Importance

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Abstract

A system and method for optimally managing the inventory of railroad freight cars and for transporting and processing the unladen cars to reloading points. The system provides a means for returning unladen cars at one or more strategically located yards or aggregation facilities where the cars are cleaned, inspected, repaired/maintained, stored and blocked for ultimate delivery. After such processes the cars may be treated as generic, and used for the transport of any materials within the constraints of the car type, rather than being dedicated to specific products and returned to a specific production facilities as in current practice. As well, the method provides a means by which multiple car operators may pool their collective rail car assets to further optimize the rail car supply chain. The method provides a means to determine candidate locations for such aggregation facilities/processing yards, and for optimal inventory control, sorting by next destination, and transit scheduling to deliver unladen cars to their next reloading points. The system and method are particularly useful in transporting specific polymer resins to a manufacturing region and returning the rail car through the aggregation/processing facility such that the cleaned, repaired, inspected, stored and blocked car may be used at any resin production facility.

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First Claim