Haul of Famers

Quest for Quality - Rail/Intermodal

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 8/1/2006

Over the past few years, railroads and intermodal service providers have struggled to keep up with rising demand to overcome the well-publicized service issues that have been partly caused by rising rail freight volumes. As LM reported last month, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) recently released word that Class 1 railroads moved 17.2 million carloads in 2005, up 0.9 percent from 2004, and 11.7 million intermodal loadings of trailers and containers, up 6.4 percent from 2004. Similar growth levels persisted throughout the first half of 2006.

Facing increasing demand for carload capacity, the nation's rail carriers recently assured both shippers and the federal government that they are making much-needed investments in infrastructure and changing some operational procedures in order to meet shippers' increasing needs. In June, top management of the nation's Class I railroads sent letters to Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairman Douglas Buttrey saying that they are confident they will meet anticipated requirements for service heading into the peak-shipping season.

While the pressure for improved service is still on, our readers have pinpointed five Rail/Intermodal providers that have been able to keep up the pace and maintain all-star quality levels. Triple Crown Services, Pacer Stacktrain, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, and BNSF Rail are all taking home the Quest for Quality gold in 2006.

All five met or exceeded the average weighted score of 29.11, which was down from the 31.91 average in 2005. Although average Customer Service scores dropped nearly a point from last year, shippers tell us that there are plenty of individual success stories. “BNSF got an oversized shipment delivered to us in time to avoid major charges involved with detention for a power facility in the Midwest. Their performance was personalized and the crew went above and beyond for an emergency offload,” reported one rail shipper. “Norfolk Southern was able to secure inbound equipment and provide additional equipment when one of our largest customers needed additional capacity,” said another.

In the Intermodal Marketing Company category, Landstar Logistics led the pack with a 35.79 weighted average, followed by Alliance Shippers (34.57), Hub Group (32.21), NYK Logistics (32.18), and C.H. Robinson (31.89). But the overall weighted average dropped, from 32.69 in 2005 to 31.75 in 2006.

On a high note, 2006 marks the third consecutive year that C.H. Robinson has been handed the gold, while this makes two years in a row for Alliance Shippers and Hub Group.