Ready for the fall peak: TTX's confidence about car supply rests on a record investment in new cars that raises capacity, and on modification and maintenance programs that boost efficiency

Railway Age, Sept, 2004 by Frank Malone

In the context of a TTX Co. annual record for intermodal deliveries, "we are not expecting equipment shortages this year," says Andrew F. Reardon, president and CEO. Cautioning that "a lot of things" could affect that expectation, he lists some positives: 2004 equipment deliveries valued at about $600 million, the highest one year capital outlay in company history. Extensive modification and enhanced maintenance programs for existing equipment have bolstered TTX efficiency. Aggressive improvement by railroads of intermodal terminals has boosted efficiency. Meanwhile, a gradual shift in seasonal traffic patterns is a plus for the carriers.

"As an industry, we are redefining what constitutes the 'peak' demand time," Reardon says. "In much of the past ten years, 'peak' was rather predictable, from October to perhaps early December. That gradually began to move to an earlier period, so now 'peak' looks more like a parabola starting in the late spring than a sudden spike in the fall. That being the case, it can be a bit easier to address."

Equipment, however, remains a major factor, with higher capacity' as the target of TTX capital investment. By year-end, the doublestack fleet will grow by 17%, or more than 20,000 platforms, which equates to 10,000 wells. That will raise the fleet total to more than 137,000 platforms, or 68,500 wells. Meanwhile, conventional flat car capacity will grow by 300 units, raising this fleet total to 89,000 platforms. These cars support all-purpose service, including trailers and single-level containers.

TTX's expectation that there will be no shortages also rests on more efficient use of equipment. "It's been improving slightly," Reardon says, "but it only takes a slight amount to free up several thousand platforms. As a consequence, I expect that TTX will be in good shape for the fall peak."

Directly related to efficiency are modification programs for 48-foot doublestack well and 48-thor spine equipment: shortening for the former, lengthening for the latter. Modification of about 1,500 48 foot wells to 40-foot is under way at TTX's Hamburg (North Augusta, S.C.) and Calpro (Mira Loma, Calif.) division repair facilities, and at one independent shop.

"The railroads are saying they want to maximize the number of containers they can put in a train," Reardon explains. "If we give them a 48-fbot well and they have to stick a 40 foot inter national container in it, the wasted space translates to fewer containers in what should he, effectively, a unit train of 40-foot containers. The operating train dynamics dictate efficiency, hence this modification program." The second driver of efficiency and modification of the wells is on-dock loading. Just as the 48 foot well can waste space in the train, so too it wastes space on the dock, Reardon points out.

Meanwhile, modification of 250 five-unit spine cars from 48-foot to 53-fbot platforms is under way at TTX's Calpro and Acorn (Jacksonville, Fla.) shops. This reflects the migration of the domestic intermodal market to the longer container, along with the growth of longer trailers. Seeing the 48-foot trailer "going the way of the covered wagon," Reardon says: "We want to make sure that our investment in spine cars doesn't become economically obsolete while they still have long-term physical life, which indeed those cars do. We want to stay ahead of the curve and not run short of conventional equipment. You can run short with the wrong size, just as you can by not having any equipment on hand at all." In other modification programs, much of the trilevel autorack fleet, namely low-level flush-deck cars, is being converted to accommodate a bilevel rack for SUVs. And, TTX plans to convert 800 89-foot cars to carry new Class 8 highway tractors, along with such other large loads as recreational vehicles.

According to Reardon, modification demonstrates the versatility of TTX pooled equipment and the ability to rapidly respond to marketplace needs with the lowest-cost designs and re-designs, based on continual redeployment of assets. It has become well established over the past several decades, he says, "that pooled railcars save the railroad industry substantial capital. Clearly, redeployed pooled assets save even more capital."

Besides modification, maintenance is another contributor to efficiency, and TTX is adding up to 200 workers this year along with more field maintenance operations (FMO) facilities at major intermodal terminals or strategically placed mobile repair sites. "As our fleet size increases, our maintenance requirements go up," Reardon says. "We're trying to restrict the three divisions to making heavy repairs and handling the modification programs. For other equipment, we're performing overhauls in the field, where we don't have to take a car out of service and suffer a loss of revenue."

One FMO force increase is related to BNSF's new Willow Springs intermodal yard on the southwest side of Chicago, while more positions and two new FMOs are set for the Pacific Northwest, all aimed at improving equipment turnaround.