Go Lean Commentary
Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) – this refers to the dichotomy of modern living. Many people want all the convenience that modern industrial development brings to their communities, but they do not want it … in their back yards. The point is alluded to in the foregoing news article, as a strategic success for forging business opportunities while neutralizing the NIMBY opposition. In this case the strategy is to locate multiple industrial infrastructural projects (rail-yard-truck intermodal) – normally noise pollutants to neighbors – at the airport, the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) – 1 – rail, 2 – trucks and 3 – air all in the same vicinity, This proved to be a smart move, neutralizing oppositions.
This strategic development corresponds with the book Go Lean … Caribbean. This publication serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), another smart move. There is no doubt that Trade and Transport goes hand-in-hand, so this issue is of utmost importance to this roadmap. Since, most of the CU is comprised of islands (and 3 coastal states), there is the need to add a 4th mode to the CU intermodal consideration: sea.
The prime directive of the CU is to optimize the economic engines of the Caribbean region. In the roadmap, this directive aligns with the Union Atlantic Turnpike, a virtual consolidation of all the above transportation modes, and the investments to build and optimize them. The biggest change of the CU transportation approach is the deployment of multi-functional ferry-boats. Now imagine one destination (one backyard) with intermodal exchange for air, rail, ferry, and trucks. Imagine too, the amount of cargo (including mail), passengers, jobs, and economic activity on the move. Now multiply that imagination for all 30 member-states, serving a Caribbean single market of 42 million people. The resultant growth to the region is undeniable.
By: Gina Carroll Howard
Trucks, trains, and planes mean hours of fun for children. But for Charlotte USA, they mean business.
Norfolk Southern Corporation is betting that road and rail cargo transport will play an increasing role in the Charlotte region’s economy.
Since intermodal facilities can take a decade or more to build, the railroad looks for cities that are ripe for significant growth. Charlotte fits that profile, thanks to its progressive nature and pro-business culture — not to mention its prime location in the middle of the railroad’s Crescent Corridor.
Norfolk Southern recently relocated its local intermodal operation from a landlocked 40-acre site with encroaching residential growth to 200 acres at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). With its main line running right past the airport and easy highway access for trucks, the location in the world’s second-largest hub is ideal. As planes taxi, take off, and land nearby, about 200,000 cargo containers will transfer annually between trucks and trains. And that’s just the beginning.
“From Charlotte, we can move domestic and international traffic from anywhere in the U.S.,” says Jeff Heller, Norfolk Southern vice president of intermodal and automotive marketing.
“The Charlotte region has a huge consumer base. It’s a magnet that pulls trade into the area. This new facility is a showcase and can be front and center in business development. It’s modern and has access to both coasts and all major manufacturing and distribution centers in the country. It helps reinforce Charlotte’s reputation as a viable manufacturing and distribution center.”
It also helps the Charlotte airport retain its low-cost status.
“Norfolk Southern’s lease provides the airport with a secondary revenue source that directly offsets airport operating costs,” says Brent Cagle, interim aviation director. “This is a tremendous benefit to our airline partners and ultimately to the passengers they serve.”
Cagle believes that complementary companies will locate distribution centers on surrounding properties that the airport has acquired. These leases would provide the airport with another secondary revenue source.
The airport/railroad relationship is a symbiotic one that benefits CLT, Norfolk Southern, and Charlotte USA. Both Cagle and Heller agree that the two operations are highly compatible.
“With the airport site, we’re not creating any more noise or lights than already are there,” Heller notes.
And Cagle predicts that Norfolk Southern’s intermodal facility and Charlotte Douglas International Airport “will be great neighbors.” It sounds like they’ll play well together.
US Airways Inflight Magazine – April 2014 http://charlotteusa.com/news-media/blog/trucks-and-trains-play-well-together-/
The Go Lean roadmap quantifies the economic growth, from this and other industrial initiatives, and counts 2.2 million new jobs and the elevation to an $800 Billion regional economy.
As the foregoing article highlights, as children play with trucks, trains, and airplanes, the CU treats these (and ships/boats) as serious business. This commitment is codified in the roadmap, with details of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocates; as follows:
| Community Ethos – Job Multiplier | Page 22 |
| Community Ethos – Return on Investments | Page 24 |
| Strategy – Agents of Change – Globalization | Page 57 |
| Separation of Powers – Transportation Dept. | Page 84 |
| Implementation – Consolidating Mail Service | Page 108 |
| Implementation – Benefit from Globalization | Page 119 |
| Planning – Ways to Improve Trade | Page 128 |
| Planning – Ways to Improve Interstate Commerce | Page 129 |
| Government – Impact Public Works & the Turnpike | Page 175 |
| Industries – Ways to Improve Transportation | Page 205 |
| Appendix – Model of a Marine Highway System | Page 280 |
Welcome to a new Caribbean, that’s on the move. Go Lean!
Download the Book- Go Lean…Caribbean Now!!!