At Gordon Russell, we keep you moving, and one of the many ways we do it is in supplying railcar mover solutions to the transloading industry. In celebration of Earth Day, we wanted to take the opportunity to talk a little bit about transloading, its eco benefits and how we contribute to the process.

What is transloading? How does it work? 

Transloading is the process of transferring goods from one mode of transportation to another on the way to its destination. Planes, trains, ships and trucks are examples of transportation that may be involved in transloading, with trains and rail being the most eco-efficient method. Transloading comes into play when companies need to make long-haul or international shipments of, mainly, non-perishable goods. The goods would begin their journey on one mode of transportation, arriving at a checkpoint, where it would then either be stored in a facility awaiting its continued transport, or transferred to another mode of transportation until it reaches another checkpoint. This is often a lengthy process as the goods will often pass through several checkpoints before eventually arriving at their intended destination. 

What are the benefits of transloading? 

While transloading may be a longer process, most companies will still opt for it as the benefits of this process are still significant enough to justify the extended timeline. Transloading allows goods to travel a longer way and to reach more remote destinations. Transloading facilities at the various checkpoints also provide storage for shipments that may not require immediate distribution. This allows companies to store certain goods in areas where they can easily fulfill any orders coming in without having to ship from their original destination each time. This allows companies to consolidate a larger quantity of goods within the same shipment. By increasing the load and reducing the frequency of trips, companies reduce costs on transport, but more importantly, also reduce the inevitable carbon footprint from the process of moving. Additionally, whenever trains and rail can be employed to take on one of the longer legs of the journey, it adds to the eco-efficiency of the entire transloading process. Studies have shown that trains and rails have much higher fuel efficiency per gallon, which in turn reduces carbon emissions by a significant amount compared to planes and trucks. 

Where does Gordon Russell fit in? 

As the largest distributor of mobile railcar movers in Western Canada, we provide a means for the rail portion of the transloading process. With railroads being one of the main transport routes in the Pacific Northwest, we have become a significant contributor to the transloading process. In addition to Trackmobile railcar movers, we also distribute Zephir railcar movers that are fully electric thus further enhancing the eco efficiency of rail transport. 

We are proud to play a significant role in reducing the harmful environmental effects within the industry and hope that we can continue to build on even more environmentally efficient methods of fulfilling the necessary functions of transporting goods around the world. 

If you’re interested in joining us in reducing our carbon footprint, please ask us about our mobile railcar movers and our in-house experts will be happy to answer all your questions.