St. Louis Brewery Expands Shipping Options with Rail

Last week the St. Louis brewery re-introduced outbound rail shipping; packing boxcars filled with Budweiser, Bud Light and other brands. One railcar can carry four truckloads of beer thus increasing efficiency and reducing emissions per shipment.

“Shipping by rail out of our St. Louis brewery is an excellent opportunity to drive efficiencies and tap into a reliable and more sustainable mode of transportation. This decision also supports our global environmental goal to reduce carbon emissions in our logistics operations,” said James Sembrot, Sr. Director of Transportation, Anheuser-Busch.

In June, the company added a global environmental goal to reduce carbon emissions in its logistics operations by 15 percent through network planning, transportation, and warehousing by the end of 2017.

The company takes several measures to ensure the beer meets quality standards. Some examples include insulated rail cars when needed and protective load patterns.

During phase one of the St. Louis project, product will be sent via rail to distribution centers in LaPorte, Texas, and Aurora, Colorado.  When these two lanes are fully operational, the St. Louis brewery will eliminate approximately 5.4 million passenger car miles per year; the equivalent to taking 470 cars off the road.

The beer company also uses outbound rail shipping at its Fort Collins, Colorado, and Fairfield, California, breweries.