CN, are you listening?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE:
Ontario knows better that's why Premier Mike Harris didn't go along with CN's lame proposals of the Ontario Northland. They gave Ontario no guarantees of layoffs and decreased services so the government gave CN no railroad. Good thing to; the ONR car shops in North Bay I believe it is located, would likely be on the chopping block of CN and right now it is one of the most profitable ventures the ONR has. They service all kinds of railcar including a huge amount of SLR high cube boxes and occasionally GO transit equipment.

I only wi***he BC Provincial government had the sense that they do in Ontario, selling BC Rail to CN is also creating similar problems that are developing in Wisconsin.

[Junctionfan]

Than why is there so much problems between CN and the manufacturing sector? What does CN expect to be payed for "premium service" if in their humble opinion, they aren't being paid enough to provide it? Will the manufacturing sector pay it or are they in their humble opinion paying enough for the service that they demand? What is the pricing statistics for like service/ distance and other factors of the other railroads. Is there any way to fairly compair the services of CN and any other class 1 and 2 railroads without attempting to compair and apple to an orange? Is there a railroad version of the Consumer Report?

[Anonymous]

Junctionfan,
Though known for cows, beer, cheese (and the Packers), and hit hard by the last recession, Wisconsin has been second in manufacturing in the US. Indiana, I believe, is first.

Wisconsin is the leading paper manufacturing state in the US. CN(WC) serves many paper mills - lots of carload tonnage. Also, plastic packaging mfg is big - lots of plastic pellets in covered hoppers. Unit coal trains to Green Bay (and I think up to Upper Michigan).

[Junctionfan]

What kind of value does CN have with the Wisconsin Central other than the Manitoba/ Chicago route? Does CN have any customers they particularly were interested in serving there?

[wcfan4ever]

What CN needs to do is drop all the lines but the Superior to Chicago line like I heard was originally planned. Let some shortline come in and deal with it and provide cheaper. WSOR is a good canidate for some of these lines. I'm not in the business nor do I know much about it, but I do know something needs to be done. There is already a shortage of truckers across the country. I remember when WC had T-218/219, the intermodel from Green Bay to Corwith/Harvey. When CN dropped it, I saw so much of an increase of trucks on I-43 south of Green Bay. How could CN say it was not profitable?

[jchnhtfd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CSSHEGEWISCH

It sounds to me that the paper industry and other businesses in Wisconsin are looking for CN to provide cheap alternative transportation whether it is profitable to CN or not.

and furthermore, they don't care whether it's profitable or not. It would seem that these folks are very interested in making money -- provided it's their money -- and have no particular interest in whether another private corporation makes money.

Yes there are fewer trucks available at rock-bottom prices. Fewer rail cars, too. If these folks were willing to pay for a service what the service provider (truck or rail!) is willing to sell for, they wouldn't have a problem.

[wallyworld]

I think it would be a mistake in terms of the overall transportation picture to re-regulate the railroads by defacto legislation.
There is no legislative substitute for the two parties negotiating in good faith. Not being privy to the details of this specific issue, it's difficult to determine anything objective about what is fair to both parties.
I do agree that a regional road like the former WC was more agreeable ( at least on the surface) to look in longer terms of the value of their customer's needs.
I know that I was amazed when WC was able to recapture a daily gravel run of only afew miles back from the trucks from Grayslake, Il to Mundelein by being very service focused. I think that is the primary reason that alot of short lines profit on former Class 1 trackage that had seen it's traffic whither from inattention to customer service, ie, needs.

[Anonymous]

economics:
competition is good for business. it should be encouraged.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

It sounds to me that the paper industry and other businesses in Wisconsin are looking for CN to provide cheap alternative transportation whether it is profitable to CN or not.

