Honda improves railcar fleet

Honda has taken steps to minimizing the environmental impact of its cars before they hit the road with the introduction of its fleet of Auto-Max® railcars.

The new 400-car fleet boosts Honda's claim as the highest rail-shipping rate of any automaker in the US, with the company currently transporting around 82 percent of its Honda and Acura automobiles by rail.

Manufactured by Greenbrier, the pace-efficient Auto-Max railcars hold up to 22 vehicles each and and can hold both trucks and cars to reduce unused space, meaning less fuel usage and less CO2 emissions per vehicle shipped. The railcars also have a significantly longer life-span (50 years) than standard railcars according to Honda.

“Honda is adopting a holistic approach to minimizing its greenhouse gas emissions, addressing not only the production and on-road use of our products, but also new, more fuel-efficient strategies for how we transport our products to dealers,” said Dennis Manns, assistant vice president, Sales & Logistics Planning for American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Rail is the most environmentally responsible method available to move our products, and our Auto-Max railcar fleet can make a good system even more fuel efficient.”