Railcar shortage causing shipping delays
Please be aware of vehicle shipping delays that are occurring due to an industry-wide rail car shortage. Our General Motors (GM) representative has passed along the following information. If you need any assistance with your order-to-delivery or have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your LeasePlan representative.
Root Cause:
- Rail network is congested due to heavy volumes from all industries.
- Railroads are cutting costs to improve profit margins, which negatively impacts service.
- The automotive industry continues to shift to crossover and larger vehicles.
OEM Escalation:
- Requests to Government agencies to intervene, including Automotive Alliance and Transportation Board, have been made.
- Continual calls with rail companies to elevate issues, including CEOs, are occurring.
Current Status:
- Delays are expected to continue into 2019CY.
- Automotive industry is experiencing a lack of bi-level railcars to transport crossover and larger vehicles.
- There is significant congestion at vehicle distribution centers.
- Haulaway capacity is also constrained as OEMs divert rail capacity to haulaway carriers.
- As a result, GM has extended the dealer pickup program to March 4, 2019.
- GM continues to utilize other shipping solutions.
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