The Port to Nowhere

[finehoe]

....to shun containers for bulk cargoes simply means the high paying distribution jobs which come about in the value added sector, warehousing, labeling, packing, freezing, etc... go someplace else.

Jacksonville usually prefers to spend it's development dollars on venues that produce low-paying jobs like cashier or hot dog hawker.

[thelakelander]

Warehousing/distribution is considered high paying jobs now? Sounds like I'm back in Polk County.

[IrvAdams]

Warehousing/distribution is considered high paying jobs now? Sounds like I'm back in Polk County.

Well, maybe the associated Logistics and IT jobs could be lucrative.

[thelakelander]

The questions would then become, how many, are they totally contingent on dredging to 47 ft, and is the return of investment worth $700 million to $1 billion or more in public investment? Also, we'd need to know the environmental and economic impact on other maritime related industries (ex. fishing, shrimping, etc.).

[Ocklawaha]

I'm not claiming that all warehousing jobs are highly paid, but the specialization that comes with value added services certainly opens that door more then a port focused on a pile of rock. Value added services can be linked to job growth within the port region by new industrial location. This effects the bottom line of taxes collected by our state and local governments as well. Some of this value added specialization is:

Ripening
Quality control
Nautical Access, (dredging)
Commercially driven program
Better rail and truck connections
Better price mix
Faster loading/discharge
RO-RO
Flexibility 24/7
customer customization
Services that other don't offer
Sorting
electronic data interchange (EDI)
Night access
easy customs services
Web based services, invoicing, reporting
More storage
Security
Services others don't offer
Better price mix
Repacking 
Repalletising
Faster vessel turnaround
Order picking
Stock management
Labeling
Stuffing and stripping of containers, directly available at  container terminals and  warehouses

These Value Added Services (VAS) are a marketing advantage that Savannah used to pull some of the business from our hands. Shippers have many choices today and very little loyalty to any one port so the VAS is a key way to differentiate between the 'also rans' and Jaxport. Focusing on fixing the channel and growing our VAS will allow us to stand against the large state supported ports, and our landlord (generally Pacific Ocean) type operation gives terminal operators optimum controls. The port is all about building our brand, building services, marketing the customers future with our port development. All of this combined will push JAXPORT over the top.

With State of Georgia support and their general unwillingness to get along with their neighbors (Example: the pissing contest between GA and SC over their joint Post Panamax terminal at Savannah) means your not likely to ever see a positive partnership with anything north of the St. Marys.

Only specific and dedicated services and facilities will allow us to continue to grow and maintain our margin over/with other regional ports. America's top 16 ports (we rank number 11 in 2013) handle just 36.6 million TEU'S/year, but by 2017, global container demand at the current growth rate will top 800 million TEU'S. The idea that we're somehow out of the race by being 2Nd, 11Th or (fill in your favorite losing number) is laughable. As the western most port on the Atlantic Coast, with the best mainline railroad connections on the South Atlantic, we'd be fools for not staying the course. You can try and frame this as 'mortgaging our children's future' if you'd like, and to a point, I'd agree, we either leave them a 'Gotham' or a modern version of 'Cedar Key.'

[thelakelander]

When the rubber meets the road, money doesn't grow on trees. We're looking at an expenditure that could easily top $1 billion and we still don't have a real handle on the ROI of this compared with every other issue our region faces. We can barely keep our schools and libraries open or our streets properly maintained.  We can't even get the riverwalk completed to Metropolitan or Memorial Parks.

One thing I do notice is that Savannah is over three times our size and they haven't dredged anything at this point either. Many of the goods coming in and out of that port are Florida related. This tells me, we have ample room to grow and economically benefit......even if we never reach 50 feet or drop nearly $1 billion in tax dollars upfront. It would seem this is what we should really be focusing on:

I'm not claiming that all warehousing jobs are highly paid, but the specialization that comes with value added services certainly opens that door more then a port focused on a pile of rock. Value added services can be linked to job growth within the port region by new industrial location. This effects the bottom line of taxes collected by our state and local governments as well. Some of this value added specialization is:

Ripening
Quality control
Nautical Access, (dredging)
Commercially driven program
Better rail and truck connections
Better price mix
Faster loading/discharge
RO-RO
Flexibility 24/7
customer customization
Services that other don't offer
Sorting
electronic data interchange (EDI)
Night access
easy customs services
Web based services, invoicing, reporting
More storage
Security
Services others don't offer
Better price mix
Repacking 
Repalletising
Faster vessel turnaround
Order picking
Stock management
Labeling
Stuffing and stripping of containers, directly available at  container terminals and  warehouses

These Value Added Services (VAS) are a marketing advantage that Savannah used to pull some of the business from our hands. Shippers have many choices today and very little loyalty to any one port so the VAS is a key way to differentiate between the 'also rans' and Jaxport.

