Products such as organic or genetically modified soybeans, which can’t travel in traditional hopper cars, are now being packed in containers that once sailed back empty to Asia after bringing retail goods to the U.S. That’s an opportunity for railroads to bring boxes of specialty grains to American ports.
Hauling containers laden with grain for Asia-bound ships on the U.S. West Coast lets Burlington profit from trade in both directions, since it already carries items such as electronics made in China and South Korea from those ports to inland destinations.