Watco Moves Commodity: Intermodal containers
The demand for intermodal freight made one of
Location: Butler Intermodal Terminal –
Watco’s newest operations, the Butler Intermodal Terminal (BIT) in Shell Rock, Iowa, a great
Shell Rock, Iowa
opportunity. The terminal is a collaboration between
Customer: Various
Valor Victoria, Union Pacific (UP), the Iowa Northern
Intermodal freight plays a large and important role in the U.S. and global supply chain. The colorful containers on chassis we pass on the highway or see stacked on trains and vessels contain everything from electronics to car parts, hay bales, and more. America’s 25 largest ports handled 54 million
Railway (IANR), Watco Terminal & Ports Services (WTPS), and Watco Supply Chain Services (WSCS). The terminal serves as a hub for intermodal traffic outside of the congested Chicago area, and reduces highway miles for delivery of shipments arriving from the west coast.
containers in 2018. Nearly 14.5 million containers were shipped by rail that year, and millions more move by truck each year.
“Basically, what we’re doing here is receiving containers, on rail, that are coming from overseas
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