Another reason why I remain bullish for the long term.
This is from the print edition of The Oregonian, August 26, 2010.
Greenbrier Companies, one of Portland, Oregon's, mainstay industry employers will hire 260 new employees and shift 175 current employees all for the purpose .... drum roll ..... for building railcars.
Greenbrier has done a fair amount of bidding over the past two years but these are their first new orders in that time. The new work will consist of 1,000 new double-stack intermodal platforms as well as 700 new covered hopper cars. The company will also modify 1,100 double-stack platforms, lengthening them to 53 feet, allowing shippers to increase cargo volumes and better compete with truckers for freight traffic (it should be noted that there is no comparison between trucks and rails for long-haul transport, or for grain and automobile transport).
Earlier this summer I posted that the Port of Los Angeles set a record for railcars loadings ...the historical record for the month of June, not simply a record for past five years or past decade, but the historical record. Yes, there was a Port of Los Angeles during World War Two.
There are three operating grain elevators here in the City of Minneapolis a few blocks from my house. Last week I saw four new Burlington Northern grain cars, built in June 2010. I've seen some short line grain cars 30 years old and major RR ones almost 25 years old.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like I will be proved wrong when the GDP numbers come out tomorrow: the economy looks pretty anemic.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm still bullish long term.
I understand a natural gas terminal is being planned for port of Portland, Oregon (not confirmed) and a mining company plans to put in a new rail unloading / barge loading terminal at the same port (also not confirmed).
Here is a fun link on railcar dimensions. http://www.worldtraderef.com/WTR_site/Rail_Cars/Guide_to_Rail_Cars.asp
ReplyDeleteIt lists the gross weights of up to 282,000 pounds. Most double axles wheel-set cars have a capacity of around 225,000 pounds. The weak point is the rail. With most rail this is too much weight so the steel loses it's elasticity and mushrooms. This is sort of like a cold chisels where the striking surface mushrooms.
In terms of trucks we increasingly see 53 foot semi-trailers and 53 foot "high" containers. These are cumbersome to ship by rail so rail stock upgrade is logical to meet this demand. BTW: A tall container is 9' 6". An enclosed automobile carrier rail-car is 20' 2". This, you can stack two tall containers in one "drop-in" rail-car.