How Ford, Railroad Industry Created Innovative Way to Ship the New Transit Van to North American Customers
23 Giugno 2014 - 6:05AM
Business Wire
- Innovative new railcar for vehicle
shipping accommodates the variety of Ford Transit roof heights
- Optimized mix of rail and truck
transport provides the most efficient delivery time and lowest
shipping cost, and supports Ford’s Blueprint for Sustainability by
using resources responsibly and minimizing environmental
impact
- All-new Ford Transit offers a
best-in-class range of vehicle configurations and will be available
at U.S. and Canadian dealerships this summer
Ford Motor Company is taking a new approach to shipping its
all-new full-size Transit cargo vans and wagons to Ford dealerships
across North America.
The high-roof Transit measures 110.1 inches tall and offers
best-in-class interior cargo height when properly equipped,
enabling customers as tall as 6 feet 4 inches looking to stand
upright in their vehicles, but it also challenged Ford engineers to
develop an innovative vehicle shipping solution.
Ford ships vehicles from its assembly plants to dealerships
using a mix of railcars and trucks. The new medium- and high-roof
Transit vehicles are too tall to fit in the common two-story
railcars used by auto manufacturers, so Ford engineers worked with
railroads and railcar manufacturers to design an innovative railcar
that accommodates all the roof-height variations of the new
Transit.
“Use of these modified railcars helps us to efficiently ship
these large vehicles from our assembly plant, deliver them to our
dealers and get them into the hands of our customers faster and
more cost effectively,” said Chris Lemmink, Ford vehicle logistics
manager.
The innovation allows Ford to ship Transit vehicles through the
right mix of rail and truck transport to help reduce delivery time
and cost. The company evaluated using trucks only, but determined
that it could deliver Transit vehicles more efficiently and for
less cost by designing modified railcars and incorporating them
into the shipping network.
The optimized balance of rail and truck transport also supports
Ford’s Blueprint for Sustainability by using resources responsibly
and minimizing environmental impact.
Ford plans to transport Transit vehicles by truck to its dealers
within a 500-mile radius of the Kansas City Assembly Plant in
Claycomo, Missouri, where Transit is produced. Shipments traveling
longer than 500 miles will be transported by rail.
Ford worked with leading rail companies to modify Transit
railcars by elevating its inner deck, enabling as many as seven
medium- and high-roof Transit vehicles to be loaded on the lower
deck and as many as seven smaller vehicles, like the Ford Fusion,
on the shorter top deck, depending on the vehicle’s length. The
overall height of the railcar remains the same as traditional
railcars, so as not to interfere with overpasses and tunnels.
Ford expects approximately 50 percent of Transit orders will be
medium- and high-roof configurations.
Ford began working on the railcar project in 2010, coinciding
with development of the all-new 2015 Transit.
All-new Ford Transit
In the United States, Transit eventually will replace America’s
best-selling van for 35 years, E-Series, which was first sold in
1961 as Ford Econoline. E-Series vans and wagons still will be
available and sold side by side with Transit into this calendar
year, providing a seamless transition for Ford customers.
Additionally, E-Series cutaway and stripped chassis will continue
to be built and sold through most of the rest of the decade.
Transit was introduced in Europe in 1965, and has been the
best-selling commercial van in the United Kingdom for 49 years. The
vehicle is sold in 118 markets on six continents.
The high-roof Transit – with best-in-class 81.5 inches of
maximum interior cargo height – provides enough headroom for a
person 6 feet 4 inches tall to stand upright in the cargo area.
Transit van offers as much as 487 cubic feet of cargo volume and
4,650 pounds of maximum payload capacity – more than competing vans
from General Motors and Chrysler. Transit delivers a maximum towing
capacity of 7,500 pounds.
In some configurations, Transit offers as much as 75 percent
more cargo volume than the largest E-Series, helping customers save
fuel costs and time associated with having to make a second trip.
Maximum payload increases more than 600 pounds across the lineup
versus comparable E-Series vans.
Transit will be available in van, wagon, chassis cab and cutaway
body styles; in three body lengths and two wheelbases for van and
wagon, along with three roof heights; with a standard 3.7-liter V6,
available 3.5-liter EcoBoost® and available 3.2-liter Power Stroke®
diesel engine; and in XL and XLT trim levels, offering more choices
than ever from a Ford commercial van.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in
Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six
continents. With about 183,000 employees and 65 plants worldwide,
the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The
company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit
Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products
worldwide, please visit corporate.ford.com.
Ford Motor CompanyJessica Enoch,
313-594-7933jenoch@ford.comKristina Adamski,
313-588-0849kadamsk1@ford.com
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