Did you ever have to make up your mind…pick up on one and leave the other behind; it’s not often easy and not often kind; did you ever have to make up your mind? The words were written by John Sebastian, the song made famous by “The Lovin Spoonful” in 1966.

I first heard that song when I was a young man, and thought of it later as an-almost-ready-to-retire transportation executive. I was giving one of my last classes at “Bourne University” at the offices at Best Buy when a student asked me if I was ever so fiercely adamant about something that I believed that my mind could never be changed…only later to be convinced to reverse my position?

“Yes,” I said. And as I told the story, that song kept playing in my head. I really did have to pick one process up and totally discard the other, and it certainly wasn’t easy—however it was kind, because it was the right thing to do. Of course, I refer to my prior hostile belief that intermodalism, or rail piggyback, was bad, and I believed that all through the tough times of the intermodal rail phenomenon of the 1970s and 1980s.

I had been convinced that piggyback shipments were enormously susceptible to damages, unpredictable, complex to administer, and impossible to trace. Only when they finally made their way to the consignee were they visible. Sure, the price was right, but the level of service left so much to be desired that the overall value proposition simply didn’t fit in with the early adopters of just-in-time requirements. I drew all this as graphically as I could on the white board for my eager students.

Then I laid out the changes and improvements brought about by service-savvy railroad executives. I had to admit that, over the past 15 years, the railroads greatly improved the rideability of their new articulated flat cars; they eliminated the “hump yards” and reduced switching at the Mississippi River—a move that reduced damages. They built regularly scheduled unit trains on selected power routes and guaranteed departures and arrivals improving their on-time reliability and predictability; and they listened to the customer and recognized that visibility to their shipments was extremely important. Then they set about to create and implement technology systems that linked the railroad to the customer and the customer’s customer.

The railroad sales executives then began to market this more reliable offering to the 3PLs and the truckload carriers. Their efforts soon spread out to the truckload carrier’s customers, attempting to convince them that intermodal was an option that they could safely discuss with their trucking partner carriers—and the price was still right.

I admitted to my class that I had it all wrong. I could no longer view the railroad as I had so many years ago—it was time to change my mind.

Before I retired, my team converted the entire upper half of our truckload carrier base to multi-modal options. We had a start date and an end date, and the truckload carriers were free to use whatever method they chose to accommodate those constraints.

Now, fast forward to 2008: I was attending the annual RILA Conference in Orlando. Most of the movers and shakers in the retail industry were there as were most of the service providers that serve them. I ran into my old friend Dick Hitchcock of the BNSF in the exhibit hall. We kept in contact over the years and I have told him my story of “seeing the light” many times. I told Dick I was going to write this column about what I believe the railroads have yet to effectively communicate to shippers.

In my Bourne University classes I would list what I called the “points of difference,” or the reasons why people make decisions that favor certain transportation options. In one particular case, I listed all the negatives that have historically affected the trucking industry: driver shortages, fuel consumption, fuel costs, highway safety, increased insurance premiums, deteriorating infrastructure, fuel emissions, and swings in capacity.

What you’ll find is that these problems could be solved by the railroads. They have the equipment to smooth out a capacity crunch and they save millions of gallons of fuel each year, providing the bulk of the over-the-road linehaul for their trucking partners.

They take thousands of tractor/trailer combinations off the highways, reduce highway congestion, avoid accidents and insurance claims, and protect the fragile bridges and highways. And, the railroads have the ability to mitigate the severity of the driver shortage by handling the bulk of the linehaul duties usually handled by long-haul drivers.

It certainly isn’t the whole answer, but I believe it is a significant part of the answer.

Now, let’s get down to business. Change your mind: Tell everyone who will listen that intermodal is about safety, congestion avoidance, driver productivity, and fuel conservation. Tell your customers to pick up one and leave the other behind.