Houston, TX - HLI Rail and Rigging, LLC (Houston, Head Office)

HLI Rail and Rigging, LLC is a Houston area leader in 3PL and rail-transport optimization for over-dimensional and heavy-lift projects across North America. As a full service heavy lift and transport execution partner, HLI provides end to end planning, permitting, rail clearance design, and execution, positioning itself as a turnkey provider for a wide range of commodity classes from large electrical transformers to turbines, generators, and other non standard cargo. The company specializes in the complete lifecycle of heavy lift moves, including rail clearance strategy, sourcing appropriate railcars whether owned or hired, and comprehensive cargo protection. They offer cargo insurance up to five million dollars per shipment, which provides critical financial security for high value payloads and complex multi modal routes. A core differentiator is their integrated tracking and expediting services, with daily shipment tracing that keeps stakeholders informed about progress, risks, and potential adjustments, enabling proactive planning and responsive contingency management. On site engineering capabilities include rigging with professional engineering stamping as needed, enabling safe handling of lifts that require certified rigging plans, field assembly, alignment, and commissioning support when necessary. The measurement and load management workflow leverages laser based cargo measurement and load weighing with capabilities up to 400 metric tons, ensuring precise assessment of weight, center of gravity, and load distribution before and during movement. This precision supports critical planning for cross border shipments involving rail transitions, road legs, or barge integration, helping to optimize route selection and minimize risk. The scope covers very heavy loads in the 400,000 to 900,000 pound range, a niche that benefits from specialized handling, multi axle configurations, and custom spread to minimize road or rail wear while maximizing route feasibility. The company operates a storage yard in the Laredo area of Texas that is equipped with cranes and forklifts for transloading between the United States and Mexico, and all transloads are fully insured, underscoring HLI s commitment to risk management and coverage across cross border operations. This cross border capability is complemented by a global orientation, framing the service proposition around moving cargo from factory to foundation across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. HLI emphasizes cost effective transport options to destination with the flexibility to choose between rail and road modalities, and they routinely offer trucking solutions in conjunction with rail transport to optimize schedule, cost, and final mile sequencing. This flexibility is particularly impactful for projects that require staged pre assembly near port or yard facilities and on site rigging for setting down and commissioning. A notable strategic expansion is the addition of a 20 axle Schnabel railcar to the fleet, enabling the movement of extremely long or heavy loads by distributing weight and enabling transfers that are difficult with conventional equipment. The capacity profile of Schnabel configurations is substantial, enabling moves of payloads that approach or exceed a million pounds when configured properly, while the 40 ft deck insert configuration supports substantial load capacity depending on load geometry. In practice, HLI presents itself as a global transportation partner for over dimensional loads, with a team of experts who manage every facet of planning, coordination, and execution from the factory floor to the ultimate installation at the foundation. The service narrative highlights cross border capabilities and time sensitive execution, including the ability to coordinate with cross border port handling, inland rail corridors, and multi modal trucking legs. Their portfolio includes heavy lift and rail freight operations, with a clear emphasis on cross border potential between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, supported by a robust risk management framework and a track record of moving complex payloads with reliability. The company has demonstrated capacity to manage the entire lifecycle of large scale projects that require not only transport but also on site assembly testing and relocation regarding transformers and other high voltage assets. They report that they have acquired the assets and personnel from a larger company, enabling them to transport, assemble, test, maintain, and relocate transformers of any size as part of their service offering. This expanded capability integrates project management with field service, aiming to reduce vendor handoffs, improve schedule predictability, and shorten lead times for critical equipment moves. HLI s climate and sustainability narrative is notable within the heavy lift logistics space. They published a Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report, with an annual program that measures scope 1 and 2 emissions and a commitment to transparency and continual improvement. Their climate strategy program is positioned to drive energy efficiency, optimize rail and road routing, and engage suppliers to reduce emissions across the supply chain. This emphasis on environmental accountability aligns with evolving regulatory expectations and client demands for responsible logistics. From a FreightCue platform perspective, HLI Rail and Rigging presents an authoritative example of a multi modal, high capacity logistics provider that combines specialized equipment, engineering rigor, and cross border expertise into a single value proposition. FreightCue s directory audience seeks partners who can deliver on the most demanding heavy lift transportation jobs without compromising safety or schedule. HLI s portfolio — comprising rail car access, on site rigging with engineering stamps, laser measurement, precise load weighing, cross border transloading, and a scalable fleet including Schnabel railcars — addresses a range of use cases from large electrical transformers to wind turbine components and beyond. The platform perspective comes full circle with the company s emphasis on cost efficiency, risk management, and end to end project control, offering clients a single point of contact for planning, execution, and post mill services. In this context FreightCue would position HLI as a trusted, one stop solution for heavy lift and oversized cargo, integrated into a global directory that enables project leads to compare capabilities, request quotes, and engage in direct price negotiation with a vetted, capable partner. HLI s operational ethos fuses safety, precision, and speed. Daily tracing and expediting services enable clients to monitor shipments in near real time, receive proactive updates on deviations, and adjust routing mid course in response to weather, port congestion, or road restrictions. The rigging services are described as on site and PE stamped as needed, a critical feature when field crew requirements, permitting, and load calculations must meet structural standards and engineering approval. Laser based cargo measurement and load weighing are essential for ensuring that payload, distribution, and center of gravity are within design envelopes before, during, and after move operations, resulting in reduced risk and improved on time delivery to customer sites. In terms of asset versatility, HLI s investment in HV assets and transformer handling capabilities marks a step beyond traditional rail and heavy haul offerings. The firm has expanded to transport, assemble, test, maintain, and relocate transformers of any size, including performing complex on site tests and maintenance as part of project lifecycle. This capability is particularly valuable in electrical infrastructure scenarios where transformer replacements and expansions require careful engineering coordination and staging. It also suggests capability to handle multi day rigging and erection sequences that incorporate safety controls, commissioning, and documentation to satisfy regulatory and customer requirements. On the insurance side, HLI backs its operations with cargo coverage up to five million dollars per shipment, providing a cushion against risks inherent in heavy lift and multi modal moves. They rely on thorough risk assessment, cross border liability planning, and detailed insurance documentation to ensure cargo remains protected across the several legs of a journey, contributing to client confidence in complex project cargo moves. Another dimension of HLI s offering is their cross border presence and transloading competency. The Texas storage yard with port like lifting capacity indicates readiness to support border crossing workflows, including cross dock operations and cross border supply chain optimization. They note the ability to perform transloads between the United States and Mexico with full insurance coverage, reinforcing a seamless cross border experience for clients. The combination of cross border experience, multi modal flexibility, and general heavy lift excellence makes HLI a compelling option for project cargo players seeking to minimize handoffs and maximize predictability. From an environmental and governance perspective, their annual GHG inventory and climate strategy program represent a substantive commitment to measuring, reducing, and disclosing environmental impact. The published reports provide external stakeholders with a credible view of progress and targets while guiding supplier engagement and internal process improvements. Companies evaluating logistics service providers increasingly weigh such disclosures in supplier risk management and procurement decisions. Finally, the platform perspective integrates with the typical FreightCue user journey, where a project lead can search for heavy lift and rail specialists, compare capabilities, request quotes, and rate provider performance. HLI s profile would likely highlight multi modal scale, cross border competence, and a safety first culture, with a clear value proposition built around speed, reliability, and cost optimization for oversized payload moves. FreightCue aligns with this model by enabling discovery of partners who excel in complex, time critical environments and by providing a single, integrated platform for project leads to compare capabilities, request quotes, and engage with vetted providers, ultimately accelerating project timelines and improving supplier collaboration.