Dive Brief:
- Norfolk Southern and Florida East Coast Railway have launched Florida Express, a two-way intermodal express service connecting ports in South Florida to Charlotte, North Carolina, the railroads announced March 5.
- The service aims to target the nearshoring surge for textile industry shippers in the U.S., Central America and the Caribbean Basin seeking faster transportation options to and from Port Everglades and Port of Miami to Charlotte and other points around the U.S.
- Looking ahead, the Florida Express service will eventually accommodate customers moving products like produce, poultry and other agriculture commodities.
Dive Insight:
Logistics services provider Crowley is already leveraging the route to expand customers’ intermodal options for moving textile goods to and from major U.S. manufacturing centers, like North Carolina. The state currently accounts for 20% of U.S. textile exports with more than 395 manufacturers.
The partnership relies on a steel wheel change in Jacksonville to better connect customers moving goods through South Florida.
“For us in FEC, reaching additional markets and providing customers with options to ship into the primary markets in Florida is key to our development,” Florida East Coast Railway VP of Intermodal Luis Hernandez said in the release.
Nearshoring efforts have been supported by initiatives like U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ “Call to Action for Northern Central America,” leading to commitments from retailer Target and apparel maker Columbia Sportswear to source more products from Central America.
Men’s apparel company DXL also has increased production and sourcing in Central America to decrease its reliance on Asia.
Norfolk Southern has been working to expand its railroad services to better capture market shares.
In September, Norfolk Southern announced it would team with Canadian National to add an intermodal service between the U.S. and Canada, which launched in October. The railroad also noted that it handled an increase in volume from FedEx's Ground unit during peak season after the two companies strategized ways to strengthen service.
