ICL Logistics Blog

Railcars are expensive assets to own or lease. Rail companies should invest with a clear ROI in all business decisions, yet a high percentage of railcars in North America are not fully utilized. Why does this occur, what is the cost to the shipper, and how can shippers reduce their total asset costs by optimizing railcar utilization? 

Shipping by rail is complex and complicated further by supply chain disruptions, manufacturing changes, and labor challenges. Today’s freight customer expectations for receiving goods by freight rail are increasing.

This article is the fourth in our series, exploring how railroad and shipment operating metrics are calculated and how shippers can use these metrics to make improvements to their rail network.

This article, the first in our series, explores railroad operating performance, from trip plan compliance, how rail shipment ETAs are calculated and how rail shippers can use these metrics to improve their rail network.

The first article in this two-part series defined PSR examined the historical context in which it implemented PSR and how PSR is measured with the Operating Ratio. The final part of our series will analyze the impacts, both positive and negative, for rail shippers.