Vern Moore Alot of those refusal to repair incidents is that the companies want to get the equipment back to their own shops to make the repairs at lower costs than a non-company would charge them. Some of the companies are also very ruthless when it comes to charging repairs back to the manufacturers as warranty repairs. If they don't do the work themselves they can't readily do that, unless it's at a dealership that they've got a contract with.
Alot of those refusal to repair incidents is that the companies want to get the equipment back to their own shops to make the repairs at lower costs than a non-company would charge them.
Some of the companies are also very ruthless when it comes to charging repairs back to the manufacturers as warranty repairs. If they don't do the work themselves they can't readily do that, unless it's at a dealership that they've got a contract with.
So, in the trucking industry there is no standard set of rules that each carrier agrees to abide by with standardized costs for routine repairs.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Ironeagle2006 Here is the situation of my Boss the man I lease my Tractor to. He could if he wanted lease his Trailers from like TIP or Ruan as they handle Bulk Trailers. However he has made the choice to Spend his Capital he has to Buy the Trailers to haul the Stuff we haul. Why called with CVSA 2010 it does not matter who the Owner of the Trailer is that is on the freaking thing is during the Inspection the Carrier of Record is getting the Points for Problems. Also we as drivers know when our Shop gets that DVIR that says hey look here that the trailer in question will be Repaired instead of having to call the owner and them going No that repair is not needed. Yes Crap like that does happen. I have a Friend that works as a Mechanic at a local Dealership and he goes you would be amazed at what the Large Fleets like JB and Swift tell the Shops not to fix. He has seen them refuse to repair Oil Leaks on the motors that are hitting the Clutches Carrier Bearings and stuff like that. Sorry if that was leaking or worn on my rig that truck is Sitting until it is FIXED.
Here is the situation of my Boss the man I lease my Tractor to. He could if he wanted lease his Trailers from like TIP or Ruan as they handle Bulk Trailers. However he has made the choice to Spend his Capital he has to Buy the Trailers to haul the Stuff we haul. Why called with CVSA 2010 it does not matter who the Owner of the Trailer is that is on the freaking thing is during the Inspection the Carrier of Record is getting the Points for Problems. Also we as drivers know when our Shop gets that DVIR that says hey look here that the trailer in question will be Repaired instead of having to call the owner and them going No that repair is not needed. Yes Crap like that does happen. I have a Friend that works as a Mechanic at a local Dealership and he goes you would be amazed at what the Large Fleets like JB and Swift tell the Shops not to fix. He has seen them refuse to repair Oil Leaks on the motors that are hitting the Clutches Carrier Bearings and stuff like that. Sorry if that was leaking or worn on my rig that truck is Sitting until it is FIXED.
Can't speak to railroad repair practices on trailers and containers that are railroad owned. I expect it is similar to the repair rules that pertain to cars.
With rail cars there are a specific segment of car utilization rules that apply to what carriers are required to repair without asking the owning carrier and what defects must be reported to the owning carrier for the owners decision of what is to be done - ALL routine running repairs are done by the carrier detecting the defects. The kinds of repairs that the owner are contacted for are the kind that were they to occur to the owners car on the owners property would be flagged as a Heavy Bad Order - car is not fit for use of any kind until major repairs are completed, up to and including a major rebuild of the car from the frame up and down. There is a specific billing rate that is charged back to the owner for the repairs that are done, much like the flat rate that gets applied to automotive repairs. Actual money only changes hands when all accounts are reconciled between carriers and owners - I don't know if this is done monthly or quarterly. Checks are cut for the net differences.
DeiriusBeing able to offer domestic shipping containers and such would seem to me to be a good idea. Name recognition etc. why wouldn't companies want their name out in front of potential customers everywhere?
For railroads equipment is not a matter of making their name visible to customers - it is a matter of investment in business assets. Business assets that must earn their keep. If private ownership equipment can keep the customer base supplied with all the equipment that the customer need for their loadings then the railroads do not have to invest in the equipment. Railroads will invest in equipment where there is no or little private ownership to fulfill the customers needs.
Not being a tax expert, I suspect that there are some advantages with investment credits and potentially other tax breaks for the expansion of private ownership in recent years beyond the historical market of tank cars.
The trend of Class 1's divesting themselves of the freight equipment business seems to vary by carrier. NS shows no signs of wanting to sell off their Triple Crown Business Unit and CSX seems to still be commited to owning a large fleet of domestic containers...
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
Actually all the Class I's have been making a concerted effort to get out of the equipment owning business. Watch passing trains and you will see a very high percentage of 'X' cars, with the terminal X in the car initial indicating private (non-railroad) ownership. At present most carriers have about 50% of their business in Private ownership cars and trailers or containers.
HUB Group.
http://www.hubgroup.com/
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
I saw this in a trains magazine several months ago, but is it true that BNSF now longer owns its own containers or trailers? I remember watching a 2006 train film and I saw a lot of BNSF containers and "BN America" domestic containers.
Where are those containers now?
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.