Post by georgiaroad on Oct 6, 2012 0:22:51 GMT -5
---For Immediate Release---All Media Outlets
Florida based regional railroad the Florida & Gulf Coast RR (AAR reporting marks FGC, ACR, AN)announced plan today order 200 container cars rebuilt from surplus and retired bulkhead flatcars. The purchase is aimed at increasing short and medium run intermodal from Gulf ports to inland container ports across the Southeast. FGC cites the large expansion projects currently underway or scheduled for construction at the Port of Mobile, Port of Tampa and various smaller points such as Port St. Joe, Pensacola and Panama City. The purchase was made in preparation for the expected jump in regional intermodal movement at the completion of the widening and deepening of the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal project is near completion, and the expectation is that the larger Post-Panamax container ships once barred from the canal will quickly begin using the canal to access Gulf and Atlantic ports routinely. The increase in traffic will be significant, to the point that Gulf-side ports and maritime operations are expanding to handle the new business. The recent two decade trend of foreign automakers locating North American assembly operations in the Deep South have already swelled intermodal operations throughout Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee. With Orient shipping able to directly connect to these types of industry at Gulf ports, the long land bridge now associated with moving containers from the West Coast to Eastern customers Will see a major traffic shift. The larger container ships will not longer rely on over crowded West Coast ports and rail and highway to move containers eastward. These larger ships will now move through the Canal and into the Gulf proper, dropping containers at or near customer locations, significantly saving transfer and dray-age costs now associated with long land bridge theory.
To fill this need, FGC entered into an agreement with Stephens Railcar Services, a Birmingham, AL based rail car and locomotive lessor, to rebuild two groups of surplus and retired bulkhead type lumber cars into stand alone heavy duty container cars. Due to the recession and housing bubble collapse in 2009, many of these cars were stored across the nation, with many finally ending up at the scrapper's torch as it was apparent historical levels of lumber traffic would not return in the foreseeable future. Those cars that could not easily be converted to hauling other products such as structural steel, pole or pipe were replaced by newer center-beam cars, which allowed more efficient lumber and building supply loading. These long stored cars are a cheap source for conversion cores, and the cost of rebuilding them for the intended service was cost effective, requiring little more than bulkhead modification, reinforcing, and addition of proper container tie down apparatus.
FGC CEO Ben Martin noted," We expect to see a paradigm shift over the next decade. With fuel cost rising, brokers and operators alike will seek the cheapest means of moving containers between the Far East and customers here on the Eastern Seaboard. Post Panamax container ships can bypass congested ports such as Long Beach and use the canal to directly access customers at ports such as Mobile, New Orleans or Tampa. FGC connects these points through its direct route over the panhandle of Florida. Once more we have rail links to several major inland port operations as well as Class One connections to many others. We expect to see our primarily domestic Hurricane Intermodal Service handle more ISO international containers, particularly as we harden those links and connections with this new traffic."
While railroads are flush with surplus capacity in double stack equipment, FGC decided to not only find leases on some of this equipment, but to outright purchase assets that could be sequestered specifically for the regional ports and gateways it serves. Martin continued, "Pooling newer equipment is great, but the problem with large nationwide pools is the fact that they can get off balance, leaving customers with temporary shortages in equipment at sudden shifts in demand. With our own equipment, we can assure that FGC can supply suitable cars during potential radical swings as this new business goes through typical growing pains. We can address the acute problem with our equipment, then fill in with leased pool cars in the long term." Industry analysts point out that FGC is speculating in these acquisitions, as no one can really know the extent of Gulf-side container traffic until it actually starts, and the flat economy could curtail potential business. The fact that a captive fleet could be had cheaply, does allow FGC to hedge its bets somewhat while not being caught with a potential equipment shortage when the big container ships begin calling the Gulf ports in the next two years.
End of LINE
I found this is a great way to re-purpose all those old Roundhouse bulkhead flats I collected years ago. With all the newer models that are designed for steel and structural hauling, and the center-beam cars that have replaced most of them in lumber service, it seemed a good match. After all, NS did the same thing with boxcars back in the 1990s to create a base fleet of TOFC flatcars out of old boxcars that were too new to scrap but out-moded with newer larger capacity cars.
The plan is to make the 20ft and 40ft pedestals hinge down so I can swap different size containers.
