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Issue 3 2019 - FBJNA


///LOGISTICS CORRIDORS


Logistics corridors are crucial to overall economic vitality


By John Jeter


Here’s the funny thing about logistics corridors. Sea and inland ports are expanding geographically to shrink time and to serve -- even faster


-- today’s click-‘n’-


get consumers. One of the nation’s largest inland hubs even expanded its name. “‘Corridor’ is way too narrow


a term for us in Columbus,” says David Whitaker, CCO at the Columbus Regional Airport Authority in Ohio’s state capital. “The entire Columbus region is a transportation platform for the logistics industry.” It’s


so much so that the


Rickenbacker Inland Port is being renamed “North American International Freight Center.” “Certainly, inland and dry


ports are formally defined and can still be applied to our activities here, but we moved to the Freight Center terminology as more fitting,” he says. The region boasts 300 million square feet of


industrial development under one


roof; four intermodal


yards; two airports; and “lots of truck-worthy roads.” Then there’s the


information superhighway. Chattanooga, TN, now bills itself as “freight alley.” “A deep talent pool that


blends logistics expertise and entrepreneurial energy have made Chattanooga the Silicon Valley of freight,” says Charles Wood, vice president of Economic Development for Area Chamber of Commerce there.


Gargantuan projects


As lofty as “international freight center” and “freight alley” may sound, “mega” is a relatively new label for gargantuan projects that are, yes, putting seaports closer to intermodal hubs ever-farther inland. Check out the Georgia Port


Authority’s Mason MegaRail initiative. The $218.5 million project will double the Port of


“Locating rail hubs deeper into the supply chain could open up new


business opportunities and would be attractive to exporters.” -- John Wolfe, NWSA


Savannah’s rail capacity to 1 million container lifts per year with the addition of 10 rail tracks that can accommodate 10,000-foot-long trains. “Longer, more cost-effective


trains incentivize Norfolk Southern and CSX to provide direct, expedited rail service to the Mid-American Arc, stretching from Memphis to St. Louis, Chicago, Columbus and Ohio Valley,” says Griff


Lynch, executive director of the Savannah port. The longer tentacles of


the MegaRail’s first phase, slated to open later this year with completion next year, is expected to cut transit times to the greater Midwest by 24 hours. “A new competitive


environment on both speed to market and lower cost is driving customer demand for the GPA to expand its service market,” he says. The GPA’s also expanding


its own corridor with the Appalachian Regional Port, the authority’s first owned and operated inland terminal


The trend toward larger ships and e-commerce at


the Port of Los Angeles has accelerated the need for good inland connections. (Port of Los Angeles photo.)


accommodate larger ships by dredging harbors, raising cranes and adding capacity to container yards.” “From a seaport’s


perspective, it’s important to have good connections to inland markets. The trend toward larger ships and e-commerce has accelerated these needs,” he says. John Wolfe, CEO of The


in northwest Georgia. With target markets


reaching to


Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky, the ARP aims to offset 710 truck miles on Georgia highways with each round-trip container moved via the corridor, among other benefits, Lynch says. Meanwhile, at other ports,


Mario Cordero, executive director at Port of Long Beach, says coastal terminals are


“generally working to


“‘Corridor’ is way too narrow a term for us in Columbus.”


-- David Whitaker, Columbus Regional Airport Authority


Northwest Seaport Alliance, concurs. “Locating rail hubs deeper into the supply chain could open up new business opportunities and would be especially attractive to exporters,” he says. He notes, however, that the


NWSA is still in the very early stages of exploring inland rail hubs. “It just makes good business sense to explore these options thoroughly,” her says.


Interstate interactivity


All this infrastructure interconnectivity requires interstate interactivity. Tha t’ s already the


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