour or so each day. Above that, and the siding alternative starts to look more attractive - again, depending on and potentially varying very much with the specifics of each operation, location, and site, etc.
- Paul North.
Might it be safe to say that in the context of these Forums, most Transload/Unload Facilities are usually in multiple cars quantities, up to and including Unit Train movements.
A recent discussion here centered around the GATX ‘TankTrain’ concept for unit bulk moves of petroleum products.
There are dry bulk products that can be transloaded at the point of origin (Mine heads as is done for UP/BNSF trains[ originating at mines in the Powder River Coal Country]. At some locations on the Inland Waterways of the Midwest, and South there are facilities to unload to and from Trains to Barges, and vice versa…
By way of an example, here are some Transload Listings for Alabama:
http://bulktransporter.com/transload/2008_transload_directory_states/alabama/