Tag Archive for: midwest intermodal transport

New ATA Newsletter ‘ATA Business of Trucking’ Launched

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Calhoun Truck Lines is in the mix of intermodal transportation and cargo delivery, day in and day out. it’s our business and we’re proud of what we do.  

At this blog, we often share our thoughts on trucking, diesel costs, truck driver hires, and more. So we’re glad to read that our industry association, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) is also reaching out to more people with news about these very same topics that we are covering on our own blog.  
ATA, Calhoun Trucking


In April, the ATA announced its launch of a new quarterly newsletter named “ATA Business of Trucking”. This complimentary eNewsletter will be distributed quarterly to ATA members, ATA Council Members, and purchasers of ATA products.   In the four quarterly issues, the team behind it promises to “feature critical information from industry leaders on the most pressing issues in trucking” as it read in the ATA press release.  

“ATA Business of Trucking will provide readers with insight from key industry experts and thought leaders on topics that can have a real impact on their bottom line,” wrote ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “We’re launching this valuable product with a look at natural gas in trucking, a follow up to our successful ATA Summit on Natural Gas in Trucking, but we anticipate covering the length and breadth of trucking issues in the coming months.”  

Issues covered in the debut newsletter issue focused on the industry moving from diesel to natural gas for truckers, with a variety of insights from industry execs on the matter. Here’s the post from Doug Thomson titled “Dual Fuel Conversion Systems Mean the Future is Today” in which he offers his thoughts on how the trucking industry.   

Future topics to be explored will incude which fuel to use, the impact of increased weight, use of dual fuel systems and the return on investment from investing in natural gas trucks.  

At Calhoun Truck Lines, we are excited to hear more about issues in our trucking industry. It’s important, we feel, that more poeple understand how th eintermodal cargo system can provide businesses with the necessary goods.  

Calhoun Truck Lines’ operational facilities at our five Midwest trucking facilities are fully equipped to handle your intermodal trucking needs. We are proud of our drivers and their ability to move freight safely and swiftly across the country. Calhoun Truck Lines delivers a professional working environment for our employees, and maintains a safe truck fleet. Contact us for more info on our business at https://calhountrucklines.com.

$23 Billion Being Invested In The Intermodal Freight Railway Network.

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As a company working in the Midwest intermodal transport business, we’re often described as being closely situated at the heart of our nation’s railway system.

There are over 140,000 miles of rail comprising a network that stretches across the major freight railroads in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as Amtrak. These railroads carry 43 percent of intercity domestic freight – more than any other mode of transportation.

Through this interconnected rail network, our U.S. freight railroads are a shining emblem as the world’s most efficient, lowest-cost freight rail system. Because of this transportation prowess, the U.S. has led for many years in developing state-of-the-art logistics systems for truckers, rail companies, and other freighters.

The benefits of this massive rail network across North America are many. According to the Association of American Railroads, freight railroads provide shippers like Calhoun Truck Lines an affordable and efficient way to move freight. Through this method, freight railroads provide enormous public benefits, including increased fuel efficiency, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and less highway congestion.

This is a circuitous way to tell how proud and excited we are at Calhoun Truck Lines to learn that the Association of American Railroads is investing $23 billion to build, maintain and upgrade the nation’s freight rail network throughout 2012. This is news that was recently announced in new ads released by The Association of American Railroads. You can see one of the clips below.

Just for comparison sake, the new ads show that $23 billion invested in the U.S. rail network is equivalent to four sports stadiums, five large bridges and eight convention centers. It’s a huge infrastructure project that most Americans don’t really even think about today. The AAR wants to bring awareness to the investment it makes in freight lines that enable goods and commerce to work well.

According to a recent story at RT&S, freight railroad companies support the country’s nationwide rail network so taxpayers don’t have to. “These investments in turn help keep American businesses competitive in the global marketplace, while supporting not only railroad jobs, but also supporting jobs throughout the economy,” said Edward Hamberger, president and CEO of AAR. “And by investing more than $500 billion since 1980, we have created the best freight rail network in the world.”

The AAR says that railroads invest about 17 percent of annual revenues on capital expenditures annually. That’s huge, a far higher amount per year compared to other U.S. goods manufacturers. These investments take shape in new rail tracks, bridges and tunnels; intermodal terminals for truck-to-train freight transport; modern safety equipment; new locomotive engines and other ways to keep our freight rail network running productively.

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