I remember occasions back around 1980 when sometimes a very short train, four or five cars, would be run to get "shut-down" cars to GM's Oshawa assembly plants. Those occasional trains would not have helped the statistics that seem to take priority today, but it kept the business on the rails and a major revenue stream flowing. And without sufficient revenue there can be no profits.
You have to keep customers satisfied at a cost you can live with and still make a reasonable profit. Having fought this in the aviation industry for over thirty years I think I'm somewhat qualified to comment on the subject. You have something to offer and if the customer thinks it's reasonable you have a meeting of the minds. If not, you part ways and seek lower rates or better profits; simply the free market at work.
That said, there are hedge funds, corporate raiders and speculators who are looking for nothing beyond short term gains at the expense of the corporations, employees, and stockholders. The almighty dollar has become the holy grail.
Norm
Norm48327 tree68Seems as though I've read stories of auto plants shutting down due to cars not getting to a plant on time. If the auto industry didn't run JIT, they came close, particularly as major portions of the cars started to come from different plants. It's been several years ago and when Harrison was CEO of CN that there was a huge dust-up between them and General Motors. GM told CN what to do with their railroad and began trucking their production to a CSX facility. It cost them more to ship their cars but they had simply had enoughof Harrison's BS. That wound is still festering ad nowhere near healed. A yard sits empty because of that dispute and everyone is wondering what the final outcoe will be. My comment is not meant to debase Harrison, but there have been times his methods have left a very acrid taste in shipper's mouths. CN has changed under new management and is still sruggling to get that contract back.
tree68Seems as though I've read stories of auto plants shutting down due to cars not getting to a plant on time. If the auto industry didn't run JIT, they came close, particularly as major portions of the cars started to come from different plants.
It's been several years ago and when Harrison was CEO of CN that there was a huge dust-up between them and General Motors. GM told CN what to do with their railroad and began trucking their production to a CSX facility. It cost them more to ship their cars but they had simply had enoughof Harrison's BS. That wound is still festering ad nowhere near healed. A yard sits empty because of that dispute and everyone is wondering what the final outcoe will be.
My comment is not meant to debase Harrison, but there have been times his methods have left a very acrid taste in shipper's mouths. CN has changed under new management and is still sruggling to get that contract back.
Such situations are not unique to CN - or probably most every company over time. In Chessie days there was a dust up with Armco Steel at Ashland, KY - for a period of time Armco incured the expense of trucking their output over the Ohio River and shipping it out on NS. Ulitmately the rift was smoothed over and the business returned to Chessie.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
That Flint truck plant arrangement makes a lot of sense: It's a lot faster and cheaper to move 1 boxcar with X dozen or Y hundred of parts in it just 1 time, than to have them unloaded and stored someplace in the plant, and then have to move them all again 1 at a time with a forklift; this is the basic rationale of Just-In-Time.
- PDN.
Paul_D_North_Jr That Flint truck plant arrangement makes a lot of sense: It's a lot faster and cheaper to move 1 boxcar with X dozen or Y hundred of parts in it just 1 time, than to have them unloaded and stored someplace in the plant, and then have to move them all again 1 at a time with a forklift; this is the basic rationale of Just-In-Time. - PDN.
Johnny
Johnny,
That is my understanding too. Inventory in transit is not taxed. If it's on the property, it is. That's why JIT makes sense. It doesn't belong to the railroad as they are simply transporting it and the receiving company doesn't have it on hand to tax. The politicians will soon figure a way around that so they get their cut. Pure unadulterated greed.
I belive that would be a value added tax. A tax on the product when it ships from the seller all the way up to when the customer.
Know of one JIT delivery. Ran an empty B-727 from Mia - Rio ( yes Brazil ) picked up load of Crysler parts to go to Detroit. Used 3 crews to carry about 12,000 # of fenders. So it can get bad.
Had a great example of CSX's precision RR ing. Westbound BNSF intermodal haulage train crew went dead on HOS at about 0400, Train 2 splits clearing our two crossing and was not picked up until abou 2:00 PM when recombining started. Crews for this haulage are Biringham based.
All this just ~ 37 miles from originating yard at Fairburn.
blue streak 1Had a great example of CSX's precision RR ing. Westbound BNSF intermodal haulage train crew went dead on HOS at about 0400, Train 2 splits clearing our two crossing and was not picked up until abou 2:00 PM when recombining started. Crews for this haulage are Biringham based. All this just ~ 37 miles from originating yard at Fairburn.
What else was going on on the Linveville Sub? I can undersand the BNSF intermodals expiring around Parkwood account HOS. But at LaGrange means, to me, there was some situation on the Lineville Sub that was the cause. Being retired I don't know the facts, but I did have the Atlanta Division as my territory for a number of years.
BaltACD What else was going on on the Linveville Sub? I can undersand the BNSF intermodals expiring around Parkwood account HOS.
What else was going on on the Linveville Sub? I can undersand the BNSF intermodals expiring around Parkwood account HOS.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.