River transport

Eric Jessup
Washington State University

An efficient multi-modal freight transportation network is essential to sustaining a thriving economy, especially for the Inland Empire and the trade-dependent regions (Washington, Oregon and Idaho) throughout the Pacific Northwest. This particular region has benefited in the past from access to all modes of freight transportation, including rail,

	The Dalles Dam. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Columbia/Snake River Maps and Photo Gallery.

truck, river, air and ocean. Many economic benefits are derived from this abundance of transportation alternatives, including the competitive/complementary forces between and within modes that lead to an increase in service while decreasing transportation rates. Improvement in freight mobility strengthens an economy, often leading to accelerated economic development and expansion over time.

          It is generally believed that population growth and overall economic activity are directly linked to the demand for freight transportation. Current projections for freight growth on the Columbia-Snake River are expected to double over the next 20 years.

          This increase in demand for freight transportation requires careful evaluation of the existing infrastructure and careful consideration of where future investments should be made. As many modes are operating at or near full capacity, river transport will continue to be an integral part of the freight system.

History

          The early settlers and business entrepreneurs of the region understood the importance of the river network soon after Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored the river region in the early 1800s. The Hudson’s Bay Company, one of the earliest exporters of the area, developed its regional headquarters at Fort Vancouver, 100 river miles from the Pacific Ocean. The Columbia River provided quick and efficient access to international markets, serving a collection/assembly function for downriver exports and a distribution function for upriver import movements. Later, as the region grew and prospered as a result of abundant natural resources and efficient access to the Pacific Ocean and world markets, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company (1860–1883) provided steamboat transport for regional products throughout the lower and middle river regions.

          Even after Union Pacific brought rail service to the area, thus connecting the region to the eastern United States in the early 1900s, the river continued to be the primary trade corridor. The twin cities of Lewiston, Idaho, and Clarkston, Washington, named in honor of the explorers, are located where the Clearwater and Snake Rivers join to create the only seaport in Idaho–Lewiston. The importance of the river to the economic development of the region remains unparalleled.

Modal transport

Truck

          As the population grows in the region, so do demands on the transportation infrastructure as it seeks to accommodate increased traffic volume from passenger and freight transportation. Increased traffic congestion leads to increased costs. Travel times are increased, thus raising operating costs due to lower fuel efficiency, greater fuel consumption, and greater wear and tear on equipment. Increased congestion also leads to a greater frequency of accidents, which in turn leads to higher insurance premiums for motor carriers and transportation shipping firms. It is not feasible to consider that truck freight and the regional road and highway networks will be able to accommodate the projected increase in demand for freight transportation without substantial infrastructure investment. The rise in traffic congestion will cause the roads to deteriorate faster. Most pavement decay functions do not decline linearly with additional weight and use, but rather decline as use escalates, leading to rehabilitation cost functions that grow at an increasing rate.

	The Columbia/Snake River System and Dams. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Columbia/Snake River Maps and Photo Gallery.

          Trucking companies are already struggling with higher costs of operation. Traffic congestion impedes freight mobility by contributing to bottlenecks/chokepoints on key truck freight corridors. This increases the cost of doing business, as do extremely high insurance premiums, labor shortages (and the subsequent higher labor cost to attract and retain drivers), increasing fuel prices, fuel taxes and highway user fees (tolls), and the high cost of replacing equipment. The rising price of operation is proving to be prohibitive, causing several trucking companies to go out of business. This heightens the problem of the increasing demand for freight transportation for a highway system that is already operating at or near capacity. Other modes will have to be used to supplement the highway system.

