Rail freight tech drives down costs and increases safety for shippers

Today, rail freight costs 46% less, in real terms, than it did 35 years ago. Not surprisingly this has led to an 82% rise in the volume of rail freight carried since 1981. A $100 billion investment in technology and infrastructure over the past four years is predicted to raise rail freight volumes by a further 41% between 2015 and 2040.

This increase in volumes and efficiency is great news for businesses looking for a mode of transport that not only delivers cost benefits but also environmental ones.  Rail freight now uses half the amount of fuel that it did in 1980 making it a far cleaner option than road freight which is also suffering from increased fuel prices, rising congestion levels and a shortage of trucks.

Despite this rise in volumes, the mainline accident rate has fallen by 32% over the past ten years. That’s an amazing achievement which has been due in large part to the application of new and sophisticated technologies and the vigilance of the American Association of Railroads (AAR). Protecting their reputation is critical to their future success, so it’s not surprising that they insist that shippers adopt a similarly innovative and safety conscious approach to the way they secure their cargo.

Our exceptional commitment to cargo safety has won Cordstrap an extremely close relationship with the AAR and we are Gold Members of the organization. We actively work with their technology and safety experts to continually engineer innovative, highly effective cargo securing solutions designed to make the rail network safer and more efficient moving forward. Cordstrap’s market-leading CornerLash application delivers unparalleled security for containerized cargo while offering significant time and cost efficiencies for your logistics team.

In addition to CornerLash, Cordstrap offers a range of Dunnage bags. Our L1 and L2 Dunnage bags portfolio meets the AAR Product Performance Profile for Pneumatic Dunnage (PPPPD) and are verified by the AAR in applications over the American railroads.

Scott Loudon, Director Rail Segment, Cordstrap is one of the world’s leading authorities on rail cargo securement. You can contact him or a member of his team here.