The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-12-01
CONTROL OF CAR SHORTAGES

The nations freight tonnage has grown far more rapidly than the equipment GO handle it. This is particularly true as re- gards rolling stock of railroads. Gonse- quently, whenever peak periods of freight movement occur, there is much talk of car shortage. In most cases however, this does not premise an actual shortage of car ca- pacity so much as an improper administra- tion of the equipment. Some of the blame for this condition rests upon the railroads, and some of it upon shippers or consignees. Railroads are to blame whenever they de- liberately keep on their own lines cars be- longing to and needed by other roads. This is pernicious practise and one very hard to check up on, for a railroad so handling the equipment of other lines can keep nov ing the cars about in very baffling manner. There arise occasions, also, when there may be a surplus of cars in one section and lack of them in another. A better system of distribution would obviate most com plaints of local shortages.
 An almost incredible expansion of the nations car capacity is possible through in- telligent cooperation on the part of patrons of the railroads. For example, there is much valuable car space killed because cars are not loaded to capacity. If definite policy of loading to capacity were followed wher- ever practicable, the result would be the same as adding thousands of new cars under present loading practise. If a car goes out only half or two-thirds full, 1t will require another car to complete the haulage. Pos sibly 1t would not be too high to estimate the practicable increased capacity, due to proper loading, at 20 or 25 per cent. This is result well worth striving to attain; it would benefit the shipper by expanding the haul age capacity at his disposal, and it would be of general benefit through decreasing the cost of transportation, for it does not cost much more to haul loaded car than one half loaded, and certainly not more than half as much as to haul two cars.
 Shippers and consignees may help also by loading and unloading cars promptly. Many a car is standing on the siding for no other reason than that those who should load or unload it are taking their time about doing so. Figures are not at hand to show just how great a drain this siding loss is upon the transportation ability, but it is certainly
 
 One official estimate says that cars spend one-third of the time on sdings. Often the very ones who complain of car shortage have it within their power to contribute to an ex- pansion in car capacity.
 Another cause of unnecessary tax upon the hauling ability of the railroads is the practise of routing goods long distances to seaboard when time and overhead expense could be saved by sending shipments to d nearer port. There is some duplication of hauling, due to long g-distance transportation of raw materials and the bringing back over the same route of the finished product. All these clements enter into the producing of car shortages. Some of them are easily within the control of shippers themselves. If both railroads and shippers work together to improve the situation, this problem of car shortage would be less serious.