Railroads' Asset Sales Shift Burden to Fleets

he continued divestiture by railroads of trailers and containers means more trucking and logistics companies will be responsible for controlling the availability of equipment needed to provide intermodal service to their customers, transportation executives said.

Although some fleets believe they can move freight more efficiently via intermodal shipments by owning, leasing and managing their own equipment, others are not sure they can afford the capital costs or easily assume the task of managing the equipment’s movements.

The substantial upfront costs of buying or leasing rail trailers or containers will be too high for many intermodal marketing companies, said Greg Stefflre, chief executive officer of Rail Delivery Services, an intermodal drayage company in Fontana, Calif.