edbenton wrote: That idea would fail simply for one reason. Wal-Mart does things their way or the highway. Sam Walton HATED the Railroads service levels why do you think all of his DC's were serviced by trucks only. Also he realized early on that trucks went everywere and faster than the RR's ever did. Plus the DC's are built on a very severe JIT delevery system sometimes there are trucks delivering product and it is going on another one next to it. Try having your apples in the trailer being checked in and 4 forklifts waiting for them to load onto trucks that are late leaving simply because the guy ahead of you flipped over, Thanks alot PRIME that night. The dry side is even worse they ship out butt paper by the pallet to the stores if you are late the stores run out. Roadrailers work for industrys like Cereal auto parts and such were the plants are dedicated and runs are consistant. DC work for Wal-Mart or any retail store you never know were or when you are dropping or picking up same with stores. Also the Stores would not know what to do with the Roadrailer style trailer and suspensions. Also Wal-Mart plans everyexpense done to the penny including fuel for the trucks having to all of a sudden pay for switching and then RR crews on runs of 300 miles or LESS and that is the run of a Wal-Mart driver would not work.
That idea would fail simply for one reason. Wal-Mart does things their way or the highway. Sam Walton HATED the Railroads service levels why do you think all of his DC's were serviced by trucks only. Also he realized early on that trucks went everywere and faster than the RR's ever did. Plus the DC's are built on a very severe JIT delevery system sometimes there are trucks delivering product and it is going on another one next to it. Try having your apples in the trailer being checked in and 4 forklifts waiting for them to load onto trucks that are late leaving simply because the guy ahead of you flipped over, Thanks alot PRIME that night. The dry side is even worse they ship out butt paper by the pallet to the stores if you are late the stores run out.
Roadrailers work for industrys like Cereal auto parts and such were the plants are dedicated and runs are consistant. DC work for Wal-Mart or any retail store you never know were or when you are dropping or picking up same with stores. Also the Stores would not know what to do with the Roadrailer style trailer and suspensions. Also Wal-Mart plans everyexpense done to the penny including fuel for the trucks having to all of a sudden pay for switching and then RR crews on runs of 300 miles or LESS and that is the run of a Wal-Mart driver would not work.
OK, let me defend my idea of using RoadRailers to deliver to Wal-Mart distribution centers using RoadRailers. There was no mention on my part of delivering to their stores using RoadRailers. The movements from the DC's to the stores are, and always will be, by truck.
Wal-Mart does successfully use rail intermodal to move products to its DC's. Two examples are their DC at BNSF's Logistic Park near Joliet, IL and the relatively new FEC intermodal terminal near Ft. Pierce, FL. The latter was built to provide service to a Wal-Mart DC.
Wal-Mart DC's often ae located significant distances from rail intermodal terminals. (The DC's are placed to serve the stores.) Because these DC's receive a lot of freight this makes rail intermodal expensive due to the high truck delivery cost from the railhead.
This cost could be reduced by establishing a low cost intermodal terminal near the DC. Becuase they require little terminal investment, RoadRailers are ideal for operating through such a terminal.
In my specific example, UP could bring a container to Chicago on a stack train, load in on a RoadRailer (or RailRunner) chassis instead of a highway chassis, then move it to near the WM DC in Tomah, WI using existing train service. Addistional cost to the UP would be low.
It does, and will, work.
"If I may be permitted, affect is also a noun used in the field of psychology, with emphasis on the "a". It is one's outward demeanor, mood, or expression. Most of us are either "down" or up-beat. In my field we say a person has a flat affect when they are absent, subdued, depressed, disinterested, but you can also say a poker player exhibits a flat affect."
Selector makes a great point. "Patient self-submitted, exhibiting flattened affect" (AF-fekt) is hospito-medico talk, roughly, for "Guy walked into the E.R. looking really dulled-out."
Why harp on this? The same principle applies to a term WE use correctly and need not be the least bit bashful about: "The unit train consists (con-SISTS) of 130 loaded coal cars. We decided that such a consist (CON-sist) requires D.P.'s." See? Same idea: noun stresses first syllable, verb the second (or last) syllable. - a. s.
PS: Altho' I used to teach English grammar and Business English I'm not allowed to hand out citations outside of Illinois. Not that I like to do that kind of thing anyway.
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