RAILROAD SAYS IT'S GEARED UP FOR HAULING MORE TUNDRAS SAN ANTONIO, TX -- When the city's Toyota plant ramps up Tundra production later this month, Union Pacific will be ready for the boost in business, the railroad's chief executive said in San Antonio on Thursday. "We're ready to handle that volume," Union Pacific Corp. Chairman and CEO Jim Young said. "Bring it on." Young and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas Inc. President Hidehiko "T.J." Tajima on Thursday showed off a system to get the trucks from the plant on the city's South Side to the driveways and garages of customers. Each day at the plant, 35 specialized double-decker rail cars will be loaded with eight full-size trucks each and sent to a local Union Pacific rail yard. From there, they'll be routed to destinations throughout the country. Seven out of every 10 Tundras manufactured in San Antonio are shipped by rail, according to John Daly, project manager for Toyota Logistics Services. That's eventually expected to rise to eight out of every 10 Tundras. "Toyota team members are very motivated to build more and more Tundras," Tajima said. So far, more than 16,000 Tundras have been manufactured here. About 350 Tundras are built in San Antonio every day. By summer, that figure is expected to double to 700. By next year, the number of rail cars leaving San Antonio's Toyota plant also is expected to double to 70. "We handle the majority of Toyota's business west of the Mississippi River," Young said. Photo here: [www.mysanantonio.com] Caption reads: James Garrity, of Road Rail Services, loads a Toyota Tundra onto a rail car during the inauguration of the Union Pacific facility at the San Antonio Toyota Plant. (Photo by Jerry Lara/Express-News) Union Pacific has been moving Toyota vehicles for more than 30 years. It already ships more than 1 million Toyotas in the U.S. each year. Of Union Pacific's $15.5 billion in 2006 revenue, $1.7 billion was generated by transporting vehicles and auto parts, Young said. Toyota is among Union Pacific's top 10 customers. To handle Toyota's San Antonio business, the railroad has invested $25.9 million into infrastructure at and around the Japanese automaker's local manufacturing center. It also has invested more than $100 million in railroad infrastructure in South Texas, including a $90 million intermodal facility in Southwest Bexar County. The 300-acre project will transport containers of household goods and auto parts but won't move hazardous materials, Union Pacific has said. - Meena Thiruvengadam, The San Antonio Express News
