TEGMA's Freight Visibility Program
TEGMA is proud to share a new initiative brought to you by TEGMA’s Transportation Committee on freight visibility.
As background, in July 2019, the ability to track and trace railcars via Steelroads was restricted to allow access only to parties to the relevant waybill. Prior to this restriction, different key players in the freight market had the necessary Car Location Messaging (CLM) visibility to shuttle freight – loaded or empty – which was critical for effective pipeline management, in particular as freight commonly changed “hands” in the secondary market.
Given the active secondary market for shuttle (and other) freight, it is important that CLM visibility be extended beyond the parties on the relevant waybill. This visibility should be extended at a minimum to primary shuttle owners, but also to a larger group of individual players that may at some point own the particular piece of freight as it changes hands over the course of the primary shuttle owner’s commitment.
In collaboration with the Union Pacific and Railinc, and validated by the BNSF, TEGMA arrived at the following solution:
Through Railinc, TEGMA will act as a “facilitator” to enable industry participants to recover their ability to access CLM data for shuttle (and other) freight programs, with the intent of restoring the ability as it originally existed for the freight market participants mentioned above.
Exhibit A provides additional details. Please note: participation in the program is not exclusive to TEGMA members. TEGMA’s role is intended as an industry service. Industry participation will be limited to those who are viable participants. Please review Exhibit A for a full outline of the program, conditions of participation, and application information.
Interested parties should submit a letter of application (see information on page 2) by September 18 for review by October 1. Please direct any questions to Terry McDermott, Transportation Committee Chairman at terry.mcdermott@bunge.com or 314-292-2050.