[Anonymous]

There are many good reasons that railroads have antitrust exemption. Removing it would cause a great deal of mischief that has nothing to do with CN in Wisconsin and would actually make things there and elsewhere significantly worse. CN has been dramatically raising prices as have some other lines and if they aren't careful there may well be some form of financial regulation imposed. That would be a very BIG problem for the railroad industry. Unfortunately, the interests of a few selfish customers is not a good reason to waive the antitrust exemption. Forcing railroads to take regulated low priceas is what caused the railroad crisis and bankruptcies of the 1970s. It has taken us more than three decades to pull things back together...

LC

[Junctionfan]

If they hadn't of let Wisconsin Central go to CN, they wouldn't have been in this mess now and yet they still let CN grab D,M&IR without much opposition. I hate to say it but its the government of Wisconsin's own fault.

Ontario knows better that's why Premier Mike Harris didn't go along with CN's lame proposals of the Ontario Northland. They gave Ontario no guarantees of layoffs and decreased services so the government gave CN no railroad. Good thing to; the ONR car shops in North Bay I believe it is located, would likely be on the chopping block of CN and right now it is one of the most profitable ventures the ONR has. They service all kinds of railcar including a huge amount of SLR high cube boxes and occasionally GO transit equipment.

[Anonymous]

Appleton Wi POST CRESCENT Mar. 27, 2005
Patrick Schillinger column: Railroad service sending businesses on wrong track

If you thought railroads were only a necessary part of our transportation needs in the 1800s you were dead wrong.

Today’s economy depends on the use of railroads; they are an economical and efficient means of transporting goods and products, especially in places like Wisconsin which are not destination points for other transportation services.

The paper industry in particular relies on rail service for both importing raw materials and for exporting finished products.

Transportation is one of the four top costs for the paper industry and since 2000 rail costs have escalated dramatically and rail service has deteriorated. In addition, the supply of much needed box and centerbeam cars has decreased. This has meant significant cost increases and service delays to the paper industry which is already under tremendous stress to reduce costs.

Unfortunately, truck service is not a viable alternative. It takes 2½ trucks to equal one rail car and even if a truck is available (there’s a national truck shortage) it is much more expensive compared to rail service. Additionally, increasing truck service means putting more vehicles on the road.

There is one mill in Wisconsin that has had to add 500 trucks monthly due to reduced rail service and increased rail costs.

This is truly a public policy crisis.

Since 1980, more than 40 major railroads have been consolidated to seven. In Wisconsin, the Canadian National (CN) is the only class one railroad to serve about half of the state and it serves almost all of our paper mills. It has, for all intents and purposes, a monopoly in paper country.

And the CN is using this leverage to raise prices exorbitantly and to decrease both the level of service it provides to many of its customers and the number of days it provides services.

One paper mill in Wisconsin is shutting down a machine and laying off 46 people due to, in large part, the increased cost of rail service.

It is that critical. And it doesn’t only affect the paper industry in Wisconsin. It also affects the agricultural industry, warehousing, the trucking industry, the forest products industries and many other businesses in this state that need to ship goods and products.

Something needs to be done.

That is why our industry has joined with other businesses and industries to push for federal legislation that will attempt to curb these devastating practices.

Our group is supporting two legislative proposals:

• Removal of the antitrust immunity railroads enjoy

• The Railroad Competition Act of 2005

Luckily, we have three Congressmen, who will be key to these discussions. U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Menominee Falls, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, is spearheading the pu***o remove the antitrust immunity of the railroads.

U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, serves on the Judiciary Committee, and with so many paper mills in his district, he will be an important ally.

Finally, U.S. Rep. Tom Petri, R-Fond du Lac, is an influential member of the Transportation Committee and his support is vital for passage of the Railroad Competition Act.

If your business is affected by rail costs, I encourage you to contact these congressmen – or contact me and join our coalition.

At the turn of the 20th century, Bob La Follette began his Progressive movement in Wisconsin fighting big corporate monopolies like the railroads which were reeking havoc with our economy.

Perhaps another round of fighting is needed this century.

Patrick Schillinger is president of the Neenah-based Wisconsin Paper Council. He can be reached by phone at 920-722-1500 or by e-mail at [e-mail].