b'16American Journal of Transportation ajot.com(SHORTAGEScontinuedUnion Pacific discloses $7 billionOrange EV and Lazer Spot from page 8)helping rail providers reducefor share repurchases announce multi-year deal to congestionacrosstheirter-minalinfrastructure.TheBy Stas Margaronis, AJOT deploy 25 electric yard truckscarrierisalsoon-boarding newequipment,aneffortUnder fire from importersrics. We recently temporarilyOrange EV, the leader inway that also helps its custom-whichwilllikelystretchand exporters for service cut- paused West Coast port ship- innovative, heavy duty elec- ers bottom lines. Electric yard into early 2022. backs and from rail employ- ments moving east to addresstricvehicle(EV)solutionstrucks are the perfect applica-New equipment may alle- ees for lay-offs and followedcongestion at inland terminalsthat are commercially avail- tion of EVs because they:viate some shortages, but car- byaseven-dayrailserviceand have and will continue toable today, has announced aTravelshortdistances- riers and warehouses still needsuspensionfromWestCoastworkcloselywiththeoceanmulti-yearagreementwithElectricterminaltrucksdo the personnel to handle them.portsinJuly,UnionPacificcarriersandotherstakehold- Georgia-basedLazerSpot,nothavetotravellongdis-According to Field, some ter- disclosed that it has accumu- erstoaddressglobalsupplyInc.tomanufactureandtancesbeforetheyreacha minalsandwarehousesarelated approximately $7 billionchain challenges.delivermorethan25EVchargingstation.Bothare 4% to 5% short-handed.Thefor share repurchases. In addition, Union Pacifictrucks in 2021 and 2022. located within the yard.problem, he said, is that thereAccording to the July 22,has spent roughly $66 billionLazerSpot,thelargest Reduce costsThe trucks arentthemassiveamounts2021 transcript of a call within our network over the pastyard management firm in thedeliverlowertotalcostof ofpeoplethattheyneedtoanalystsdiscussingUniontwodecadesandwillinvestU.S., sought a mature EV part- ownershipduetoreduced hire. But, he added, I thinkPacificssecondquarter$2.9 billion dollars this year inner that could deliver a fleet ofcostsforfuel,maintenance thatalloftherailroadsare2021 earnings announcement,capital improvements, includ- zero emission EV yard trucksandrepair,plussoftdollar veryfocusedonthesechal- andprovidedbyseekingal- ingimprovementstoourthat could be immediately putsavingsfromliability/work lenges and they are out therepha.com,JenniferHamann,infrastructure, equipment andto work. Orange EVs leader- comp, safety, health care, etc.addressing them. chief financial officer, Unioncommercial facilities. shipinthismarketsegment Are more reliable than diesel Pacific, disclosed: With thatHowever, there are a grow- complementsLazerSpots EVs offer increased uptime strengtheningoutlook,cashingnumberofcomplaintscommitmenttoinnovationinand no more headaches from (FREIGHTcontinued fromgeneration is growing as is ourfrom shippers, freight forward- the yard management industrydealingwithunreliableand page 8) planforsharerepurchases,ersandrailroadworkersthatand the drive of both organiza- costlydieselemissionscon-Thesesequencemodelsarewhichwewouldtargetatcutbacksonservice,workerstions to provide their custom- trol systems.abletorecognizeandlearnapproximately$7billionorandequipmentaremotivatederssuperiorsolutionsaround Produce zero emissionsEVs key information while ignor- $1 billion more than we hadby so-called precision sched- performance, service, cost, andarebetterforhealthandthe inguselessdatatogenerateoriginally planned. uledrailroading(PSR)prac- support of sustainability goals. environment.Driverretention more accurate ETAs on behalfDuringthesameJulytices. Critics say these practicesTheLazerSpotagree- and satisfaction are increased, of clients.22nd call, Lance Fritz, chair- focusonmajorcutbacksandment is a declaration that theand absenteeism is reduced.We have worked throughman, president and CEO toldlay-offs. The result is that railfutureoftheyardtruckisOrange EV is proud to some pilots and have shownanalysts:UnionPacificisresources are