Rail

          The projected doubling of total freight traffic over the next 20 years likewise has serious implications for the regional freight rail system. The rail industry went through many changes after its deregulation in 1980. Many of these changes have streamlined rail operations for Class I carriers, leading to improved service, lower rates and increased productivity. However, overall rail capacity has diminished. In order to achieve gains in efficiency in this very capital intensive industry, many miles of low volume rail lines have been abandoned or sold to short-line operators who have greater operational flexibility. Only high volume rail corridors remain, placing further constraints on capacity. Many of the low volume rail lines fail to generate enough revenue to adequately recoup the fixed cost of rail infrastructure maintenance and replacement, driving a further decline in rail line conditions over time. The remaining rail system is still productive, stable, and competitive, but many needed infrastructure improvements may limit future volume growth and rail capacity.

River

          The river system, including both barge and ocean vessels, moves a significant portion of freight traffic, but that amount is nowhere near the volume moved by truck or rail. As an example, when compared to trucking as a proportion of total freight tonnage shipped in the Portland/Vancouver area, barge and ocean shipments account for 5.4 and 9.7 percent respectively. These estimates were part of the recent “Commodity Flow Forecast” and “Lower Columbia River Cargo Forecast,” which also projected a doubling of freight traffic over the next 20 years.

          Waterborne movements are a key component of the region’s multi-modal transportation system. It is one of the more cost-effective methods of transport among all the modes and is vital to many of the industries in the region. More than 40 types of commodities travel up and down the Columbia-Snake River daily. These commodity shipments move through eight separate locks and dams on the Snake-Columbia River: Lower Granite, Little Goose, Lower Monumental, Ice Harbor, McNary, John Day, The Dalles and Bonneville.

          Investment in the river infrastructure would allow river transport to be more fully utilized. The importance of education and information exchange between area business owners, local residents and policy makers regarding the critical connection between local businesses and regional economic performance, trade, state revenues and these infrastructure investments cannot be understated.

A closer look at river transport

           A study conducted by the Transportation Research Group at Washington State University for Strategic Freight Transportation Analysis (SFTA Research Report #14) captures the general characteristics of commodity transportation movements up and down the Columbia-Snake River for the nine-year period between 1995 and 2003. This report’s objective was to describe the volume and variety of commodities shipped during this time period, to identify the trends in their movements, and to draw inferences regarding future trends.

	Barge in the Snake River below Lewiston. Biaine Harden, fellow, The Alicia Patterson Foundation.

          Data collected from the Bonneville Dam was used, as this is the lowest dam on the river system. All upriver shipments first pass through Bonneville and, likewise, all downriver shipments leave the river system through this dam. This eliminates the problem of double counting. Upriver movements serve a distribution function for inputs. Downriver movements serve a collection/assembly function for outputs.

          The most notable characteristic of waterborne movements during this time period is that on the Columbia-Snake Rivers, about four times more tonnage travels downriver than upriver. Previous analyses of Columbia-Snake River transportation suggest that this trend has been consistent for at least 25 years.

Downriver movements

          During this time period, wheat comprised about 70 percent of the tonnage transported downriver. This is perhaps not surprising, as wheat is one of the major industries in the area. Seasonal trends can also be seen, with movements of certain commodities coinciding with the harvest and the summer building season. The total tonnage of downriver shipments ranged from a high of 8.4 million tons in 1998 to a low of around 6 million tons in both 2002 and 2003.

The commodities with the largest volume of downriver shipments were (in descending order):

• Wheat (47 million tons)
• Forest products, lumber, logs, woodchips (8.6 million tons)
• Sand, gravel, stone; limestone flux and calcareous stone; phosphate rock (4 million tons)
• Rye, barley, rice, sorghum and oats (1.7 million tons)
• Paper and allied products
• Animal feed, grain mill products, flour and other processed grain
• Vegetable products (combined: around 1 million tons)

Upriver movements

          As mentioned above, about four times less tonnage travels upriver than downriver. Accordingly, almost four times as many empty barges travel upriver than downriver, so they can be repositioned for future downriver movements.

