Is rail transport purposefully delaying car shipments?

[neodark]

I read an article this morning that may explain the delays affecting many of us. For anyone who was able to get their respective dealership to provide a rail tracking number, what was your transport duration from A to B? And, did your car get stuck @ some hub along the way?

I could not get a tracking number from my dealership, but I was told my car has been sitting in Louisville, KY for a few days. On the plus side the new weekly reports may help things along.

Automakers frustrated by expensive delays in transporting vehicles to dealerships are about to learn whether railroads give preferential treatment to other shippers.

The federal government has ordered the nation's rail carriers to report weekly data about their shipping schedules beginning Wednesday.

The data are expected to show whether rail cars loaded with autos are sitting idle while rail cars loaded with oil, coal or other profitable commodities are moving toward their destinations.

On Oct. 8, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, which regulates the nation's railroads, ordered the reports after complaints from shippers -- including automakers -- that their goods were being unduly delayed.

The reports will detail the amounts of cargo moved in different types of rail cars, as well as information on delays in departure and delivery, sorted by train type and industry, among other things. The reports will be available on the board's website, stb.dot.gov.

70% move by rail

About 70 percent of new vehicles are moved by rail, according to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing 12 automakers. Automakers use railroads to distribute their vehicles from factories to marshaling yards around the country, where they are transferred to car haulers for delivery to dealerships.

But railroads have been unable -- or unwilling -- to keep up with increases in automotive production since the 2008-09 recession.

In testimony last month before a U.S. Senate committee, Shane Karr, the alliance's vice president for federal government affairs, said railroads had failed to provide a sufficient supply of empty rail cars to transport new vehicles.

"It appears that the priority of auto shipping has become less than that of other shippers," Karr told senators.

He said that since January, one automaker, which he declined to identify, had spent an additional $13 million to ship about 70,000 vehicles -- or about $184 more per vehicle -- from one of its assembly plants by car hauler instead of by rail.

In April, after a particularly harsh winter in the Midwest, automakers reported a backlog of more than 200,000 new vehicles waiting to be shipped by rail.

Crude oil booms

Meanwhile, increased demands from shippers of commodities such as grain, coal and oil have competed for limited rail capacity. Rail shipments of crude oil, for example, rose to 415,000 carloads in 2013 from 9,500 in 2008, according to annual reports compiled by the Surface Transportation Board.

The New York Times reported this month that several large railroads and the federal government are investing more than $26 billion this year in new equipment, track and employees to help alleviate the strain.

Much of the work will take years to complete.

Article: http://www.autonews.com/article/20141020/RETAIL/310209840

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[Truemen911]

Idk about purposely, but my inventory manager told me that there are a shortage of rail cars and have been for awhile so...

 

[POOPonYOU]

It comes down to who's paying them more to ship what.

 

[tsunami]

BNSF does the majority of oil train hauling out of North Dakota. Oil companies are paying Burlington Northern a premium to give priority to their tank cars. Many Northern farmers are having to store this Fall's crops because few grain cars are showing up.
I saw a mile long car-hauling train sitting on a side spur for more than a day in a rural area here in Minnesota, while tank cars were passing by the hundreds.

 

[Hotchilioil]

I have a blend date of 10-24, build date of 10-27.. And now a estimated eta of 11-27!? Whoa whoa whoa.... Hope it comes earlier!! Lol

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