Re: The problem with YW's freight business...
Author: Forester
Date: 03-10-2017 - 02:24
It is correct that the new Fruit Growers mill is interested in rail shipments for not only finished product, but also for outbound wood chips and potentially inbound logs as well in the right economic conditions. The current status of the YW is most of the reason why nothing is happening, but also the other connecting lines as well. I have never seen an industry that has such an attitude that the customer needs them more than the railroad needs the customer. Most companies work very hard to get and keep customers. The railroads seem to do the opposite, with the exception of some short lines of course. In the end they are so hard to deal with that in the end it simply is easier to deal with a trucking company who gets your product to market faster and is more customer responsive. I hate to say it, but the railroad industry needs some serious disruptive change in its management which is willing to reinvent its business model. They need to look for leadership from outside the industry which is willing to innovate and not be hung up on the old paradigms. Maybe leaders from innovative companies in the tech sector, or even Fed Ex. There is huge potential out there for the railroads if they quit acting like railroads. They have a very bad rap with many industries and do little to change this reputation.