So through better marketing and VAS, we could possibly double the amount of business locally?

Only specific and dedicated services and facilities will allow us to continue to grow and maintain our margin over/with other regional ports. America's top 16 ports (we rank number 11 in 2013) handle just 36.6 million TEU'S/year, but by 2017, global container demand at the current growth rate will top 800 million TEU'S. The idea that we're somehow out of the race by being 2Nd, 11Th or (fill in your favorite losing number) is laughable. As the western most port on the Atlantic Coast, with the best mainline railroad connections on the South Atlantic, we'd be fools for not staying the course. You can try and frame this as 'mortgaging our children's future' if you'd like, and to a point, I'd agree, we either leave them a 'Gotham' or a modern version of 'Cedar Key.'

I don't think anyone is saying 'stay the course'. I also seriously doubt we're going to become a modern day version of Cedar Key if we never reach 50'. Looking at the list of "also rans", Portland and Philly are very appealing cities.

[Ocklawaha]

They're hard at work on the 40-foot Delaware River federal navigation channel to deepen it to 45 feet from Philadelphia Harbor, Pa. and Beckett Street Terminal, Camden, N.J. along a 102.5-mile distance to deepwater in the Delaware Bay. $300 Million+ and the ROI is thought to be about $13M annually. Considering the compact number of major ports within 200 miles of Philadelphia, I would think our ROI impact should be at least this high if not double as we're a good 150 miles from the next major port in either direction.

Portland on the other hand is fighting it out with a 103 mile 600 foot channel to get the Columbia River down to a constant 40 feet. They have completed 2.5 million cu feet of sand removal on the lower 18 miles but environmental mitigation is jacking the price through the roof. Oddly they are laying this all on Portland, while the Columbia serves both Oregon and Washington and is navigable to Pasco WA and beyond. Again with a price of $100's of millions in 2003, the cha-ching is ringing here too.

The flip side is as I said, do nothing and you are going to be left sitting on the dock of the bay.

[thelakelander]

Why aren't either of them pushing for 47'-50'?

[tufsu1]

The ACOE couldn't justify the ROI or benefit-cost analysis for JAXPORT beyond 45'.  We asked that they allow for 47' in the report, because that is what Savannah got approval for.  The ACOE agreed, but we are on the hook locally for 100% of the cost for the extra 2'

[Overstreet]

Did I miss something?  Where's the discussion on the environmental impacts?  The author pointed out all the potentials and promises with the $700 million investment.  Great.  Shouldn't the Sierra Club be telling us about the potential negative environmental impacts?  Sorry, I was just looking for some real information, and didn't find it.

Do you honestly think Sierra Club would even get heard or be considered a voice for a potential impact of this size if all it did was focus on a few highly specific and largely theoretical environmental changes?  I thought her argument was brilliant - it all sounded right to me and I had no idea it was a Sierra Club opposition piece until I got to the bottom.  Sierra Club has a big, highly environmentally conscious and sometimes militant audience in certain regions of this country (namely the Bay Area where it was founded), but Jax is not one of them.  For something as important as this, it's important to appeal to and be heard by as many people as possible.

I'm inclined to side with the author on the issue based on how well she chose her words and how she framed her argument.  Can't say I've heard something better come from the proposition side.

The River Keeper is the environmental voice against the dredging.

[Overstreet]

When it comes to cars Brunswick GA is our competition. How deep is that river?

I know that many ports were once destinations. Port St Joe was once a tanker unloading port. Oil and fuel were unloaded at the "fuel docks" and pumped via pipeline north. But once the tankers got bigger they couldn't use the natural 30 ft +/- port and it was abandoned.

Containers also bring rail and trucks. Perhaps those transportation jobs more than warehousing. The whole push now is "just in time" shippments and sitting in a warehouse does not increase profit.

[Ocklawaha]

Why aren't either of them pushing for 47'-50'?

Philadelphia might attempt to close the gap, but in Portland's case they are largely going to be stuck in the ship breaking and barge traffic bracket.

[thelakelander]

So there's still life and economic opportunity for both of these city's ports?

[Ocklawaha]

TRANSLOAD FACILITIES PLANNED FOR DEEPER WATER


PORT ST. HELENS

At the moment yes, ocean going barge traffic is MUCH heavier in the Pacific Northwest then on the Atlantic. Alaska and it's railroad is essentially connected to the lower 48, Portland, Tacoma, Seattle, Vancouver and Prince Rupert via the inland passage 'Sea Train'. This along with grain barges from eastern Oregon and Washington. Most of this will be destined for rail in Portland.


