Railroad Rolls Out Automated Service; UP Will Provide Refrigerated Cars To Spud Shippers SUN VALLEY, ID -- Improved rail service is just around the bend, Union Pacific Railroad officials assured Idaho potato shippers last week. The nation's largest rail carrier will make refrigerated cars available to shippers through a new automated system beginning Oct01. Shippers will be able to order refrigerated cars 24/7 on the Internet and then track their movement online. The new automated system should speed the distribution of empty cars to where they're needed most, UP officials said Aug30 during an open meeting with members of the Idaho Growers Shippers Association. "It should make a big difference," said Michael O'Brien, UP's senior manager for ag products in the Pacific Northwest. Idaho grower-shippers want to avoid a repeat of the situation in October 2005 when rail cars were almost impossible to get with the all-important Thanksgiving sales season under way. The new automated system, which UP calls Total Car Management, won't eliminate its human sales force. Shippers will still be able to pick up the phone and speak with a company representative. Shippers will need to place their online orders seven days in advance of needing the cars. If they discover they need additional cars after placing the order, they'll have to call a representative. The system is already in use with UP's non-refrigerated boxcar fleet. The feedback so far has been positive, company officials said. More cars are available, and they're getting to customers on time more often, they said. UP is also in the process of upgrading its fleet of 5,800 refrigerated cars. The carrier has invested $300 million over the past six years to beef up the fleet, which typically hauls fresh produce or frozen products. UP has purchased 1,500 new 64-foot cars and upgraded 3,280 older, 50-foot cars over the past six years. The company hopes to keep the refurbished cars in service for a decade. "If we can put $45,000 in a car and use it for 10 years, it's a good deal for us," said John Philp, UP's assistant vice president of food and refrigerated products. The older 50-foot cars will be replaced by newer 64-foot cars as they wear out. The past couple of years have been good ones for the nation's rail carriers despite disruptions caused by last year's hurricanes. The need for rail cars has been strong, with most commodities, especially coal and chemicals, in big demand. "Going forward, we're going to see demand continue to grow," Philp said. While rail carriers have seen big increases in revenue, they've also seen big increases in costs, especially for fuel and steel. UP will spend about $1.5 billion on track maintenance alone this year. Nearly 90,000 carloads of freight moved by UP last year originated from Idaho. Of that total, 7,000 cars contained fresh Idaho potatoes and 7,000 cars contained frozen fries. Another 1,500 cars contained fresh onions from Idaho and Eastern Oregon. UP operates in 23 states and had annual revenues last year of about $13 billion. - Dave Wilkins, The Capital Press (The West's Ag Website)
