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How Does Rail-Car Unloading Impact Your Utility Project?

An intermodal pole yard is a site used to transfer poles from one mode of transport to another. Intermodal pole yards commonly facilitate rail-to-road delivery. While railroads offer a low-cost, environmentally-friendly service, moving freight from rail cars to haulers can be an expensive burden.


And that is only one task in the long chain of hauling.


The freight has to be unloaded once it reaches its final destination. Many hauling companies leave unloading to project managers. Leaving a job half-completed can delay projects and create cost overruns. Concerning utility projects, customers depending on electricity and communication services will suffer the most. How can project managers avoid this devastating complication?


Utility transloading can prove vital in getting your lines, poles, and other equipment from a rail car to your job site.


What is Transloading?

Transloading, or rail-car unloading, involves positioning trucks at intermodal rail yards to unload rail cars of utility poles or other freight. The material is loaded onto hauling trucks that are then driven to where they need to be unloaded. Transloading involves unloading the trucks via specialized equipment that is typically attached to the haulers. Utility hauling companies that provide rail car unloading have no excuse to leave the job half-done.


How does rail-car unloading impact your utility project?


Transloading Advantages

Rail-Car Unloading Can Save Time

If you are a project manager, then chances are you have a lot to deal with every day. You must oversee every aspect of every project you are responsible for. Your list of duties probably includes coordinating staffing and operational activities, identifying resource needs, and selecting and training personnel. Add in the essential chore of making sure your utility equipment arrives on-site on time.


You can handle utility transportation yourself. You can rent hauling and loading equipment and hire drivers and riggers. However, it takes time to research your options, call around, and compare quotes.


The time drain does not end here.


You have to wait for all the equipment and workers you have employed for this one task to arrive. Then once your freight has arrived, they must unload, pack up, and leave. Any delays caused by human errors, tardiness, equipment failure, or weather can drag out an already lengthy process.


Rail-car unloading can save you time. You do not have to compare equipment rental rates or seek more workers. The hauling company will use their specialized trucks to load, drive, and unload your material, leaving you with a clean set-up.


Rail-Car Unloading Can Save Money

It might sound obvious but it bears stating that renting extra equipment and hiring more workers costs money. These expenses can quickly add up. You could find yourself paying more than you want to just to get your material delivered. Each additional cost can make your project run over budget. Your stakeholders might look for a thriftier project manager for their next job.


One of the smartest ways to rein in your expenses is to hire a rail-car unloading hauling company. They should not charge any additional fees for unloading because that service is part of their hauling process. You can save thousands of dollars in rentals and labor when you work with a self-unloading trucking company, which can make your stakeholders happy and ensure you still have a position.


Hiring a transloading company can also reduce your project’s liability risk. More equipment and workers you have on-site create more opportunities for injuries and damages. You can all but eliminate a significant portion of risk by hiring a company that will get in and out quickly and safely.


Rail-Car Unloading Can Be Safer

Hiring help for unloading exposes your project to liabilities that can result in costly claims and litigation. These detriments can delay, or cancel, a project and raise your expenses. A rail-car unloading company gets rid of the need for added risk, especially that of the rigger. This dangerous job involves someone hooking the load, crawling on the trailer floor, and wrapping the load up. They are close to the heavy freight being moved, which endangers them.


Rail-car unloading involves using grapples to pick up and move freight. No one except the hauling operator needs to be near the unloading area. Your project team can remain safe, ensuring an injury-free delivery.


How to Choose the Right Hauling Company

If you choose to hire a rail-car unloading company, then you have to decide whether you want an asset-based or brokerage hauling company.


Asset-based Hauling Companies

If you want to deal directly with the company without any middlemen in the way, then asset-based hauling companies are probably your best bet. They are the actual haulers. They usually own their trucks and equipment. They hire their own drivers. Since their future business relies on their performance, asset-based companies go to greater lengths to provide quality service.


Brokerage Hauling Companies

Brokerage haulers are the aforementioned middlemen. They connect their customers with other hauling companies. As such, they can blame the companies they suggest in the event of a problem. However, brokerage hauling companies can sometimes offer lower rates due to their relationships with other haulers.


Blackwood Resources is Your Rail-Car Unloading Solution

Have you decided on hiring a rail-car unloading company? Do you want to enjoy the benefits of an asset-based hauler?


Blackwood Resources can tick off both those boxes for you. We can save you time and money without sacrificing speed for safety.


As an asset-based company, we own our trucks and equipment as well as hire our drivers. You do not have to worry about renting anything and hiring anyone. You can protect your budget and your project. Our skilled operators have proficient safety records. They can easily pick up, deliver, and drop off your utility material.


You can also expect clear communication from us. We will explain the process and work closely with you every step of the way. If you deal with a brokerage hauling outfit and have to get a message to the driver, you might have to contact the broker who might give you the driver’s contact information, if they have the correct information in the first place. You can avoid this nightmare scenario by choosing an asset-based company that wants to transport your freight correctly and securely. You can skip the middlemen and ask us to help you deliver your freight with ease.


As a trusted partner of the utility industry, we remain committed to maintaining and growing some of the most cost effective and efficient transloading services for all of our customers. Our dedication extends to upgrading our equipment to serve you better and quicker. We recently purchased a new property that we haul poles out of with a rail spur on it. This allows us to receive rail cars of poles at the yard and we unload from there. Transloading just got easier for us but you can reap all the benefits.


Please contact us today to take advantage of any of our utility hauling services.


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