Tillamook could be looking in another direction...

Otherwise Tillamook Bay remains a protected shallow entry from the Pacific and there is talk of deeming that channel, meanwhile and quite interestingly, they are focused on aviation-rail-road including light-than-air at the old airship base.

Coos Bay, on the southern Oregon coast was without rail through neglect over the last decade. They were suffering business closings and the shipping interests were all but gone. Enter a massive investment of state-federal and private shortline cash and suddenly the Port of Coos Bay and it's railroad win the 'Shortline of the Year' award for 2013. This harbor entrance is naturally about 48' deep and it varies from 37-50+ for its total length. I suspect Oregon is putting it's dollars in Coos Bay as they too realize the sun is setting on sea going vessels in Portland.


Coos Bay Rail


Coos Bay Rail

Thursday, April 03, 2014
Short Line of the Year: Coos Bay Rail Link
Written by  Douglas John Bowen, Managing Editor

An Oregon right-of-way, moribund for four years, gets the resources and support it needs from its stakeholders to serve an eager and rapidly growing customer base.

The premature obituary in 2007 was ominous enough: Died from a collapsed tunnel, the exclamation point to a deteriorating rail right-of-way. The Coos Bay branch of the Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad, then a RailAmerica property, had been shut down as too costly to repair.

Coos Bay MapBut stakeholders large and small in Oregon's Lane, Douglas, and Coos counties didn't accept such an outcome, and their concerns were heeded at the state and federal levels. "The economic impact on the South Coast communities was immediate and severe," says Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who staffs an office in Coos Bay, Ore. "Timber companies and other industrial shippers were forced to truck their products, which was far costlier." In 2009, the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay bought the derelict 111-mile branch, and rehabilitation efforts were under way.

Fast-forward to September 2011, when Coos Bay Rail Link opened for business with a vengeance. The 134-mile short line is charging ahead in 2014, backed by a commitment from its operator, ARG Transportation Services, and by the Port of Coos Bay and the state of Oregon itself.

With a donation of 23 miles of right-of-way from Union Pacific, stretching from Coquille to North Spit (outside Coos Bay), and along with the Coos Bay Bridge donated earlier by UP, fertile business conditions were in place for a short line railroad to put rail service back into action—and recognition as Railway Age's 2014 Short Line of the Year.

"We created something out of nothing," Coos Bay Rail Link's former General Manager Tom Foster says. "Together, we revived a transportation link vital to rural Oregon manufacturers and businesses that trade nationally and globally. We're ecstatic about this honor." Foster now is vice president of marketing for parent ARG Transportation Services.

Adds Rep. DeFazio, "The restoration of the rail line was an outstanding achievement and it deserves this national recognition."

Railway Age has followed the rapid rise of Coos Bay Rail Link with interest and continuous coverage, while Engineering Editor (and RT&S Editor) Mischa Wanek-Libman made it a point to be on the property herself in November 2012 to see the goings-on. Coos Bay Rail Link's rapid rise to prominence caught the attention of editors and industry officials alike.

Courting the customer base

On Aug. 16, 2011, Eugene, Ore.-based ARG Transportation Services signed an interim contract with the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay to operate Coos Bay Rail Link. ARG Trans at that time announced the appointment of Tom Foster as Coos Bay Rail Link's general manager.

Foster, along with ARG President Scott Parkinson, immediately and literally hit the ground walking, reaching out to former customers and potential new ones.

Those customers needed reassurance that Coos Bay Rail Link was here to stay. Foster and Parkinson, among other items, pointed to Coos Bay Rail Link's financial backing of $31 million in grants and loans from 10 different sources, including SAFETEA-LU, Connect Oregon, federal TIGER II, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the Oregon state lottery, among others.

Coos Bay Rail Link's infrastructure needs were staggering: Nine rail tunnels, 150 water crossings that included three major swing spans and 115 steel and timber bridges, and miles of right-of-way clogged by trees and brush growth. Add to that the needs of 250 public and private grade crossings, 14 of which are signalized, and the task was daunting at the very least.

CoosBay 5Contractor teams led by Balfour Beatty Rail went to work, replacing 94,000 ties and delivering 54,000 tons of ballast. Grade crossings were upgraded. Signals were renewed. Drainage, a major overdue concern along the right-of-way and especially within the numerous tunnels, was addressed. One break: Coos Bay Rail Link was able to continue using much of the existing rail inherited from Southern Pacific, allowing it to run 286,000 pound loads once operations resumed.

