THE union Pacific (UP) is metering how many containers it will take from Chicago and Memphis to the west coast as dwell times on containers and chassis continue to rise unabated, reports IHS Media.
The UP is limiting the number of 53-foot containers it will move in a dozen lanes out of Chicago, Kansas City and Memphis to balance equipment across the country, the railway told Newark's Journal of Commerce.
It's the latest sign of how the 17-month surge of Asia imports is fueling outbound shipments in international and domestic containers, and sapping landside capacity.
Shippers are waiting several days to secure appointments to move freight from the three Midwest markets to northern California, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, causing domestic containers to idle at shippers' docks until space is available on trains, according to intermodal marketing companies (IMCs).
UP said limiting appointments is necessary to efficiently move containers through the rail network without the same disruptions as in prior months.
'Union Pacific is managing the east and westbound balance through our Intermodal Terminal Reservation system (ITR) to encourage better balance and increase network velocity, which will result in increased capacity to handle more volume,' the railway said.
The goal is similar to that of UP's surcharges, which are as high as US$5,000 on excess domestic loads, to devote resources to core contract customers and reject unplanned loads that would overwhelm the entire intermodal network.
UP and BNSF have also metered trains out of west coast ports, a decision intended to move only as many containers as the inland terminal, chassis, and drayage networks can absorb.
SeaNews Turkey
The UP is limiting the number of 53-foot containers it will move in a dozen lanes out of Chicago, Kansas City and Memphis to balance equipment across the country, the railway told Newark's Journal of Commerce.
It's the latest sign of how the 17-month surge of Asia imports is fueling outbound shipments in international and domestic containers, and sapping landside capacity.
Shippers are waiting several days to secure appointments to move freight from the three Midwest markets to northern California, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, causing domestic containers to idle at shippers' docks until space is available on trains, according to intermodal marketing companies (IMCs).
UP said limiting appointments is necessary to efficiently move containers through the rail network without the same disruptions as in prior months.
'Union Pacific is managing the east and westbound balance through our Intermodal Terminal Reservation system (ITR) to encourage better balance and increase network velocity, which will result in increased capacity to handle more volume,' the railway said.
The goal is similar to that of UP's surcharges, which are as high as US$5,000 on excess domestic loads, to devote resources to core contract customers and reject unplanned loads that would overwhelm the entire intermodal network.
UP and BNSF have also metered trains out of west coast ports, a decision intended to move only as many containers as the inland terminal, chassis, and drayage networks can absorb.
SeaNews Turkey