Intermodal Freight Terminal Volume Feasibility Study Intermodal Opportunity Assessment In Western New York
Opportunity
Most goods moving to and from North America move in containers. Growth in container traffic has increased dramatically
40 million TEU’s in 1995 85 million TEU’s in 2005 120 million TEU’s projected for 2010
* TEU – Twenty foot Equivalency Unit
This increase has caused congestion at existing intermodal facilities at ports Congestion can be reduced by transferring containers to rail at the port and distributing them at an inland intermodal freight terminal. These inland terminals will reduce costs for local manufacturers and distributers and make them competitive in the global marketplace
Objectives
The decision to make an investment in an intermodal freight terminal is heavily influenced by the availability of sufficient volumes of intermodal freight. This volume information is not readily available.
Overseas freight crossing the US/Canada border is often not differentiated from North American traffic by customs and bridge authorities
Study seeks to determine the import/export volumes and the feasibility of a rail intermodal facility in Western New York.
Data sources include international trade data and surveys of area importers and exporters
Data Collection
Due to shortcomings and limitations of existing trade data sources, a third-party company was used (PIERS) that added value to the raw data from the US Census Bureau and manifests from the US Customs and Border Protection. PIERS maintains the most comprehensive database of timely, accurate, import and export information on the cargoes moving through ports in the U.S., Mexico, Latin America, and Asia. PIERS collects data from over 25,000 bills of lading everyday
Survey Verification of Data
Extracted data showed that 10-50 companies account for 60-85% of volume
High ranking consignees and exporters were selected to be surveyed Telephone contact was made and a survey was sent out Follow up calls were made when necessary
Findings
Existing TEU volumes via Canadian ports with a destination in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio were lower than anticipated. If Canadian railroads build their volume, they can improve their service and the overall cost for consignees and exporters by providing service to an intermodal freight terminal or logistics park in Buffalo. Overhead traffic between Ontario and US ports offers the greatest opportunity for a logistics park in Buffalo. For many Ontario consignees and exporters, a Buffalo intermodal terminal would eliminate long truck trips to US ports, allowing drivers to return home quicker and reducing fuel and environmental costs. The Buffalo intermodal terminal can act as a rail hub with spokes extending to NYC, Chicago, Seattle and Long Beach.
Niagara Logistics Facility ď ˝
A Niagara logistics facility serve both counties and would provide a wide range of ancillary services to inbound and outbound freight 1.
2. 3. 4. 5.
Inbound Distribution of containers allowing furtherance of contents to locations in Both the US and Canada Foreign Trade Zone allows warehousing without US or Canadian duties and taxes Labeling and packaging services for metric/imperial units and English/French languages Outbound consolidation of shipments from multiple shippers into a single container Container pools to reduce the need to dray empty containers to and from seaports
Conclusions
One third of all Buffalo TEU’s (In/Out) pass through the Port of New York which is predominately a CSX port. This suggests that Seneca is the CSX intermodal facility of choice. There is little demand for a new facility by NS or CN with respect to the international market. The Buffalo area has the volume, physical infrastructure and excellent trade services on both sides of the border to support an intermodal freight facility. Available services need to be packaged and marketed to users of international intermodal cargo services. Additional infrastructure will be needed when these services are successfully marketed. Certain brownfield sites should be evaluated and secured for intermodal park and related services. Packaging and branding should include the entire bi-national region and be inclusive of all logistics service providers and modes of transportation.