BNSF Railway recently announced that it will resume its international intermodal container service from the Pacific Northwest to Memphis, beginning next month.

A BNSF spokesperson told Logistics Management that the company’s decision to bring the service back is due to customer feedback, requesting another gateway to the Southeastern region of the United States. Another reason cited for bringing the service back is increased trading activity with China.

“As the trade with China continues to grow, there is more and more volume that needs to go to the Southeast,” said the spokesperson.

BNSFs previous Pacific Northwest service to Memphis was shuttered in 2005 due to a lack of growth and volume, according to the spokesperson.

“It was hard to have a frequent, reliable service [with low growth and volume],” said the spokesperson. “When we discontinued the service last year, we tried to focus our service into and out of the southeast through the Pacific Southwest.”

As for anticipated benefits by re-opening this service, the spokesperson said it offers BNSF customers another gateway from the U.S. West Coast to the Southeast. And she added that customers will also benefit from expanded market coverage from the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle in addition to improved velocity.

This service, added the spokesperson, is competitive with Canadian National’s Southeast offering. But she added that BNSF handles more intermodal volume—more than five million loads annually and has a broader intermodal network, which provides shippers with greater frequency and service options.