For the past 18 months, Tom Howe, general manager of the Maryland Port Administration's Midwest sales offices, has had one of the toughest jobs in the shipping industry.
His task: Persuade Detroit-area auto parts suppliers, manufacturers and major retailers to ship their goods in and out of the port of Baltimore - even though getting it there on a cost-effective train is difficult, if not impossible.
For the first time since it took over 58 percent of Conrail last year, Norfolk Southern Corp. is in a position to deliver on its promise to make Howe's job easier.
Late last month, the railroad opened a $31 million intermodal terminal near Harrisburg, Pa. The terminal creates a new transportation route between Baltimore and Detroit, while at the same time improving transit times in key lanes.
Called the Rutherford Intermodal Terminal, the hub employs 200 and will move an estimated 250,000 containers per year. Though Norfolk Southern still lacks the ability to send trains with double stacks of containers from the terminal - a key factor in cutting transportation costs - some analysts say the new hub will help Baltimore level the playing field among East Coast ports with respect to rail access.
It also is a major step forward in Norfolk Southern's efforts to resolve any lingering service problems that arose after it took control of Conrail's tracks in Maryland and began serving the Baltimore port. So far, most of the cargo Norfolk Southern brings into Baltimore via Harrisburg is destined for the local market. The low volumes of other types of cargo don't always justify a trip by train.
But the railroad and Maryland port officials are optimistic that could change as new lanes are opened.
"Everybody is a target," said Howe, who was tapped by the port to open a new Detroit sales office last year in anticipation of Norfolk Southern's plans. CSX, Norfolk Southern's chief competitor on the East Coast and the dominant carrier in the port of Baltimore, has considered expanding intermodal service to Detroit, but currently has no plans to do so.
Other opportunities
In addition to major auto manufacturers, Michigan is headquarters for Kmart Corp., Dow Chemical Co., Amway and a number of other major corporations. Up for grabs, one port official said, is more than 100,000 cargo containers per year, an amount equal to about one fifth of the container units the port handled in 1999.
