KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, U.S. — U.S. railroads indicated they were ready for a large fall crop harvest with additional cars removed from storage, pre-placement of railcars and other actions under way, industry representatives said Sept. 12 at a meeting of the National Grain Car Council.
Representatives from Class I and short-line railroads, grain shippers and related industries met to discuss the preparedness of the railroads to ship the fall harvest, as well as the state of the rail industry.
There was consensus that this year’s forecast record large corn crop and fourth-largest soybean crop would require significant rail capacity, but both the railroads and grain shippers welcomed the challenge after last year’s drought-reduced crops.
“We’re ready to carry your grain,” said Paddy O’Neill of Norfolk Southern Corp.
