Iowa Northern has begun regular service for its new intermodal service — a partnership with Union Pacific, Denver-based freight coordinator Valor Victoria, and Watco Logistics — moving international traffic between Los Angeles and Butler County, Iowa. The service is designed to avoid congestion in Chicago and greatly reduces drayage.
The service, announced in late 2019 [see “Iowa Northern, UP launch West Coast-Iowa international intermodal service,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 21, 2019], had run test loads previously but Monday’s train was the first regular service, with about 30 containers. Inbound international container traffic is handed off by the UP at Manly, Iowa, and moved from to Watco Logistics’ Butler terminal, a trip of about 50 rail miles. Once the incoming cargo is unloaded, the containers are stuffed with agricultural products for export and returned to UP.
Iowa Northern President Daniel R. Sabin says Iowa produces eight outbound export loads for every inbound load, “so our balanced inbound and outbound loads provide a new product for shippers in Iowa and gives the shipping lines a one-for-one balance of loads.”
The coronavirus pandemic had delayed the start of service, Sabin says, “but we have pretty good growth forecasted each month. We should have multiple weekly trains by late May-early June.”
— Updated April 16 to correct description of freight coordinator Valor Victoria.
Next consider the cold chain for meat packed in this region. Refrigerated 53’s with California or PNW produce to midwestern markets with existing domestic IM service like Chicago, KC, StL. Reload for west coast consumption at places like Waterloo or Sioux City.
Unlike this operation some empty triangulation dray required from urban produce consumption centers to the meat packers. And small lifts like Butler County near the meat packers with connecting RELIABLE rail service (presumably combined with the existing manifest operation) to North Platte where block swap with the westbound IM trains already occurs.
===A container makes more money when it is full and going both ways.===
Absolutely, John. It also makes for more opportunity for farmers and cooperatives to bypass middlemen and sell directly to overseas interests.
Dan Sabin runs a tight ship.
Hopefully this is just the beginning of proving “new” services. The fact they can get goods west by not going east via Chicago, is a good start. I rank on UP periodically, but if they can turn this into something to help improve shipper efficiency and stop sending back empty containers, I am all for it.
A container makes more money when it is full going both ways.