Freight shippers aren’t happy with the service provided by the two national railways.
That should come as no surprise to those who have observed the at times acrimonious pubic relationship between the railways and their customers.
Now there are numbers to indicate just how unhappy shippers are.
A survey of 262 rail freight shippers conducted by NRG Research Group and the University of Manitoba Transport Institute during the fall of 2009 revealed a low level of satisfaction among shippers.
The shippers were asked to rate their level of satisfaction on a scale of one to seven, with seven being very satisfied and one very unsatisfied.
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Only 17 percent of respondents rated their service at six or seven.
Thirty-five percent provided a rating of three or lower.
NRG said customer satisfaction usually falls into a range of 50 to 70 percent at the high level.
In addition, 45 percent of respondents said their level of satisfaction had declined over the past three years.
In response to another question, 62 percent reported that they suffered negative financial consequences as a result of poor railway performance.
Problems cited by shippers included:
• reliability of car supply;
• on-time delivery of cars at origin and destination;
• timely pick up of cars after loading;
• consistent transit times;
• responsiveness of the railways to resolving operational problems. The survey also indicated that
shippers served by multiple railways had a higher level of satisfaction (43 percent) than those served by one railway or with limited shipping options.
