ANALYSIS OF A COAL BROKERAGE FOR A MIDWEST SITE

Coal demand of an area aggregated and served through a single facility in order to achieve the high volumes necessary to justify unit-train service is deemed a coal brokerage. Once such a system is initiated, it is conjectured that coal users too small to individually receive unit-train orders can begin to capture the cost savings associated with large volume shipments. In order to examine the coal-brokerage concept closely, the Green Bay-Kewaunee, Wisconsin region was chosen as the site for analysis because: (1) there had been speculation by lower peninsula Michigan utilities concerning a Wisconsin transhippment site for western coal; (2) the area's paper industry is a large coal user; (3) the Wisconsin Energy Office has researched coal consumption in depth, and has an available data base for industrial boilers and their fuel type; (4) line-haul rail routes allow for adequate access from western mines to utility and industrial coal users; and (5) there is no single user or facility currently large enough to handle unit-train shipments. Details on planning and design decisions for a coal brokerage are presented.

• Corporate Authors:

  Argonne National Laboratory

  9700 South Cass Avenue
  Argonne, IL  United States  60439
• Authors:
  • Knorr, R E
  • Wilkie, K
• Publication Date: 1979-10-1

Media Info

• Pagination: 47 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Coal; Coal industry; Freight traffic; Marine terminals; Physical distribution; Port structures; Ports; Unit trains; Unloading facilities
• Geographic Terms: Great Lakes; Midwestern States; Wisconsin
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Railroads; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00317452
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Energy Research Abstracts
• Contract Numbers: W-31-109-ENG-38
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 16 1980 12:00AM