Tri-Cities Intermodal (TCI), a newly formed company has signed a lease/purchase agreement with Union Pacific to acquire a warehouse and property which will see the company develop an intermodal ramp in Wallula, Washington.
Previously the Tiger Cool Express had plans to operate the space, but its operations shut down in June 2023.
TCI’s CEO and founder Theodore Prince says the site will be in operation in the next three to four months. “We were very fortunate to find an investor with the foresight, along with Union Pacific’s support to bring this project to fruition,” he says.
Center to benefit the community
The 67-acre intermodal center will have the capacity for 5,000 monthly lifts and can handle up to 22,000 container shipments of goods like onions, apples, pears, potatoes, and wine. The center will service Union Pacific’s customers in Seattle, Tacoma, and Chicago.
Union Pacific’s senior vice president for marketing and sales Kari Kirchhoefer says this development will remove thousands of trucks from the highway. “This is a region that continues to grow in logistical importance, and we look forward to supporting its growth with safe, reliable service,” she says.
Investment firm PNW Capital is investing in the intermodal center. The company is led by James Delaney who will assume the non-executive chairman role at TCI. “This proposition stands as a superb concept, bolstered by a highly capable team and situated within an exceptionally favorable business environment. We are very excited to include Tri-Cities within our distinguished portfolio,” says Delaney.
Union Pacific strengthens its offering
In May 2023, Union Pacific announced a new service that would allow intermodal containers to be loaded from cargo ships directly onto railcars for transportation at Port Houston without being trucked. This gives the company’s customers direct rail access to Denver, Salt Lake, Oakland, Los Angeles, and El Paso.
New man at the helm of Union Pacific
Union Pacific was founded in 1862 and its rail transports food, forestry products, agricultural products, and chemicals.
In August 2023, Union Pacific appointed Jim Vena as CEO. He previously served as the company’s COO from 2019 to 2020. Vena has over 40 years of experience in the industry.
Logistics industry in Seattle
Seattle-based freight start-up Convoy announced that it would halt operations amid rumors of financial struggles, The Seattle Times reports. The private company is backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.
Wall Street Journal reports the company is winding down its core business. The publication adds that a company email was sent to Convoy employees that it would stop receiving shipments until further notice. Convoy was founded in 2015 by Dan Lewis and Grant Goodale as a digital freight network. The business moves truckloads throughout the US via its network of carriers and shippers.
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About the author
Sharl is a qualified journalist. He has over 10 years’ experience in the media industry, including positions as an editor of a magazine and Business Editor of a daily newspaper. Sharl also has experience in logistics specifically operations, where he worked with global food aid organisations distributing food into Africa. Sharl enjoys writing business stories and human interest pieces.
