California State Rail Plan 2005-06 to 2015-16

2005-06 – 2015-16 California State Rail Plan
COMMODITIES SHIPPED
The primary commodities handled by rail in California include bulk shipments of
chemicals, petroleum, food products, farm products, primary metals, paper
products, and lumber. These general carload commodities are less time sensitive
than the high value cargo that tends to be shipped by truck and air. Overall, the
general carload base business 7 for railroads has remained strong. This has
prompted UP to make substantial investments in improving throughput at
classification yards such as the $145 million upgrade of their Roseville Yard that
opened in 1999. Increasingly, the railroads have been able to attract more time
sensitive shipments using expedited rail intermodal service. This premium service
allows trailers and containers the ability to move quickly on fast transcontinental
routes with penalties assessed to the railroad if shipments are late. To capitalize on
this growing demand, the Class I railroads have been building new intermodal
yards. Among these are the UP’s facility in Lathrop and the BNSF’s Mariposa
facility in Stockton.
Figure 14E shows commodities originated and terminated in California for 2003.
Mixed freight includes international containerized freight going through the Ports
of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland, as well as domestic containers handled
at both the UP and BNSF facilities statewide.
Figure 14E
Commodities Originated and Terminated in California for 2003
Tons Originated
Tons Terminated
Commodity Tons % Commodity Tons %
Mixed Freight 30,556,904 47% Mixed Freight 22,365,760 23%
Food Products 6,281,600 10% Farm Products 10,770,955 11%
Chemicals 3,983,724 6% Food Products 10,195,697 10%
Primary Metal Products 3,868,301 6% Chemicals 9,754,223 10%
Glass and Stone 3,481,138 5% Primary Metal Products 7,022,910 7%
All Other 16,646,695 26% All Other 38,017,000 39%
Total 64,818,362 98,126,545
Source: Railroad Statistics by State, Association of American Railroads, 2003
7 General carloads include traffic in traditional railroad equipment such as gondolas, boxcars, hopper cars, tank cars,
lumber cars, etc. By contrast, intermodal shipments, consisting of trailers and containers, travel on flat cars or
“double stack” cars, where containers are placed one on top of another. Intermodal service tends to operate on tight
schedules and have faster transit times compared to general carload business.
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