The Dispatch January 2022

Increasing Speed to Upper Midwest Markets For shippers wanting to improve speed to market by moving product out of their facilities and closer to their upper Midwest customers, Watco has a solution.

The company is currently offering a storage-in-transit (SIT) yard in Joliet, Illinois, with an additional yard opening later this year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“Our geographic locations in Joliet and Milwaukee are what set us apart,” says Doug Conway, vice president of sales. “The upper Midwest location provides quicker access to manufacturing or consumptive markets.”

The Elwood, Joliet & Southern Railroad SIT Yard in Joliet is a former Railroad and Industrial Services (RIS) facility repurposed from a railcar repair site to SIT location. Watco acquired Glendale Yard in Milwaukee from CP for the opportunity to convert a portion of it to the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad SIT Yard.

Conway says typical products handled will include both bulk and breakbulk with a focus on plastics, fertilizer, and soda ash. There are a total of 700 railcar spots available with room to expand. Both sites accommodate individual cars, blocks of cars, and unit trains.

The yards also provide transloading, with abundant access to Class I’s, short lines, and highways. “The opportunity to transload at those locations is very important to customers,” says Conway. “Product is already loaded and closer to their market, so delivery is faster.”

Conway points out that Watco is committed to finding ways to better serve customers in the upper Midwest market. “Acquiring these sites,” he says, “means we will be investing our resources for long-term capacity and capabilities.” For additional information, read Watco’s SIT Flyer.

10 The Dispatch | January 2022