Port Huron Industrial (PHIN)
Posted: Fri May 06, 2022 7:26 pm
In 2018 CN sold their Dunn Paper Branch to Port Huron Industrial (PHIN), about 4 miles long. PHIN Connects with CN near Tappan and has trackage rights into CN's Port Huron Yard.
PHIN acquired a 1950's SW1200 with switcher trucks. It was in its built-new condition having never been overhauled or rebuilt. It runs pretty good and does not need any immediate major repairs.
To start there are two customers; Dunn Paper and Domtar Paper. Although Dunn gets most of the recognition Domtar is the larger shipper.
Dunn receives 4-7 box cars per week of paper rolls directly from its mill in Menominee, MI. They also receive 1-2 tank cars a week of clay slurry and chlorine. Typically they are switched on Sunday but occasionally on Monday and sometimes get a 2nd switch during the week.
Domtar started out getting 4-6 box cars a week of wood pulp and 3-5 cars a week of various chemicals in covered hoppers and tank cars. They would get switched two times per week usually Monday and Thursday. However, most of their wood pulp was from one of their Canadian mills and being railed into Toronto by CP and trucked to Port Huron. This was due to plant switching issues with CN (CN was willing to perform whatever switching Domtar wanted but at a cost higher than Domtar was willing to pay). PHIN offered a lower rate for plant switching. CN was happy to bring the cars into Port Huron from Toronto. Domtar increased wood pulp shipments to 11-15 cars per week. They wanted switching three days per week (usually Sunday, Tuesday or Wednesday and Friday). Sadly, after successfully growing their business Domtar closed in August, 2021. It now sits dormant.
However, there is another company looking at it. Great Lakes Tissue (Cheboygan, MI) operates the former Proctor-Gamble diaper plant. They have a small but profitable niche manufacturing tissue paper. In almost 20 years of business they have never come close to operating at 100% due in part to transportation limitations. Both their inbound (paper scrap bales) and outbound (tissue paper) are far from major markets. One benefit with Port Huron is their major raw material, scrap paper, is plentiful and can be transported primarily by truck, but also a little by rail, cheaper than to Cheboygan. Also, while tissue paper would be shipped out by truck they are considering adding bulk tissue paper rolls that can be shipped by rail and truck to other mills for processing and packaging.
The final customer, CDW Marketing, was added after the start-up. CDW is a marketing and warehousing logistics company. They operate a warehouse across the tracks from Domtar. At this time CDW has two rail served customers. One gets about two cars every week or so of chemicals that are unloaded from a team track behind the warehouse. The 2nd gets bulk synthetic rubber bales for a plant in Sandusky, MI. The bulk rubber arrives in a 3-4 car block every 3-4 weeks. The chemicals get spotted during one of the other switching moves. But the rubber at times comes in "hot" and has to be spotted immediately so the Sandusky plant doesn't shutdown.
At this time the track is in good shape. There are very limited other customers/opportunities. Mortimer Lumber and Mueller Brass are prospects but that is about it for now.
There is enough traffic from Dunn Paper to keep PHIN viable for now. CDW brings in a small profit. But getting a new tenant for the ex-Domtar plant, even with less traffic, puts PHIN safely in the black.
PHIN acquired a 1950's SW1200 with switcher trucks. It was in its built-new condition having never been overhauled or rebuilt. It runs pretty good and does not need any immediate major repairs.
To start there are two customers; Dunn Paper and Domtar Paper. Although Dunn gets most of the recognition Domtar is the larger shipper.
Dunn receives 4-7 box cars per week of paper rolls directly from its mill in Menominee, MI. They also receive 1-2 tank cars a week of clay slurry and chlorine. Typically they are switched on Sunday but occasionally on Monday and sometimes get a 2nd switch during the week.
Domtar started out getting 4-6 box cars a week of wood pulp and 3-5 cars a week of various chemicals in covered hoppers and tank cars. They would get switched two times per week usually Monday and Thursday. However, most of their wood pulp was from one of their Canadian mills and being railed into Toronto by CP and trucked to Port Huron. This was due to plant switching issues with CN (CN was willing to perform whatever switching Domtar wanted but at a cost higher than Domtar was willing to pay). PHIN offered a lower rate for plant switching. CN was happy to bring the cars into Port Huron from Toronto. Domtar increased wood pulp shipments to 11-15 cars per week. They wanted switching three days per week (usually Sunday, Tuesday or Wednesday and Friday). Sadly, after successfully growing their business Domtar closed in August, 2021. It now sits dormant.
However, there is another company looking at it. Great Lakes Tissue (Cheboygan, MI) operates the former Proctor-Gamble diaper plant. They have a small but profitable niche manufacturing tissue paper. In almost 20 years of business they have never come close to operating at 100% due in part to transportation limitations. Both their inbound (paper scrap bales) and outbound (tissue paper) are far from major markets. One benefit with Port Huron is their major raw material, scrap paper, is plentiful and can be transported primarily by truck, but also a little by rail, cheaper than to Cheboygan. Also, while tissue paper would be shipped out by truck they are considering adding bulk tissue paper rolls that can be shipped by rail and truck to other mills for processing and packaging.
The final customer, CDW Marketing, was added after the start-up. CDW is a marketing and warehousing logistics company. They operate a warehouse across the tracks from Domtar. At this time CDW has two rail served customers. One gets about two cars every week or so of chemicals that are unloaded from a team track behind the warehouse. The 2nd gets bulk synthetic rubber bales for a plant in Sandusky, MI. The bulk rubber arrives in a 3-4 car block every 3-4 weeks. The chemicals get spotted during one of the other switching moves. But the rubber at times comes in "hot" and has to be spotted immediately so the Sandusky plant doesn't shutdown.
At this time the track is in good shape. There are very limited other customers/opportunities. Mortimer Lumber and Mueller Brass are prospects but that is about it for now.
There is enough traffic from Dunn Paper to keep PHIN viable for now. CDW brings in a small profit. But getting a new tenant for the ex-Domtar plant, even with less traffic, puts PHIN safely in the black.