Case Study: Biewer Lumber Company achieves competitive rail rates and reduced freight costs with e2open Transportation Management

Biewer Lumber Leverages e2open Transportation Management for Rail

Biewer, a fourth-generation family‑owned lumber company based in St. Clair, MI, planned to expand into Southern Yellow Pine with a new sawmill to support residential and commercial construction. The project required finding a greenfield site with abundant fiber and rail access, securing consistent car supply and sustainable competitive rail rates, developing a go‑to‑market plan to move ~250MMBF annually, and identifying alternative reloads while on‑site spurs were built.

E2open’s Logistics as a Service (LaaS) rail team and Transportation Management vetted carriers and locations, negotiated multi‑year competitive rates, arranged leased centerbeams to supplement regional providers, and helped develop receiver rate sheets and alternative loading sites during construction. The collaboration validated site selection (Newton, MS) and supported a second mill in Winona, MS, delivering competitive base rates, reduced freight costs, and successful rail operations from project start‑up.

Biewer Lumber Company