Railroads and the extended river closure
Farm and Ranch December 22, 2009 Railroads serving the Pacific Northwest are planning on how they can move more grain to export terminals when the Columbia-Snake River system is closed to barge traffic for up to 16 weeks in late 2010 and early 2011. The lengthy closure is so major repairs can be done at several locks at dams in the river system. Paul Hammes, who heads up agricultural shipping for the Union Pacific, says the five year average of river grain shipments during the closure time is about 56 million bushels of which he estimates 20 to 30 million will be switched to rail. That would mean the need for an additional 300 to 500 hopper cars a week. Hammes: “Well the important thing for us is the forecasting, the planning. And we have a lot of advanced time here so we are working with the shippers and the exporters to determine how much they expect to shift to rail during that time period. Then what we will do is pre-position cars in advance and try to get the best understanding we can of the capability of each facility. And we are also going to try and develop flexibility in the size of shipments as well. If we can get more efficiency out of running bigger trains. Whatever fit’s the market. So planning, forecasting, is probably the biggest key here, but we will have the resources available and will position them properly with the right forecast.” Hammes is confident UP can handle the increased rail demand and that is what Burlington Northern Sante Fe officials say too. Barge operators are also making plans for the river closure. That story tomorrow. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network. ?
