Josef,
Curt is spot on. May I add there are certain service routes which because of time requirements trucks must be used for a portion of the service? For example, toys and toy parts from the Far East destined to a toy distribution center in Cincinnati. The containers would probably be brought into the USA at Seattle. Then COFC via BN to Chicago in about forty eight hours. If the container were to stay on a flat car, that car would be interchanged with the Chessie system or NS for the Chicago to Cincinnati leg of its journey. That could easily add 36 hours to the transit time and would still be needed to put on a highway chassis for delivery to the consignee. However, if the container were unloaded and placed on a highway chassis in Chicago, a cartage company could deliver that container to the consignee's dock within seven hours.
If you care to see a nice operation, do a search for the operation of the BNSF piggyback terminal in or near Willow Springs, Illinois. Any outbound or inbound train has at least fifty containers with Schneider or JB Hunt markings. There is no other way those containers could be delivered to southern California via the highway at a competitive cost. A two man railroad crew changed at appropriate points will deliver 100 containers within 46 hours. If sent on the highway, you'd get delivery in a slightly longer time if the truck had a team of drivers, a single driver would take about four days for the run. If only one train leaves Chicago for California each day, those containers would require another four hundred drivers(100 each day, four days in transit) to replace the rail service. Let's give the railroad credit for providing such good service at a very competitive price. No price gouging.
John in Lansing, ILL
