FORT WORTH, Tex. — Longtime partners BNSF Railway and J.B. Hunt today said they will significantly boost intermodal capacity in the next few years by adding containers, chassis, and well cars while expanding terminals and their capabilities.
“Over the past few years, intermodal has been disrupted by increased demand and tight capacity, resulting in poor container velocity and long dwell times,” J.B. Hunt CEO John Roberts said in a statement. “Together, J.B. Hunt and BNSF will enhance their work to bring back the consistency and reliability customers expect with intermodal services and further embrace intermodal conversion and transloading services.”
J.B. Hunt will increase the size of its container fleet by 40% within the next three to five years, bringing it to as many as 150,000 53-foot boxes. The company also will increase the size of its chassis fleet.
BNSF will expand intermodal terminals and provide property around terminals in Southern California, Chicago, and other key markets to increase terminal efficiency. BNSF also will expand its wellcar fleet to carry additional volume, including 1,250 well cars scheduled for delivery this year.
“More than 30 years ago, J.B. Hunt Transport Services and BNSF predecessor The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Co. loaded a Hunt trailer onto a railcar to help usher in the modern age of intermodal freight transport,” BNSF CEO Katie Farmer said in a statement. “BNSF’s industry-leading service combined with J.B. Hunt’s unparalleled intermodal product has set the standard for seamless door-to-door service. We will raise the bar on service to the next level through technology and innovation as we further integrate our platforms with real-time data exchanges. We want our customers to enjoy the best of both worlds: economical and environmentally friendly service delivered by transportation’s premium providers.”
Over the long-term, J.B. Hunt believes it can convert 7 million to 11 million highway shipments to intermodal. The company currently handles about 2 million intermodal loads annually.
Expansion is already under way at BNSF’s Cicero Intermodal Facility outside Chicago, where 400 parking spaces are being added as part of a multi-year project that includes additional production track and parking capacity to support growth. BNSF this year also will complete a multi-year expansion at its Alliance Intermodal Facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including 1,100 new parking spots.
BNSF’s intermodal plans also include improving throughput at its terminals and coordination with J.B. Hunt.
“The relationship between JBH and BNSF creates a unique opportunity to jointly plan our operations to support supply chains and prioritize our joint customer’s cargo,” BNSF spokesman Zak Andersen says.
“JBH and BNSF have already been collaborating on managing flows from customer release to outbound rail loading at key locations in Southern California to improve rail throughput and maximize the potential of available rail capacity,” he says. “Additionally, we will have joint planning teams in Southern California and Chicago to optimize flows. These efforts will serve as a framework for systemwide optimization efforts.”
He adds: “At this point, we are in position to move several thousand more units per week than are currently being loaded directly at the ports on to rail, so we believe increasing rail use should be a key part of the nation’s greater logistics solution.”
BNSF has increased terminal capacity over the past year through a combination of process improvements and the addition of resources including more workers, cranes, locomotives, and railcars.
“In addition to tactically collaborating on service execution, we also have teams that are strategically looking into market opportunities,” Andersen says. “We look forward to announcing new services in the weeks to come.”
The BNSF-J.B. Hunt announcement comes three months after Schneider announced it would shift its western intermodal traffic from BNSF to Union Pacific on Jan. 1, 2023. UP also has gained Knight-Swift and APL Logistics intermodal contracts. BNSF’s loss of the three contracts will help free capacity for growth with J.B. Hunt.
So, Mr. Stephens just exactly who needs a transcontinental railroad when we already have a transcontinental intermodal carrier offering door-to-door service.
As Warren Buffett just wrote so beautifully to Berkshire shareholders, “You can be proud of your railroad.”
This is the way RR’s should grow traffic.’
Wonder what U.P. had to give up to take the traffic away from BNSF.