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Challenge - USA - Truck vs. Railroad
Railroads Back on Track?
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Los Angeles Times, by Ronald D. White -Feb 21, 2006: -- They're posting record profits and expanding their operations, but rising rates and delays irritate some customers... After years of retrenchment, railroads across North America are reporting record profits and rolling forward with massive expansion projects of the kind that haven't been seen in decades... Railroads are gaining ground on the rival trucking industry, which has been suffering from sharply higher diesel costs and a shortage of long-haul drivers. But companies that move their goods by train are complaining about increasing rates and delays... Railroads move more than 40% of the nation's freight tonnage compared with nearly 30% moved by truck, but railroads reap about 10% of freight revenue while trucking companies take in about 80%, according to the rail trade group. Railroads are gaining more of that revenue because the goods moved in cargo containers tend to be more expensive than the coal, grain and other commodities that ride in rail cars... In addition, the greater fuel efficiency of trains in an era of volatile prices and a dearth of truck drivers is having an effect on long hauls, transportation analysts said. The American Trucking Assn. said the nation was 20,000 short of the drivers it needs, a figure it expected to rise to 80,000 by 2010... Business has been so brisk that railroads are having trouble maintaining their targeted average speeds and delivering goods on time... But neither trend sits well with customers...
posted by Unknown @ 9:56 AM
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