Railinc tool seeks optimal rail freight paths

The TransmetriQ brand of Cary, North Carolina-based Railinc has launched a Rate & Route tool the firm says is designed to improve performance and reduce expenses for rail carload shippers.

The firm says rail shippers often spend hours or days scouring industry websites, PDFs and other sources to understand their rate and route options for different origin/destination (OD) pairs.

“These options can be complex, with varying distance, cost, transit time, fuel surcharges and accessorial fees,” Railinc says, noting that the time and expense associated with these searches can be greatly reduced by using TransmetriQ Rate & Route.

“Following an initial intake of a shipper’s contract and public rates via artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools, Rate & Route stores and can instantly present complete OD-pair rate and route options for any carload shipment,” says Danny Dever, senior product manager at TransmetriQ.

With Rate & Route, shippers can view options that offer varying transit times, rates and other considerations to determine which option best satisfies their particular business needs.

The technology firm says the information provided by Rate & Route makes it more efficient to serve existing customers and provides fast information when shipping to a new destination or quoting rates under a deadline to earn new business.

“Our development team listened to shippers and spent more than a year tackling the challenge of disparately stored rates,” Dever says. “Not only are we able to show public tariffs and contract rates, but we’re also able to show both the waybill and operational routes. This gives shippers a true idea of how they can expect a shipment to move in reality.”

“The release of this solution opens new opportunities for both existing and potential rail shippers,” adds Mika Majapuro, vice president at TransmetriQ. 

“Rail provides the most efficient way to move freight over land, as well as cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent compared with truck. TransmetriQ’s Rate & Route makes this supply chain option more attractive than ever before by ensuring shippers have the visibility needed to choose the optimal rate and route for their needs.”

In addition to offering the Rate & Route tool, Railinc calls itself the largest single source of real-time, accurate interline rail data for the North American railroad system. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Washington-based Association of American Railroads.