          A total of 22 million tons were shipped upriver between 1995 and 2003. Listed below are the commodities with more than one million tons shipped upriver during those nine years (in descending order):

• Gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene (10.5 million tons)
• Distillate, residual and other fuel oils; lubricating oils and greases (7 million tons)
• Waste material; garbage, landfill, sewage sludge and wastewater (1.5 million tons)

          The two largest commodities shipped upriver are inputs that are needed for production and/or operation. Shipment of gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene products, and distillate, residual and other fuel oils make up 77 percent of all upriver movements. During the same time period, the annual total tonnage traveling upriver remained fairly stable, averaging 2.5 million tons.

           Grains, forest products, fertilizers, petroleum products, gasoline and various fuels (distillate and other fuels) have historically comprised the dominant amount of tonnage transported over the Columbia-Snake River system. These commodities are also shipped via truck and rail. It is easy then to conclude that with some river infrastructure improvements, more of these commodities could be shipped on the river, thus relieving some of the congestion and capacity problems.

Evolving issues

          Examining these modes side by side generates somewhat of a reality check for the region. An historical precedent of economic growth and prosperity has been set. If economic vitality and regional competitiveness in global trade are expected to continue in the future, investments are necessary to improve freight mobility and the operational efficiency of the various modes of transportation. Although river shipments are close to operating at capacity, some infrastructure improvements could drastically increase capacity, easing that constraint.

          Waterborne freight movements (both ocean and river vessels) are facing physical capacity limits due to the depth of the river channel. Currently in progress, the Columbia River Channel Deepening Project plans to deepen the channel to 43 feet, which would increase ship capacity by roughly 800 TEU (20-foot equivalent units) per ship and contribute to a lower cost per unit for shippers. This has been accomplished in some areas, with other sections scheduled to be completed in 2007. But several hurdles remain on the river deepening project, including available funding as allocated from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ budget. Along with funds to advance the project from the states of Washington and Oregon, several agencies and organizations are supporting the project as they recognize the importance of this freight corridor on international trade and regional economic performance. In addition to many business stakeholders in the area, the ports of Portland, St. Helens, Vancouver, and Woodland have formed a coalition to support the river channel-deepening project.

          However, other issues emerge as this project proceeds. One factor that may affect downriver barge movements and ocean exports is river dredging to maintain adequate channel depth for barge loading at upriver Snake-Columbia port terminals. Another issue is the possible river drawdowns aimed at improving native salmon survival rates. Other environmental impacts should be researched fully to avoid preventable problems associated with deepening the channel.

          Also, major modal shifts would occur in the event that the river or parts of the river became non-navigable (because of continued size constraints or construction to deepen the channel). This may alter the tonnage of freight moving on the rivers and put further strain on the rail and highway modes. However, if this is due to construction, it would only be for a time, with the future benefits outweighing the current costs and inconvenience.

Conclusion

           There is no doubt that future economic growth and prosperity for the region will largely depend on how successfully the products produced in the region find their way into domestic and export markets abroad. The ability of regional firms and producers to compete within the global market place will additionally depend upon the efficiency of the freight transportation system serving the region. A multi-modal transportation network is imperative to the health of the economy. In many places, the existing transportation modes are already operating at or near full capacity while the demand for freight transportation continues to rise. Investments in the transportation network will be necessary to improve freight mobility and operational efficiency to enhance economic vitality and regional competitiveness for global trade.
          Lastly, the importance of education and information exchange to area business owners, local residents and policy makers regarding the important connection between the local business and regional economic performance, trade, and state revenues and these transportation infrastructure investments cannot be understated. These investments today reap rewards and positive multiplier effects throughout the economy for years to come and also foster, facilitate and accommodate future freight transportation and economic growth throughout the region. This additionally requires an understanding of the private/public benefits from these investments and suggests the need for future partnerships between private entities and public agencies.

Makaryan, Shushanik, Marie Drews, Eric L. Jessup, and Ken Casavant. September 2005. “Waterborne Commerce on the Columbia/Snake Waterway: Commodity Mov ments Up/Down River 1995–2003.” Washington State University, Strategic Freight Transportation Analysis, SFTA Research Report #14. October 2, 2006.