Not a quick fix
20 Jan 2011
US inland ports need to satisfy strict criteria to be successful, says Paul Bingham, head of the economics division at transport consultants Wilbur Smith Associates.
“They were originally built just to take traffic and noise away from the coastal ports,” he says, but now the inland port concept has caught the eye of developers across the US, with each state keen to build at least one and, in some cases, individual counties.
However, he adds that the adage of “build it and they will come” can be a mistake. “Front Royal was probably ahead of its time.”
Meanwhile, size is critical. “They don’t scale well. Economies of scale are similar to those of container ships – you don’t stick a 6,000 teu vessel on a service that only calls for 3,000 teu.”
Shipping lines have hampered the development of inland ports in the past, says Mr Bingham. “They wanted to be in control of box movements and repositioning, particularly empties, and so they wanted the boxes to stay at the main ports. Other factors have since come in to change this.”
Charles Clowdis of IHS Global Insight adds that ports need to be at the junction of, preferably, two interstate highways and served by two Class 1 railway systems. There should also be an assured, large market to tap into.
And a clean environment is one of the main selling points of inland ports, which make pollution control a big feature of their business plan. Diane Gray of Winnipeg says: “Manitoba has the cleanest power generation in the world – 97% of all electricity is hydro-powered – and our handling equipment will be electric.”
However, he adds that the adage of “build it and they will come” can be a mistake. “Front Royal was probably ahead of its time.”
Meanwhile, size is critical. “They don’t scale well. Economies of scale are similar to those of container ships – you don’t stick a 6,000 teu vessel on a service that only calls for 3,000 teu.”
Shipping lines have hampered the development of inland ports in the past, says Mr Bingham. “They wanted to be in control of box movements and repositioning, particularly empties, and so they wanted the boxes to stay at the main ports. Other factors have since come in to change this.”
Charles Clowdis of IHS Global Insight adds that ports need to be at the junction of, preferably, two interstate highways and served by two Class 1 railway systems. There should also be an assured, large market to tap into.
And a clean environment is one of the main selling points of inland ports, which make pollution control a big feature of their business plan. Diane Gray of Winnipeg says: “Manitoba has the cleanest power generation in the world – 97% of all electricity is hydro-powered – and our handling equipment will be electric.”
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