In October 2011, Coos Bay Rail Link began revenue operations. "Initially, we are providing service to customers as needed," said Foster at that time, adding, "Forest products will be a major source of traffic."

Foster's prediction was on the mark, with praise for Coos Bay Rail Link's efforts raining down from the likes of Eugene-based Seneca Sawmill Co., Allweather Wood, LLC of North Bend, Swanson Bros. Lumber Co., Inc. of Noti, and Coos Bay-based Treez.

Better interchange, transloading capabilities

Foster and Parkinson also reached out to Class I partner Union Pacific, seeking an interchange in Eugene, Ore. "For our part, we have increased the supply of centerbeam railcars for lumber loading and fostered a strong working relationship at the local operations level to ensure a fluid interchange with UP," says UP Senior Director-Short Line Marketing Todd A. Whitman.

"We know of recent highway conversions of 1,860 trucks, equivalent to 620 railcars, off of intrastate state highways," Whitman says. "We have been happy to support [Coos Bay Rail Link] with this endeavor and fully encourage their business development efforts." At Eugene, Coos Bay Rail Link also interchanges with Central Oregon & Pacific and, via UP, with Portland & Western railroads. Coos Bay Rail Link negotiated with other short line railroads to improve shipper opportunities, resulting in rising traffic volume and, not coincidentally, increased employee staffing and more motive power (from one locomotive to five) required to handle the increased business.

In the fourth quarter of 2013, Coos Bay Rail Link, aided by the Port of Coos Bay, completed a new siding in Finn, Ore., just west of Eugene, allowing the transloading of logs and rock products destined for the state's coastal region. The facility is expected to generate at least 2,000 loads in 2014; the first car was loaded in late February.

Indeed, Coos Bay Rail Link hopes to replicate its early established growth rate. In 2012, it moved 2,480 revenue carloads, "during a period when the railroad only had access to several major shippers for about half the year," notes Port of Coos Bay CEO David Koch. "2013 saw Coos Bay Rail Link increase revenue traffic by 95% to 4,845 revenue cars." Coos Bay Rail Link started operations in late 2011 with two customers; that's now up to 13 in 2014.

Says Foster, "Our traffic goal for 2014 is 7,300 carloads; if the first two months of the year are any indication, that goal will be met."

Coos Bay Rail Link is looking even farther ahead, signed a 10-year operating pact with the Port of Coos Bay last May. Says the port's CEO David Koch, "The Port believes that Coos Bay Rail Link's success as a railroad will grow significantly as it strives to meet ever-evolving shipper needs for competitive transportation options."

No obituary, that.

Instead, a prediction of a hale and hearty future for Coos Bay Rail Link, and the customers and territory the railroad serves.
SOURCE: RAILWAY AGE: http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/freight/short-lines/short-line-of-the-year-coos-bay-rail-link.html?channel=5

COOS BAY RAIL LINK


COOS BAY RAIL LINK

Now that deep water has been virtually guaranteed in Oregon, companies are moving into Coos Bay, the port is working on coal, chrome and a number of other facilities.  This took two things, deep water, and good rail, something Jacksonville could easily grasp.

[xplanner]

When we talk about cruise ships in Jax, the air draft of the Dames Point Bridge (DPB) becomes the red herring, because that limiting factor is 175 feet. So, future super-sized cruise ships taller than say,165-168 feet, cannot dock west of the DPB.

When the conversation shifts to bulk cargo and container ships, the air draft issue of the DPB seems to fade out of the discussion, even though we have significant investments in new and planned cargo facilities west of the too-low DPB.

Post Panamax ships are being designed to the maximum limits to fit the new Canal dimensions, so it seems logical that the air draft to clear the canal (190 feet to the bottom span of the Bridge of the Americas) will determine the height of those new generation ships. We're 15 feet or more lower in air draft  than the max-loaded height of a Post Panamax ship, and severely limited in that number by tidal movements in the river.

So, the new generation cargo ships, regardless how deep our channel is, are either going to call on JaxPort underloaded, or head on up to Brunswick where the air draft of the Syndney Lanier Bridge is 185 feet.

New York has a worse problem yet, with the Bayonne Bridge, whose air draft is 151 feet. Their solution? Demolish the old bridge and raise it to 215' as soon as they can afford to do so. But wait...the Bayonne Bridge is a historic landmark. Ouch.

And, BTW, the last time I looked, a warehouseman in Jacksonville, Florida makes between $17 and $21 an hour, depending on skill-sets. Not exactly highly-compensated workforce. This entire issue needs an independent audit of the forecast numbers.