Excerpts from the Journal of Commerce:
U.S. grain shippers are welcoming the International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s collective bargaining agreement with Pacific Northwest grain handlers, but they are still concerned about poor rail serve that is hampering their ability to get exports to Asia.BNSF Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway say they are working to improve service as the 2014 harvest starts to move from farms to grain elevators. A backlog of shipments caused by a harsh 2013-2014 winter, coupled with an increase in intermodal and carload freight, has resulted in some grain shippers waiting more than a month for rail service.
“[T]he remaining and looming concern is the anticipated rail service challenges between the western states — North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, etc. — and the Pacific Northwest,” Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, said in an email on Wednesday (8/27). “Given the projected 2014 harvest and the anticipated inability of our freight rail system to absorb this harvest, we believe the situation can accurately be described as trying to attach a garden hose to a fire hydrant.”
