Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2019)
Friday, January 18, 2019 CapitalPress.com 7 Momentum builds for Oregon intermodal facility in Millersburg Draft report by Tioga Group cites participation of NW Container Services By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press SALEM — Momentum is building behind a pro- posed intermodal facility in Millersburg, Ore., to receive grant funding from Oregon transportation offi cials. A fi nal review commit- tee of transportation experts threw their support behind the Millersburg location over a competing site in Brooks, Ore., at a Jan. 11 meeting shortly after an indepen- dent evaluation also recom- mended the site. However, both the com- mittee and the third-party reviewer found shortcomings with both proposals relating to the fi nancial viability of the intermodal facility, which is intended to ease exports of agricultural goods to Asia. Proponents of both loca- tions have “overly optimistic economic and volume pro- jections” and “neither proj- ect is likely to be commer- cially viable” without some form of subsidy, according to a draft report from the Tioga Group transportation con- sulting fi rm. Those concerns were echoed by several mem- bers of the review commit- tee, which was assembled by the Oregon Department of Transportation. They said they were nervous about the project’s inability to be fi nan- cially self-suffi cient. “Again, I have concerns the subsidy would have to come from somebody,” said Mark Gibson, president of Siskiyou Transportation, a trucking and helicopter company. Currently, Oregon’s agri- cultural exporters must pay to truck straw, hay and other farm products to ports along Washington’s Puget Sound, where they’re loaded onto ships bound for Asia. Their other option is to have the containers trucked to Northwest Container Ser- vices in Portland, where they’re loaded onto railcars bound for ports in Seattle and Tacoma. In 2017, state lawmak- ers approved $25 million on an intermodal facility in the mid-Willamette Valley, thereby avoiding traffi c in the Portland area. Competing proposals for building the facility in Brooks and about 25 miles to the south in Millersburg were submitted to ODOT last September. The propos- als underwent analysis by a third-party reviewer and the review committee before the state transportation commis- Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press File Roger Nyquist, chairman of the Linn County Board of Commissioners, supports the redevelopment of a defunct paper mill in Millersburg, Ore., into an intermodal facility to switch containers from trucks to rail. A review of two proposals gave the nod for state backing to the proposal. sion makes a fi nal decision in March. Shipping via rail becomes cheaper than trucking for routes longer than 500 miles, but the Millersburg and Brooks locations are both less than 250 miles from Puget Sound ports, the Tioga report found. “Neither can be compet- itive with trucks or other operations while recovering their full costs,” according to the Tioga Group. Both sites are “technically and operationally feasible” if they can reach agreements with railroad companies, the report said, but it’s likely they’d need ocean carriers to subsidize their operations by absorbing the expense of relocating empty containers to either facility. The prospect of relying on the generosity of ocean car- riers was troubling to com- mittee members, who noted that the shipping industry has undergone turmoil and con- solidation in recent years. “They don’t have a lot of deep pockets right now,” said Mark Nickerson, freight rail coordinator with the Wash- ington State Department of Transportation. “They’re doing better than they were, but they’re still struggling.” The availability of empty containers is a signifi cant issue for either intermodal facility, as far more goods are exported from the Willamette Valley than are imported. The Union Pacifi c Rail- road already provides sub- sidies to the Northwest Container Services inter- modal yard in Portland, but it’s re-evaluating its opera- tions to improve profi ts and is expected layoff people and eliminate some business lines, the report said. For the mid-Willamette intermodal facility to be suc- cessful, it must offer lower prices than trucking com- panies, according to Tioga Group. “It is not usually suffi cient for rail intermodal options to meet truck costs,” the report said. “Intermodal service is usually slower, less conve- nient, and less fl exible than truck service, and is often less reliable, and must there- fore be priced below the truck alternative to be fully competitive.” While the review deter- mined there’s “not a clear net advantage to either loca- tion,” the Tioga Group ulti- mately recommended the Millersburg site for grant funding because Northwest Container Services, which has experience in intermodal operations, would run the facility. However, the report said ODOT should make funding contingent on the Millers- burg project securing agree- ments with the railroads and ocean carriers to ensure the service is fi nancially competitive. If the Millersburg location reaches a “dead end,” the Brooks site then can serve as a “feasible alternative,” the report said. Members of the fi nal review committee praised the effort and “vision” that had been invested in the Brooks proposal. However, the com- mittee ultimately determined the location was less attrac- tive because it’s closer to Portland, where intermodal facilities owned by North- west Container Services and the Port of Portland already exist. “It’s defi nitely a posi- tive having it further down in the Willamette Valley,” said James Ballet, the retired owner of a heavy machinery rental company. Even so, the commit- tee decided that funding for the Millersburg site should depend on the state govern- ment having a better under- standing of the necessary sub- sidies and a commitment from ocean carriers to cooperate. The recommendation for grant funding should be seen as a “yellow light” for the Millersburg project rather than a “green light,” said Deena Platman, direc- tor of client services for the International Trade Sys- tems freight management company. Treasure Valley intermodal site wins tentative recommendation Ore. Idah o A planned intermodal facility would allow the bulb onions grown in the Treasure Valley of Oregon and Idaho to be placed on rail cars heading to major markets on the East Coast. The proposal has won a tentative recommendation for state funding from a review committee. Ore. 84 30 26 95 Weiser v er Payette Malheur County Develop- MALHEUR Ontario 52 ment Corp. won