Companies Adopt Rail Freight To Reduce Environmental Impact And Shipping Costs

An increasing number of companies are integrating railroad transport into their freight operations as part of their efforts to reduce their environmental footprint. Freight transport accounts for 15 percent of business-related carbon emissions in the U.S. Ocean Spray reduced its U.S. Southeast distribution operations’ carbon emissions by 20 percent and its transportation costs by 40 percent by opening a distribution center in the region and using empty rail cars returning from a rival’s deliveries to Florida. Other companies are also using rail as a major component of their shipping logistics, with the “Inbound Logistics” magazine reporting that intermodal traffic hit a new high in the U.S. in August 2013. Jelly Belly Candy Co. saves more than $500,000 each year after adopting intermodal transport for all its shipments. In Europe, competitors Colgate Palmolive, Mondelez International, and Nestle are pooling their shipments to take advantage of the advantages offered by rail freight.