VPA reports further growth in rail volumes

“In the last five to seven years our rail business to the Virginia Inland Port (VIP) and our dedicated Midwest traffic has grown and we have posted some double-digit increases, but these are some of the best numbers we have ever posted,” said Thomas Capozzi, the VPA’s director of marketing. “Our customers are capitalising on two of our strengths: the economics of moving cargo through VIP and our overall strong rail connections to key Midwest markets.”

From July 2007 to February 2008, VPA’s rail volume to and from the Midwest was 345,128 teu, an increase of 20% or 59,695 teu over the same period a year earlier. A total of 46,139 teu was handled at VIP, an increase of 12,387 teu or 36.7% compared with the same period in 2007.

Export cargo, driven by the weak dollar, was a large factor behind the increase. “Cargo that normally isn’t put into containers, grain from the Midwest for example, is now being boxed for export,” explained Capozzi. The growth experienced at VIP, however, was in import cargo. “New accounts in that area – new distribution centres in Front Royal – are the primary reasons for the strong numbers there,” he added.