Midwest Association of Rail Shippers to meet in mid-January

The Chicago-based Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) has announced it will conduct its annual winter meeting Jan. 17–19 at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center in Lombard, Illinois.

According to MARS, more than 650 attendees have already registered for the event. “Our theme for the 259th meeting is ‘Better together, partnering to navigate a dynamic rail environment’—a timely focus for our industry,” says MARS president Carrie Evans. “We need to work together on sustainable, customer-oriented solutions to create success and mutually beneficial growth for both shippers and railroads.”

The organization says the mid-January gathering will include three days of programming and networking that will start with a welcome reception the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 17.

New this year, according to MARS, will be a Women in Transportation and Logistics networking event the following day at 4:00 pm. “Conference registration is not required to attend, however, attendance is limited to MARS members,” says the group. MARS adds that “membership [to MARS] is included in the general conference registration.”

Additional programming takes place Wednesday, Jan. 18, and a half day on Thursday, Jan. 19. Also included is a goods and services vendor exhibition that opens Tuesday afternoon.

MARS lists representatives from several companies and organizations as being on its speaker and panelist list, including: BNSF Railway; Steel Dynamics Inc.; the Surface Transportation Board; Canadian National Railway; Norfolk Southern Corp.; the Greenbrier Companies; the Association of American Railroads; the Railroad Development Corp.; Patriot Rail Co.; RailPulse; Viking Navigation; ABH Consulting; and consultancy Oliver Wyman.

Topics to be addressed include “Railroading 101, Intermodal 101, and Railcar Fleet Management: What is Equalization?,” according to MARS, which describes itself as providing “an open forum for discussion and resolution of rail transportation issues by bringing railroads, shippers, receivers and rail supply companies together twice annually for formal meetings in the Chicago area.”

“This year’s strong program was developed by MARS committee members who worked tirelessly to bring top-level speakers to our podium,” says Evans.

More information about the meeting, including how to register, can be found on this web page.