tentative Vale 201 approval to some state funding Ri for the long-planned Treasure Ma l h e 20 20 Valley Reload Center. Nyssa, Ore. 26 Construction could begin as R. Lake soon as spring 2019 on the Owyhee truck-to-rail loading facility 10 miles north of Nyssa, Ore. 95 Sn a k e Idaho Ore. SALEM — Despite misgivings about the pro- posal’s economics, a fi nal review committee has rec- ommended awarding an Oregon transportation grant to an intermodal facility in the Treasure Valley. The facility would pri- marily transfer onions from trucks to refrigerated rail- cars in Nyssa, Ore., reduc- ing the agricultural indus- try’s reliance on trucking to deliver the crop to distant markets. Oregon lawmakers approved $26 million for the proposal in 2017 but the facility must still pass mus- ter with the Oregon Trans- portation Commission, which will rely on recom- mendations from the fi nal review committee that met in Salem, Ore., on Jan. 11. Several committee members said they had a “soft spot” for the region in Eastern Oregon and sym- pathized with its economic problems but worried about the facility’s fi nancial prospects. The facility could prove successful if it expanded its product base beyond onions, which don’t pro- vide a year-round source of business for intermodal operations, Robert “Wade” Mosby, a retired vice pres- ident of the Collins forest products company, said. However, Mosby said it’s unlikely the private sector would invest in the facility right now. James Ballet, the retired Planned inter- modal facility gets funding Capital Press File Area in detail ur By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Alan Kenaga/Capital Press owner of a heavy machin- ery rental company, said the independent review by the Tioga Group, a trans- portation analysis fi rm, raised concerns about the intermodal facility’s pros- pects as a viable business. “The more I read, the more discouraged I got,” said Ballet. That concern was shared by Mark Gibson, president of Siskiyou Transportation, a trucking and helicopter company. He said the proj- ect would serve the public good but was shaky from the business perspective. “It didn’t seem to me it would really pencil out,” he said. Even so, the “economic blight” along the Ore- gon border is “startling” in comparison to the bus- tle in nearby Idaho, which should compel the state government to take action, said Tony Hyde, a for- mer Columbia County commissioner. “It’s on the edge, but the upside is huge,” he said. Mosby, the retired for- est products executive, said he’d recommend funding the project due to his faith in the farmers and other supporters in the Treasure Valley area. “I think they’ll make it work if we support them,” he said. According to the Tioga Group, the Treasure Val- ley intermodal facility faces risks because it may not be able to secure rail- road service at competitive rates and because its prod- uct volume estimates are “overly optimistic.” The fi nal review com- mittee largely concurred with Tioga’s recommen- dation that state funding should be contingent on getting commitments from railroads and other nec- essary entities that would make the site functional. “There was some men- tion about taking away work from Idaho, and I’m all about that,” said Hyde. WE SPECIALIZE IN BULK BAGS! BAGS: • Seed Bags • Fertilizer Bags • Feed Bags • Potato Bags • Printed Bags • Plain Bags • Bulk Bags • Totes • Woven Polypropylene • Bopp • Polyethylene • Pocket Bags • Roll Stock & More! HAY PRESS SUPPORT: • Hay Sleeves • Strap • Totes • Printed or Plain • Stretch Film (ALL GAUGES) WAREHOUSE PACKAGING: • Stretch Film • Pallet Sheets • Pallet Covers LOCATIONS: Albany, Oregon (MAIN OFFICE) Ellensburg, Washington CONTACT INFORMATION: Phone: 855-928-3856 Fax: 541-497-6262 info@westernpackaging.com ....................................................... CUSTOMER SERVICE IS OUR TOP PRIORITY! w w w. w e s t e r n p a c k a g i n g. c o m 3-3/100 A New Track for Harper Farms Son and father echo each your operation. We’ve wasn’t the right fit. He acre farm. But it’s the other about the challenges worked with a succession returned home, and when orchard – 450 acres of of transferring the farm. planner, Mark Wickman, an opportunity to run track hazelnuts – that defines Warren says, “It’s always for three years. Mark’s at University of Oregon them. They also grow going to be different with steered us through the came up, he took it. All the specialty seed and each generation. Not bad tough conversations to get while, he helped out on the sustainably manage or good. But there’s a us where we are today. farm—a constant for Bryan Douglas fir. different world every We’re better at since he started pulling A family meeting after generation.” And Bryan communicating as a family weeds with his Grandma Bryan graduated in 2012 says, “the biggest thing is now.” at age 5. set a new course: it was trusting the next Photo credit : Karen Cammack Transferring the farm is Bryan’s successful track time to think about the generation, we want to a process that continues career and psychology future of the farm. Bryan’s By Ashley Rood, stepped up to be the fifth make improvements while today: Bryan’s sister is a degree provided him with Dad had been in the Rogue Farm Corps generation at the helm of respecting elders.” new addition at the farm. knowledge on how to driver’s seat of the family Harper Farms. “It’s the ultimate Bryan also says, “Start And, as Warren says, work with, and motivate, farm since 1973. Was Bryan compliment to have your But as Bryan says, “I early. It is not quick and “most farmers don’t retire, people. An essential willing and ready to take child take over the family wasn’t grooming to be in easy, there are a lot of they just change their role. foundation for business over? The alternative— farm,” says Warren agriculture.” He focused layers to peel back. Find a It’s the process of growing leadership and a successful selling off land that had Harper, of Harper Farms in instead on becoming a good mediator that has a as a person, you enjoy farm transition. been in the family for 125 Junction City, Oregon, the pilot, pursuing his love of style appropriate for your every part of it.” Harper Farms has grown years—didn’t sit well with heart of the Willamette flying all the way to family. It’s not cheap, but him. In 2015, Bryan became almost every crop possible Valley. Bryan Harper has Embry-Riddle Aeronautical it’s cheaper than losing in the Valley on their 1200- VP of Harper Farms. done just that—he’s University in Florida. It Find resources to plan for your farm or ranch at roguefarmcorps.org/farmpreservation 3-3/103
