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11
Mar
Shippers applaud CMA CGM’s jump to Memphis gray chassis pool
Shippers and truckers are applauding a decision by CMA CGM to join the gray pool in Memphis, with the decision to embrace open choice making it less likely there will be a chassis shortage should volume spike after disruptions from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pass.
“[The decision] increases shipper efficiency, provides more affordable and timely chassis access, improves on-time container arrival at terminals and vessel loading, keeping bookings on CMA and APL vessels intact,” wrote Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agricultural Transportation Coalition, in a letter to CMA CGM. “Your chassis policies in the South Atlantic and Mid-South support the competitiveness of agriculture and forest products exporters.” (more…)
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12
Feb
Virginia Maritime Association Celebrates 100 Years
The Virginia Maritime Association was founded in 1920 and has led, lobbied for, or influenced every major development related to the port or trade over the last 100 years – always working to promote, protect, and encourage commerce through Virginia’s […]
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12
Feb
Dewanna Hopson: Professional Driver
The roaring waves colliding with the solid bottom of the waterfall entices an explorer, as the warming purr of an idle engine awaits its driver. The magnificence of a semi-truck can only be truly appreciated through the eyes of the enthusiastic. Long roads, stretched in silence; day after day, no single view the same. Trucking is a unique lifestyle well-known for its weight in uncertainty and complicated ordinances. But if you’re one of the lucky few to take notice, there is joy in the journey of discovery.
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05
Feb
IMC Companies Deploys New Line of Mack Trucks
IMC Companies recently purchased 125 Mack trucks. Rick Seawright, who has overseen the trucks being outfitted with the latest in electronic logging and tablet communication technology, has been hard at work, ensuring these top-of-the-line vehicles are road-ready. (more…)
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31
Jan
IMC Companies and TierPoint Join Forces to Strengthen Technological Efforts
IMC Companies Chief Information Officer Joel Tracy and Director of IT – Engineering and Operations Robert Spiecha recently discussed the history of IMC Companies and their relationship with the TierPoint data centers. Tracy commented, “TierPoint handles all of the power […]
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31
Dec
IMC Companies Proceeds with Plans for New Collierville Headquarters
(Memphis, TN) – IMC Companies, a national leader in intermodal logistics, has been approved for a PILOT (Payment-in-Lieu-of-Tax) for its planned 75,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Collierville, Tennessee. The three-story facility will be located in the office development area of Schilling Farms and is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2021.
“We are excited about being in Collierville,” said Mark H. George, Chairman of IMC Companies. “This move will have tremendous value to our team members and their work environment.”
The new location offers easy access to walking trails, community centers, restaurants, shopping and a host of other amenities that will enhance quality of life for IMC Companies’ employees.
An estimated 152 jobs will be transferred to Schilling Farms. IMC Companies is the largest marine drayage company in the United States. The company was founded in Memphis in 1982.
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31
Dec
PILOT approved for IMC Companies relocation to Collierville
A 10-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) incentive was approved that will move the headquarters of IMC Companies to Collierville.
The intermodal logistics company with operating units across the U.S. will leave its space in Lenox Park in the 385 Corridor and relocate to Schilling Farms.
The company will invest $18.3 million in a three-story, 75,000-square-foot facility for its headquarters. A release said the company hopes construction is complete by the summer of 2021.
It will be the biggest expense the company has made since it opened in 1982, according to the release.
Fleming Architects will design the headquarters and Linkous Construction will build it.
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30
Dec
Largest Memphis intermodal firm readies for Collierville move
With a 10-year tax break in hand, the largest intermodal firm in the area is moving forward with its plans to move from Memphis to Collierville.
As the Memphis Business Journal reported in November, IMC Cos. is planning to build a 75,000-square-foot headquarters office in Collierville’s Schilling Farms that it intends to occupy by summer 2021.
On Dec. 9, Collierville’s board of mayor and aldermen approved the company for a 10-year PILOT (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes), which had been approved by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris on Nov. 18. (more…)
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20
Dec
Intermodal Trucking Sees 2020 As Year Of Tough Laws, Cost Increases
Intermodal and drayage carriers are winding down a year that for many meant only modest growth in container trucking. On the international side, the National Retail Federation projected another record year for U.S. container imports, but it would amount to only a 1% increase in volumes over 2018. Domestic rail containers, meanwhile, saw a steeper drop of 4% from 2018.
As the industry looks toward 2020, there is hope among intermodal executives that container volumes will keep growing, albeit much of the growth may be in certain regions and for specific goods. Likewise, intermodal carriers want to see more done on the maritime link in the supply chain to improve efficiency. For its own part, container trucking will have to wrestle with a slew of regulations and cost increases that will require them to be more efficient as well.
Here are some views on how 2020 will shake out for intermodal.
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18
Dec
BNSF’s Chicago intermodal depot regains flow after operational shift
Truck turn times have returned to normal in BNSF Railway’s Lot 16 outside of Chicago following the railroad’s transferring control of the lot in November to a private company with several locations in the market.
The lot is a depot where drivers return empty ocean containers after beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) unload the contents. It does not handle domestic containers. Although it’s not a haul that many consider, delays in returning an ocean container can lead to detention penalties and drivers completing fewer jobs per day. That eventually causes other BCOs to be billed for terminal demurrage — also called rail storage fees.
The solution was to bring in DNJ Intermodal Services to take over operations in Lot 16; the company runs chassis and container depots elsewhere in Chicago.
BNSF announced in January 2019 that empty ocean containers had to be returned to Lot 16 rather than Logistics Park Chicago (LPC), its main terminal in Elwood, Illinois. Problems started immediately, with lines extending onto adjacent streets. Drayage providers told JOC.com drivers would sometimes wait for an hour only to discover the lot wouldn’t accept the empty. Ocean carriers are supposed to remove boxes in a timely fashion, but sometimes they exceed their storage cap so the terminal refuses to take more. (more…)
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