Railway Industrial Clearance Assoc. Recognizes Port of Philadelphia | Trade and Industry Development

Railway Industrial Clearance Assoc. Recognizes Port of Philadelphia

Aug 28, 2014

The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) is pleased to report that the Railway Industrial Clearance Association (RICA) recently named the Port of Philadelphia as the recipient of its “2014 RICA Most Improved Port Award For Customer Satisfaction.”

As stated on the plaque presented to PRPA officials, “This award is presented on behalf of the Railway Industrial Clearance Association to the Port of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for providing the most improved service to dimensional shippers.”

PRPA Chairman Charles G. Kopp, Esq. was gratified by the honor. “PRPA works on a continuous basis with our terminal operators to improve and enhance access to our marine terminals, especially in the area of rail access.  On top of that, we’re always mindful of the special needs of our over dimension and project cargoes, which frequently move via rail.  Seeing the attention to detail by PRPA employees and those who work for our terminal operators, I am delighted but not surprised that an organization like the Rail Industrial Clearance Association noticed us.”

The Railway Industrial Clearance Association was founded in 1969 and is dedicated to serving the heavy and dimensional transportation industry.  Over 400 members strong, RICA represents all aspects of logistics related to the movement of dimensional cargo via rail, including Class 1 railroads, shippers, regional and short line railroads, riggers, port authorities, expeditors, heavy haul motor carriers, barge and steamship lines, and consultants.  The Port of Philadelphia is served by two Class 1 railroads, CSX and Norfolk Southern.

PRPA recently released cargo statistics for the first six months of 2014, which indicated that 2,853,362 metric tons of cargo, much of it project and over dimension cargo, moved through the facilities of the Port of Philadelphia during January to June 2014, a 13 percent gain compared to the first six months of 2013.  In fact, the Port of Philadelphia is approaching its fifth consecutive year of double-digit cargo growth, port officials report.

The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charged with the management, maintenance, marketing, and promotion of publicly owned port facilities along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, as well as strategic planning throughout the port district.  PRPA works with its terminal operators to modernize, expand, and improve its facilities, and to market those facilities to prospective port users.  Port cargoes and the activities they generate are responsible for thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Philadelphia area and throughout Pennsylvania.

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