Rail improvements could spark
intermodal shipping boom at Port Milwaukee
Even in a challenging international trade environment, Port Milwaukee continues to hit its benchmarks for annual shipping tonnage, has helped open new trade markets for its tenants and remains a net-positive revenue source for the City of Milwaukee.
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t the Wisconsin International Trade Conference in May, the port was again recognized as a winner of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation’s Pacesetter Award. The award is presented to ports that register annual increases in international cargo tonnage. But in his first year as port director, Adam Schlicht has even bigger things in mind. The port launched a $3.7 million project to replace aging railroad tracks. With those improvements underway, Schlicht hopes to entice a major railroad to resume ship-to-rail intermodal container service at the port.
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And when that happens, the port will be poised for significant growth and greatly increase efficiency for Southeastern Wisconsin companies that use intermodal shipping. Today, those companies typically must ship or receive intermodal containers through the Chicago suburbs. That means a full day for a truck and its driver to deliver or pick up only one shipment – adding costs and more regulatory red tape for companies and more highway congestion for everyone else. “The current intermodal paradigm is not a value proposition for container access in the state of Wisconsin,” says Schlicht, who became the port’s director in August 2018. “That is not a cost savings
proposition. That is not a time efficiency proposition.” What if that same driver could instead make multiple trips to Port Milwaukee in one day? “We’re talking about doubling the efficiency of container activity in the state of Wisconsin, just by offering service here at Port Milwaukee,” Schlicht says. “And that lines up perfectly with the port’s mission of adding value to the regional economy.” Today, most overseas shipping is done through intermodal containers, which greatly increase efficiency because they are stackable, have standard sizes and
