You guys ever watch the TV Series "Shark Tank". Part of the reason Manufacturing will never return to the United States is the minute an American comes up with an invention.......patented or not. Someone in Asia rips it off and sells pirate copies at below U.S. cost to manufacture and exports it back to the United States.
To me that is a problem with the trade agreements and unpunished lack of enforcement of our patent laws. It's sad. Until they fix that issue, Manufacturing will never return to this country to any appreciable degree until the cost of living and cost of labor in Asia rises above what it is in the United States.
Having said that I think they should at least allow us to export Powder River Basin Coal because it is a lot cleaner burning Coal than the Coal they burn elsewhere.
And the other side of the equation is rampant consumerism.. we all rail against cheap foreign products but how many of us avoid shopping at Walmart or Target? We really want the best of both worlds... top wages from our employers and Walmart prices for everything we buy. In other words.. I should have a good wage, but the person who makes my shoes and slacks should live in poverty.
Pretty close. We are a very greedy group. You really can't have it both ways.
There are signs of pushback against some imports. The tool & die industry has begun to return due to the absolute trash China was sending here. It created a pretty good amount of rework on brand new dies trying to get them to function correctly. Even Walmart is even starting to buy a few american made items, though I still refuse to walk into a business that has a department thats purpose is to match you up with a Chinese company to make your item for you.
Enormous amount of power parked at Baily Yard in North Platte.
Ed
MP173 Enormous amount of power parked at Baily Yard in North Platte. Ed
And Tyson alone has 300 truckloads per week from the Sioux City area to the west coast. UP knows this but doesn't have a clue as to how to develop the market.
And remember, an empty reefer on the west coast is an opportunity for an eastbound transcon load.
greyhounds And Tyson alone has 300 truckloads per week from the Sioux City area to the west coast. UP knows this but doesn't have a clue as to how to develop the market. And remember, an empty reefer on the west coast is an opportunity for an eastbound transcon load.
It is not only UP problem. That plant is located along the BNSF Sioux City/Lincoln line (UP has track rights), so service by them is equally feasible.
In addition a new hog plant has been announced for a nearby industrial park served by the UP. It will come on line in 2017 with a one shift capacity of 10k to 12k head/day.
Maybe UP and BNSF don't want it for any number of reasons. Otherwise its simply a matter of making a phone call and maybe sending in a sales rep.
Ulrich Maybe UP and BNSF don't want it for any number of reasons. Otherwise its simply a matter of making a phone call and maybe sending in a sales rep.
It's probably a bit more than that. Before hiring out, I worked for IBP in Perry, IA. The majority of the loads went out through a handful of truckload carriers. Most were small regional carriers, and I think IBP (or maybe Tyson) even bought one of the carriers. None of them used intermodal. (There were a few intermodal loads that left the plant under the Nippon banner destined for Japan. Although IBP processed product for Nippon, Nippon bought the hogs and arranged the transportation for their stuff. All domestic stuff was IBP and separate from Nippon.)
I would imagine to get that business, a railroad is also going to have to arrange equipment and the movement from the plant to the railhead. (Council Bluffs for UP and I believe Omaha for BNSF.) I would think it would have to be done through a third party. To me this is more of the retail side of transportation, and we've discussed before how the railroads now have the wholesaler attitude.
Jeff
Jeff - years ago, a lot of truckloads of food product on the agriculture side left Western origins with just a nominal destination - "call me from Columbus and I'll give you the deliveries". Did, or does, meat move in similar fashion? If so, it would be virtually impossible to move this to rail unless you consigned a refrigerated container to, say, Harrisburg and arranged the dray around the final destinations.
A lot of rail carried products are reconsigned and diverted in route - normally products from the Left Coast are shipped East without a confirmed ultimate buyer, the products are normally shipped to the shipper at some point East of Chicago. While the shipment is in transit the shipper secures a ultimate consignee, when the car reaches Chicago orders are issued to the railroads to reconsign and divert the car to the ultimate consignee. A nominal charge is applied by the railroad for the reconsignment and diversion and freight charges are applied from Orign to ultimate desination.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
I agree with Ulrich. I'll bet railroads do have their reasons. At the same time, I hate to see them so limiting themselves.
For Gawd's sake, railroads used to haul about everything that moved. I have to think that, given the changing realities on the highways, it could almost be that way again. I think, with Greyhounds, their slowness is partly a habit left over from the bad old ICC days.
As G. also says, there might be plenty of bright people who'd like to try ... but are afraid it could be a career killer.
It's a lot more than that. One of the advantages the truckers have is a short chain of command. This makes coordination and cooperation simple compared to a corporate bureaucracy such as the UP. The UP does not now have the service in place for this business. It's going to have to be set up and I'll virturally gurantee you the operating department is going to fight this every step of the way.
The operating people are not responsible for corporate income. They're resonsible for staying within their budget and a gross ton miles per train hour figure. The service required by this business will affect both of those negatively. The money this brings in will be of no concern to the operating people. They are not measured on income, just costs.
This business will require UPS on time standards. The railroads have proven they can do that. But it's not going to start with a large volume. The UP will have to prove itself before the volumes come. This will drive the operating people (and the accountants) nuts. But building volume in a competitive market is the way things happen.
This is a great opportunity for the UP, but they're going to have to over ride internal dissention to get it done. Westbound loads for perishable freight are a key to successful development of the eastbound fruit and vegetables produced on the west coast. There is a huge volume of long haul freight here to be had.
It's just that the UP doesn't have the corporate culture to develop such a market. (Niether does the BNSF)
CatFoodFlambe Jeff - years ago, a lot of truckloads of food product on the agriculture side left Western origins with just a nominal destination - "call me from Columbus and I'll give you the deliveries". Did, or does, meat move in similar fashion? If so, it would be virtually impossible to move this to rail unless you consigned a refrigerated container to, say, Harrisburg and arranged the dray around the final destinations.
When I worked at IBP, they didn't have a commercial line of meat. All they processed was for others to repackage and for some items, to further process. Since I left, and before Tyson, they did start marketing some cuts under the IBP name. Tyson of course, sells under their own brand.
I'm guessing, but the pork (and probably the beef plants) may still only be set up for the slaughter and basic processing. Some items may be packaged for retail sale while others are shipped for further processing at other facilities. When I worked there, all products were going to the buyers or other IBP facilities. It's not to say it wasn't or isn't done, but everything we sent out of there that I knew of (One job I had for awhile when they were short handed was billing out trucks. My main job for most of my time there was the plant inventory clerk.) was going somewhere specific. Nothing on speculation, so to speak.
Looks like Frac Sand is a good business ...
http://www.worldoil.com/news/2015/7/06/unimin-makes-history-by-shipping-longest-frac-sand-unit-train-on-record
"Unimin, together with Union Pacific Railroad and Twin Eagle Sand Logistics, LLC, delivered a 140 car unit train to the Mission Rail Terminal in the heart of the Eagle Ford shale at Elmendorf, Texas. The unit train, powered by four diesel engines and measuring 6,200 ft, is the largest single frac sand rail delivery on record."
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