directed at prof- electric.Thecompanycom- provide Lazer Spot with clean very promising results com- reporting 2021 second quar- itableroutesandconverselymitted to a long-term supplysolutionsthataregoodfor pared to historical averages,ternetincomeof$1.8bil- reduceandeliminateservicesagreementwithOrangeEVthe bottom line, said Orange saidProctor.TransmetriQlion, or $2.72 per share. Thison less profitable routes at bothbecause its trucks have provenEVCEOWayneMathisen. has found accuracy improve- compares to $1.1 billion, orthe Union Pacific and Burling- to be the best in the industry.WhileotherEVtrucksare mentstoETAsofasmuch$1.67 per share in the secondton Northern Santa Fe railroadsLazerSpothashadOrangeearly-stage,OrangeEVhas as a 20% over older models.quarter of 2020. While com- and other Class 1 railroads. EV trucks in service for mul- a proven track record, deliv-But the system is still evolv- parisons to the second quar- CriticssaywhenPSRtiple years with great success,eringtrucksthatareboth ing, Proctor emphasized.teroflastyearareskewedunderminesservice,itcon- according to Orange EV. environmentallyandeco-ETA is such an importantbytheCOVIDimpact,atributes to problems such asOrangeEVisclearlynomicallysustainable,with factor in intermodal, he added.comparisonto2019furtherthe inability of U.S. exportersthe industry leader for electricdemonstrated lower total cost When you think about sched- demonstrates the impressiveto find rail bookings for ship- yardtruckinnovations.Theyof ownership.uling trains, you need to haveresultsweachievedduringments through the Californiainvented and manufactured theBasedonOrangeEVs reliable idea on when contain- thequarter.OurquarterlyportsofLos Angeles,Longfirstone.Ourpastsuccessfuldata and customer case studies ers are going to arrive. operatingratioof55.1%isBeachandOaklandortheexperiencewiththemallowsfrom its first 6 years of deploy-TransmetriQsgoalistoan all-time record. ports of Seattle and Tacoma.Lazer Spot to stay ahead andment,itscustomersareben-continuetoapplymachineAskedaboutthe$7bil- At the same time, import- ensurewereutilizingprovenefitting from more than a 75% learningsothesystemcanlion for share repurchases, aers,especiallysmallerbusi- technologyandreceivingthereduction in downtime versus workautonomouslytolearnUP spokeswoman told AJOT: nesses,areexperiencingbest-performing and most reli- diesel yard trucks, and as much new data, draw better conclu- Union Pacific has workeddelays shipping their contain- able electric yard trucks avail- as an 80% reduction in main-sions, and constantly improve.proactively to help ease conges- ers from West Coast ports toabletoday,saidLazerSpottenance and repair costs. Plus, TransmetriQhasalsostartedtion in the international inter- Midwest destinations. CEO Adam Newsome. usingelectricityinsteadof applyingthesametechnolo- modal supply chain, despite the(DISCLOSEScontinued onLazer Spot is prepared todiesel is saving about 90% in gies to create models to aid inimpact to our own service met- page 17) eliminate diesel emissions in afuel-related costs.proactivelymaintainingrail-road assets.Ultimately,clearingthe intermodalfogwillrequire allstakeholderstobecon-nectedandhavevisibility totheentiretransportation chain. Visibility, Dowse noted, also involves the opportunitySingle Source Solutions S3to optimize.That means ports and rail- Learn how our S3 can empower your intermodal roads will need to know thetransportation program. Its the Single Source volume and types of contain- Solution that will pay dividends for you from ers that are on their way whenports and rails to warehouse and distribution ashipsetssailfromAsia,solutions nationwide.accordingtoForbes,allow- LETS CONNECT. 855-4ROADONE ingthemtoputtheassetsOne Kellaway Drive(855-476-2366)and personnel in place whenRandolph, MA 02368www.roadone.comthecontainershitthepier. More complete rail data, he added, would be available toSolutions That Connectshare with the customer, ear- Corporate Headquarterslier in the supply chain. 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