Operations, Finance, and Marketing team up to drive network velocity

Last year, we rolled out our new Thoroughbred Operating Plan with a balanced approach to service, productivity, and growth (TOP|SPG). One component was to drive greater throughput at our intermodal facilities by maximizing intermodal unit velocity, capacity, and reliability across our network. The end result is more consistent service for our customers.  

As part of TOP|SPG, we created a high frequency plan originating from our 47th Street Intermodal Facility in Chicago. Chicago is our single largest origin point for intermodal volume and a natural location to comingle traffic towards like destinations to achieve greater intermodal unit velocity. We set the network up for all trains to and from the Northeast to originate and terminate at 47th Street in August. This comingling of traffic to and from like points on our network created greater outlet frequency for our customers while balancing productivity.

“We took a holistic look at our operations to better expedite the speed of our containers,” said Paul Duncan, Chief Operating Officer. “Using a Team of Teams approach between Operations, Finance, and Marketing, we are safely achieving a new level of reliable and resilient service for our customers.”

On-time delivery performance is averaging above 90%. We’ve seen velocity improve at our facilities as well as quicker turnaround with our customer’s containers and trailers in these key lanes. These improvements are vital to our customer-centric, operations-driven service organization.

“This plan was born from listening, understanding, and anticipating the needs of our customers,” said Ed Elkins, Chief Marketing Officer. “Since we’ve made these strategic adjustments, we have delivered an entirely new level of consistent service for our customers. By moving containers faster through our network, we will be better positioned to compete and grow.”