Pacer Stacktrain Upgrades Domestic Container Fleet; Now Adding 1500 53-Foot Boxes; Additional Orders May Follow
"Our goal is to meet strong current demand for this cost-efficient equipment and to support new business growth," said Gary Goldfein, president of Pacer Stacktrain.
Delivery of the 1,500 units will be completed by early November. Later in the year, the company will consider ordering an additional 2,000 of the high-cube, steel containers for delivery early next year -- depending on market conditions, he said.
"This large order of 53-foot units sends some important signals," said Goldfein. "First, Pacer Stacktrain remains committed to meeting the needs of the intermodal marketing companies (IMCs) that arrange transportation in North America for manufacturers and retailers, and other of our customers who trans-load international freight to domestic containers at the U.S. West Coast.
"We also want to demonstrate our belief that the 53-foot container, by providing 11 percent more cubic capacity than the 48-foot domestic box, is fast becoming the unit of choice for domestic shippers of low-density freight."
Such high-cube, low-density commodities as toys, cereals, appliances, department-store items, garments, electronics, tires and auto parts, which typically exceed the space limitations of a container before they exceed its weight limitations, can be moved especially cost-effectively in the larger units.
Largest, Most Diversified Fleet for North American Trade
Pacer Stacktrain said it currently operates a fleet of some 20,000 domestic containers, including 53- and 48-footers.
According to Bob Papworth, executive vice president for business development, the company offers its customers the largest fleet and the greatest diversity of container sizes in the industry.
In addition to its own fleet, Pacer also has access to international containers operated by APL through a 20-year operating partnership signed in May -- when the stacktrain business formerly operated by APL became part of the Pacer organization.
The 1,500 new containers will be the first in Pacer's fleet to sport the Pacer name and logo, said Papworth. They are being built at Shanghai Jindo Container Co., Ltd. of Shanghai, China.
About Pacer -- Pacer International is a leading North American freight transportation and logistics services provider. It offers a broad range of intermodal, trucking, warehousing, consolidation and other services on a retail basis, all available through a single organization. The Pacer Stacktrain unit operates the industry's most extensive double-stack rail system for the distribution of containerized freight, which it markets on a wholesale basis. Pacer International is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, and Pacer Stacktrain is headquartered in Oakland, California.
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