Swift takes control of BNSF containers

Swift takes control of BNSF containers    The BNSF Railway has agreed to transfer 3,800 53-foot containers it leases to the intermodal division of Swift Transportation Inc., the giant Phoenix-based truckload carrier, both companies said.
   The move is part of BNSF’s new strategy to get out of the business of controlling and managing trailers and containers to focus resources on providing line-haul service. The railroad has said it planned to transition equipment back to leasing companies in stages through the end of 2006.
   Swift will be better able to maximize fleet efficiency, “thus creating additional shipping capacity for the entire intermodal community,” said John Hickerson, BNSF vice president for domestic intermodal, in a statement. “In addition, this change will allow BNSF to improve its intermodal facility operational fluidity.”
   Railroads have traditionally provided equipment for their intermodal customers but are beginning to divest themselves of these assets, preferring that shippers, intermodal marketing companies and intermodal carriers take responsibility for trailers and containers.
   The move means shipper decisions on which intermodal service providers to use may boil down to which companies have the equipment capacity to move their goods. Smaller IMCs and truck brokers could be under pressure to find capacity if carriers like Schneider National, J.B. Hunt and Swift, as well as large IMCs like Hub Group and Pacer have guaranteed most of their fleet to large customers, some industry officials say.
   The containers acquired by Swift are part of a North American Container System pool program that allowed for the free interchange of containers between railroads. Under the new policy, Swift and other intermodal service providers will have to manage connections between different railroads.