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Last week, Burlington Northern Santa Fe officials held their first 2004 customer symposium in San Francisco to solicit feedback from 12 shippers.

During the half-day session, railroad and shipper representatives discussed BNSF's carload network, service performance and capacity usage. The meeting also included brief presentations by BNSF executives and a discussion on the railroad's new industrial product (IP) initiatives designed to improve service.

Participating shippers included Budway Enterprises Inc., Chevron Texaco, Collins Co., Columbia Forest Products, Dixieline Lumber Co., Impact Transportation, Longview Fibre Co., Metawise Group Inc., Oregon Steel Mills Inc., Paramount Petroleum, Quebecor World Merced and U.S. Borax Inc.

BNSF officials will incorporate shippers' feedback into their IP business plans to address service concerns and foster traffic growth.

"These meetings provide the opportunity for us to focus on important issues with our customers," said George Duggan, BNSF group vice president, IP, in a prepared statement.

BNSF officials plan to conduct three more meetings between June and September, with the next IP symposium scheduled for June 22 in Chicago. The Class I has been conducting shipper meetings for the past two years.