TIA to Make Intermodal Pitch To Shippers

November 22, 2000 10:42 AM, EST

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In an effort to get more options for their customers, the nation’s freight brokers — in conjunction with the railroads — are trying to cajole non-traditional rail shippers into using intermodal transportation.

	TransComp 2000
	Hart Foresees Positive Response From Shippers to New Drivers Hours (Nov. 22) Skinner Tells Execs to Get Involved in Politics (Nov. 21) IANA, NITL, TIA Hold Joint Conference (Nov. 20)

The Transportation Intermediaries Association unveiled the plan here Nov. 12, as part of TransComp 2000. Robert A. Voltmann, the association’s executive director, said the campaign will begin during the first quarter of 2001 in Columbus, Ohio — the first site on a list of 10 cities. If the plan is successful, truckload carriers will face stiffer competition from the railroads.

Ironically, this threat to trucking was brought about not through the incompetence of motor carriers, but rather the brokers’ deep sense of frustration with the rail industry.

Voltmann noted that “railroads have done a great job of scaring away as much freight as possible over the last 20 years.” Finally, he said, TIA sent emissaries to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI), and convinced them to cosponsor the outreach program.

For the full story, see the Nov. 20 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.