Rail supplier news from Serrmi, TRAC Intermodal, Sherwin-Williams and C.R. England (Aug. 19)

Serrmi Products LLC, a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), recently hosted U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) for a tour of its plant in Pittsburg, Kansas, in recognition of Serrmi as a contributor to American-made rail components. Discussions between Serrmi leadership and the senator highlighted the current tariff climate, the importance of supporting Buy America requirements and Serrmi’s commitment to strengthening domestic railroad supply chains, a spokesperson for the company said in an email. By producing high-quality steel components for critical railroad infrastructure, Serrmi aims to expand its impact on the U.S. transportation and logistics network while helping bring manufacturing back to the United States, according to the spokesperson. 

TRAC Intermodal has launched GeoFleet, a smart chassis solution that provides customers with guaranteed chassis availability, usage-based billing through geofencing capabilities and GPS tracking. Customers pay only for the chassis they use when they use it. With this new program, TRAC customers — motor carriers, ocean carriers, BCOs, railroads and non-vessel operating carriers — can choose the size and type of TRAC chassis they want and store it on their property, under a flexible term-lease model. Billing doesn’t begin until chassis depart the geofenced area around their facility, according to a TRAC Intermodal press release.

Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine recently launched three water-based coatings under its CarClad® platform. The new line of water-based acrylics offers the lowest total applied cost for coating rail cars based on the durability and long service life of the coatings, as well as their application efficiencies, Sherwin-Williams officials said in a press release. The line includes: CarClad® WB 2600, a direct-to-metal or two-coat exterior topcoat; CarClad® WB 1400, an anticorrosive primer; and CarClad® 600, a fast-drying coating for carbon steel jacketed car interiors and tank car exteriors.

C.R. England Inc., a refrigerated carrier and a leader in intermodal logistics, recently voiced support for the proposed merger between Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway. The company believes the coast-to-coast rail integration marks a transformative step toward faster, greener and more cost-effective freight transportation, C.R. England officials said in a press release. "This merger lets us combine the best of rail and trucking — moving freight farther with less fuel and fewer emissions, then delivering the last mile by truck," said Zach England, chief operating officer of C.R. England. "It means faster transit, greater capacity and lower costs. For our customers, that translates to improved supply chain efficiency and savings we can pass on to consumers."