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  • Hunter Harrison at CSX

  • Discussion of the operations of CSX Transportation, from 1980 to the present. Official site can be found here: CSXT.COM.
Discussion of the operations of CSX Transportation, from 1980 to the present. Official site can be found here: CSXT.COM.

Moderator: MBTA F40PH-2C 1050

 #1451434  by ExCon90
 
To me that sounds like exactly what he would say, and he might be able to make it stick. What I'd like to know is whether existing law would even permit the Surf Board to order CSX to allow NS on its property with its engines and crews with sufficient authority that CSX union locals would have to allow it--and even if it does it leaves CSX dispatchers in charge to provide the same precision railroading afforded Amtrak elsewhere on CSX. I hate to say it, but it seems like a no-win situation any way you look at it.
 #1451505  by Zeke
 
EHH love him or hate him has a hard nosed approach to shipper shanagins whether they demand Rolls Royce service and want to pay Volkswagen freight rates or activate one of a hundred sneaky tricks shippers can and do deploy against hidebound leviathan class one properties with disinterested local managers unwilling or unable to investigate shipper abuses. We don't know why EHH's minions have deemed switching General Mills once a day is sound decision. EHH while at CP battled demanding but low/ breakeven rate grain shippers with gusto and may deem General Mills a troublemaker outfit with to many demands and a ready willingness to run to the government if it does not prevail in tussles with the railroad. Having close to 47 years in the railroad business there are and will always be a certain percentage of shippers who are down right first class chiselers. So before we cut off EHH's oxygen we can give him some leeway ? Awaiting incoming !
 #1451520  by ccutler
 
Good points Zeke. Yes I could imagine General Mills being a difficult customer. Not really a fan though of last minute operational changes imposed on a large employer. A little patience waiting for the next contract cycle to be hard nosed would be a little better for having a reputation as a reliable shipping partner.
 #1451523  by Wayside
 
IMHO lasting success comes from developing long-term relationships with customers and employees. Current CSX practices smack of extreme short-term thinking and to hell with relationships. Sort of the definition of "chiseling." Time will reveal how well it works out.
 #1451563  by gokeefe
 
Might as well be titled "The Shipper Strikes Back". These kinds of headlines and ensuing interventions are unsustainable ...
 #1451573  by ccutler
 
While I am no fan of EHH I have no doubt about the potential unreasonable posture of general mills contract negotiators. Just can't tell what is really going on. I do feel badly for the many smaller shippers who had to switch to trucks because CSX under EHH continues to fail in servicing them adequately.
 #1451611  by gokeefe
 
The new charges seem like the freight version of checked baggage fees. Additional incremental revenues.

The reciprocal switching issue appears somewhat more ominous.
 #1451638  by ExCon90
 
Looks like the whole thing is working out as it should have done from the beginning, without intervention by politicians--with time for the shipper to adjust rather than being told that something is being changed immediately without prior consultation. It's a given that the shipper wants to pay as little as possible and the railroad wants to charge as much as possible--that's what conference tables are made for. Railroads have always charged for detention of cars by shippers; the only variables are the terms and conditions. The point is that every business wants predictability, not sudden changes by a party with whom it thought it had a deal.
 #1451686  by mmi16
 
Dick H wrote:EHH has a New Year's present for shippers, From Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-csx- ... SKBN1DM2R6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
If CSX were handling the border crossing I could see the extra fees for loads crossing the Mexican border - however, CSX doesn't handle the border crossing.

The rest of the fees are just raising the prices of existing charges - a lot higher charges than are probably justified.
 #1451715  by Backshophoss
 
The Shipper along with the carrier are on the hook for the customs paperwork to be correct,otherwise the load is "on hold" untill
all the paperwork is ironed out,and can be fined by Mexican or Canadian customs for improper paperwork along with the load
being Impounded by customs.
 #1452054  by johnpbarlow
 
Trains Magazine on-line has an interesting article/interview with EHH yesterday with a couple of nuggets about possible CSX activities:

"...Container sorting has stopped at North Baltimore, which now serves as a block-swapping facility and is still handling some local intermodal containers. Harrison said CSX may have a trick up its sleeve for a future use for the $175 million terminal and hinted it might involve a western railroad looking to extend its reach into the East..."

"...Harrison also explained the rationale for pulling out of the long-sought project to raise clearances in the Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore. The private-public partnership would have enabled double-stack service through the tunnel to the Port of Baltimore. Harrison says he’s philosophically opposed to receiving government money and that the East Coast has too many ports vying for traffic..."

"...CSX is planning to sell or spin off underutilized routes, including all of its trackage in Canada and related lines in the U.S. The railroad is not committed to any underutilized route, Harrison says..."

“...We’re not going to keep railroads for defensive purposes. I don’t believe in that,” Harrison says. “You’ve got a real weakness if you do that.”..."

"...CSX will pull out of Canada because its business north of the border is not successful, Harrison says. He singled out the intermodal terminal in Valleyfield, Quebec, outside Montreal, which has not lived up to expectations. The $100-million terminal opened in December 2014 but now handles just a dozen containers per day, Harrison says..."

http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/20 ... csx-update
 #1452141  by gokeefe
 
So the answer for North Baltimore is going to be, "give it to the competition?"

Unreal. I think Canada makes perfect sense. I can respect his opinion on Baltimore-Howard Street as an operating philosophy. And holding on to lines for defensive reasons can be a weak move for a Class 1.

But inviting a Western Class 1 into your own backyard seems beyond foolish. It sounds as though they are potentially going to rent out a prime asset simply because they don't have any interest in the long term work that goes into developing a new market and Harrison's job is to deliver a cash dividend.

I have never been happier that Pan Am is partnered with Norfolk Southern and not CSX.
 #1452191  by Wayside
 
It wouldn't surprise me if this whole thing turned into a CP or CN merger in the not too distant future.
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