(The following story by Thomas L. Gallagher appeared on the Traffic World website on November 17.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Since October, CSX has been running an intermodal route directly to Avon, Ind., from the West Coast.
The small Midwestern hub serves one large customer there, but more are expected as word gets out about the efficiency of avoiding Chicago. The direct-to-Indiana service bypasses Chicago’s congestion and eliminates the need for truck transfers along I-65.
Discount retailer TJX/Home Goods imports clothing and other goods through the West Coast to a warehouse in nearby Brownsburg, Ind. TJX reduces the $600- to $700-per-container cost of trucking its goods down from Chicago and avoids a detention fee of $50 to $150 per day, said Joe Dubord, general manager of TJX’s Brownsburg warehouse. He plans to switch more shipments to the direct-to-Indiana CSX route as contracts run out with other shippers.
TJX is the first and so far the only regular user of the service. “We think other customers will jump on the bandwagon,” said Lex White, CSX Intermodal’s regional terminal manager. CSX launched the Avon service last month from the Port of Los Angeles and added service from Oakland this month.