Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Swift Transportation Offer Perishable Service
Dec 18, 2001 12:00 PM, Gary Macklin
The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company and Swift Transportation Co Inc have announced seamless transportation services for perishables.The two companies will initially provide service for temperature-controlled commodities moving between the West Coast, the Midwest and the Southeastern United States. BNSF will provide rail car service for long-hauls, while Swift will provide highway transportation for short-hauls. Both companies will coordinate any transloads and cross-docking that may be necessary.
“BNSF is proud to work with Swift in an effort to make temperature-controlled service easier for our new and existing customers,” says Chuck Schultz, BNSF executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “Today, many shippers are hesitant to use a rail/truck transportation package because of the complexity of multiple parties. We hope to make the transportation process seamless by providing one point of contact for bi-modal shipping. As a result of the opportunity in this market segment, we will be evaluating possibilities for expanding our services.”
Jerry Moyes, Swift chairman and chief executive officer, says, “We are pleased to be in this partnership with BNSF. We see a significant opportunity in this market segment. By working together, we can create service packages which will build on the strengths of both truck and rail transportation.”
Moyes adds, “This new offering is an extension of the programs that we presently operate with BNSF; namely our intermodal service between the Midwest, Texas and the West Coast, and our I-5 RoadRailer train between Los Angeles and Portland. This new service will not require additional capital expenditures on Swift’s part. We will draw on our current fleet of 530 refrigerated trailers. This operation will provide additional loads for our regional and temperature-controlled fleets operating in the Midwest and Southeast.”
BNSF operates 33,500 route miles of track in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. Swift is the largest publicly held motor carrier in the United States with regional operations throughout the continental US.