H
Florida based regional railroad the Florida & Gulf Coast RR (AAR reporting marks FGC, ACR, AN)announced plan today order 200 container cars rebuilt from surplus and retired bulkhead flatcars. The purchase is aimed at increasing short and medium run intermodal from Gulf ports to inland container ports across the Southeast. FGC cites the large expansion projects currently underway or scheduled for construction at the Port of Mobile, Port of Tampa and various smaller points such as Port St. Joe, Pensacola and Panama City. The purchase was made in preparation for the expected jump in regional intermodal movement at the completion of the widening and deepening of the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal project is near completion, and the expectation is that the larger Post-Panamax container ships once barred from the canal will quickly begin using the canal to access Gulf and Atlantic ports routinely. The increase in traffic will be significant, to the point that Gulf-side ports and maritime operations are expanding to handle the new business. The recent two decade trend of foreign automakers locating North American assembly operations in the Deep South have already swelled intermodal operations throughout Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee. With Orient shipping able to directly connect to these types of industry at Gulf ports, the long land bridge now associated with moving containers from the West Coast to Eastern customers Will see a major traffic shift. The larger container ships will not longer rely on over crowded West Coast ports and rail and highway to move containers eastward. These larger ships will now move through the Canal and into the Gulf proper, dropping containers at or near customer locations, significantly saving transfer and dray-age costs now associated with long land bridge theory.
To fill this need, FGC entered into an agreement with Stephens Railcar Services, a Birmingham, AL based rail car and locomotive lessor, to rebuild two groups of surplus and retired bulkhead type lumber cars into stand alone heavy duty container cars. Due to the recession and housing bubble collapse in 2009, many of these cars were stored across the nation, with many finally ending up at the scrapper's torch as it was apparent historical levels of lumber traffic would not return in the foreseeable future. Those cars that could not easily be converted to hauling other products such as structural steel, pole or pipe were replaced by newer center-beam cars, which allowed more efficient lumber and building supply loading. These long stored cars are a cheap source for conversion cores, and the cost of rebuilding them for the intended service was cost effective, requiring little more than bulkhead modification, reinforcing, and addition of proper container tie down apparatus.
FGC CEO Ben Martin noted," We expect to see a paradigm shift over the next decade. With fuel cost rising, brokers and operators alike will seek the cheapest means of moving containers between the Far East and customers here on the Eastern Seaboard. Post Panamax container ships can bypass congested ports such as Long Beach and use the canal to directly access customers at ports such as Mobile, New Orleans or Tampa. FGC connects these points through its direct route over the panhandle of Florida. Once more we have rail links to several major inland port operations as well as Class One connections to many others. We expect to see our primarily domestic Hurricane Intermodal Service handle more ISO international containers, particularly as we harden those links and connections with this new traffic."
While railroads are flush with surplus capacity in double stack equipment, FGC decided to not only find leases on some of this equipment, but to outright purchase assets that could be sequestered specifically for the regional ports and gateways it serves. Martin continued, "Pooling newer equipment is great, but the problem with large nationwide pools is the fact that they can get off balance, leaving customers with temporary shortages in equipment at sudden shifts in demand. With our own equipment, we can assure that FGC can supply suitable cars during potential radical swings as this new business goes through typical growing pains. We can address the acute problem with our equipment, then fill in with leased pool cars in the long term." Industry analysts point out that FGC is speculating in these acquisitions, as no one can really know the extent of Gulf-side container traffic until it actually starts, and the flat economy could curtail potential business. The fact that a captive fleet could be had cheaply, does allow FGC to hedge its bets somewhat while not being caught with a potential equipment shortage when the big container ships begin calling the Gulf ports in the next two years.
End of LINE
I found this is a great way to re-purpose all those old Roundhouse bulkhead flats I collected years ago. With all the newer models that are designed for steel and structural hauling, and the center-beam cars that have replaced most of them in lumber service, it seemed a good match. After all, NS did the same thing with boxcars back in the 1990s to create a base fleet of TOFC flatcars out of old boxcars that were too new to scrap but out-moded with newer larger capacity cars.
The plan is to make the 20ft and 40ft pedestals hinge down so I can swap different size containers.
H
I like the SCL pulp cars with the stakes for pole loads. I think I will convert a few of mine to use in the same service.
