FreightWeek STL 2019 Focus: The Future of the Freight Industry
Date Posted: June 13, 2019
Posted In: News, Organizations,
The St. Louis region played host to the four-day FreightWeek STL conference for the second year in a row, bringing together freight and logistics experts from around the country in late May to learn about the latest innovations shaping the future of the freight industry, new economic partnerships being forged, and the bi-state region’s continuing growth in the global freight and logistics marketplace. Built around and in partnership with the annual Inland Marine Expo (IMX), FreightWeek STL drew an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 industry experts, business leaders and elected officials to St. Louis for what is becoming known as one of the freight industry’s premier networking and educational opportunities.
Among the highlights from this year’s conference were discussions around growth in the global container market, prospects for enhanced rail service to move more goods between the Midwest and East Coast, progress being made to bring Hyperloop service to Missouri, and the positive impact of these advancements for the St. Louis region.
“The wealth of information gleaned by those attending the second annual FreightWeek STL gives them tremendous insight that they can use to enhance their organizations and plan for the future,” said Mary Lamie, Executive Director of the St. Louis Regional Freightway. “As we and our many partners continue our work to advance the St. Louis region as a leader in multimodal freight opportunities, this conference and the news coming out of it put the St. Louis region back in the national spotlight as an innovator in freight transportation, and for the assets that continue to elevate our standing as a world-class freight hub and multimodal center.”
Attendees at the opening session of IMX/FreightWeek STL on May 21 learned from Ken Eriksen, Senior Vice President of IEG Vantage, that one out of every 12 people on earth ingests commodities produced in the Mississippi River Basin, and 20% of all U.S. imports and exports pass through Louisiana ports. Those and other interesting data were shared as part of his presentation on The State of the Barge Industry, which focused on the importance of the inland waterway system and the barge industry that moves commodities along those waterways. He highlighted the St. Louis region’s landed cost advantage and the Mississippi River system’s role as a great artery to deliver commodities efficiently, at very low cost, to countries around the world.
Another Inland Marine Expo discussion focused on the dramatic growth projected in the global container market over the next decade and how public and private sector leaders are working together to move ever-larger volumes of goods and commodities along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Containers on the Inland Waterways panelists highlighted the global demand for containers from a Midwest perspective, including how the Midwest agriculture industry is positioning itself to meet the competitive logistics needs of farmers and the role of local ports in supporting the efforts through leadership and infrastructure investment. It also provided insight on the different business models already being used or being proposed to grow container volume on this vital river corridor, including container-on-barge and innovative container-on-vessel services. Industry leaders detailed how these new options for transporting freight, and strategies to consolidate freight movements from multiple carriers, can improve cost, efficiency, reliability and flexibility for shippers.
During the Government Partners: Growth and Reliability of our Inland Waterways session, attendees learned how industry leaders in the public and private sectors are working at local and national levels to improve the nation’s locks and dams and ports. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has received record high funding, allowing for planned maintenance and upgrades that will give shippers the opportunity to better plan around closures. On the flip side, the discussion revealed that while the nation’s locks and dams were initially designed to last 50 years, the average lock age is 60, and 69 locks are more than 80 years old. U.S. Coast Guard section commander Scott Stoermer shared how trillions of dollars in commerce flow through the harbors and ports each year and noted how the maritime system is the most environmentally sound method to meet the transportation needs of the nation. Attendees also received an update on the support – including grants — available through the Maritime Administration for those interested in developing port projects.
This session also featured comments by representatives from Granite City-based America’s Central Port – which is home to 1,200 acres, two harbors, 30 miles of rail, and 2 million square feet of warehouse to date. In recent years, America’s Central Port has spent $5 million on roads, nearly $20 million on rail and millions more in harbor improvements, and has several additional projects coming up in 2019, including renovation of existing facilities for new manufacturing tenants. America’s Central Port has attracted $300 million in private investment in new manufacturing facilities.
“It’s these partnerships between private interests and government agencies that is allowing improvements on the marine highway to continue,” said Lamie.
The St. Louis Regional Freightway Industry Forum on May 23 featured a keynote address by John D. Trent, Senior Director of Strategic Operations and Safety at the Georgia Ports Authority. Trent detailed the new partnership being forged between the St. Louis Regional Freightway and the Port of Savannah to create a new connection between the St. Louis region and the largest single-terminal container facility in the western hemisphere. He provided an overview of the Port of Savannah’s $3 billion plan to increase its containerized cargo capacity from 5 to 8 million TEUs by 2028. He said that investment could positively impact the freight economy in the St. Louis region, which is considered to be a key import/export market to which containers can consistently be distributed by rail at a significantly lower cost for shippers. The Port of Savannah investment will enable rail providers CSX and Norfolk Southern to deliver faster, more frequent rail service to Midwest markets, including St. Louis, creating the potential to further link the St. Louis region’s world-class freight and logistics hub to the national and global supply chains.
“We offer a premium, lower cost option and, in addition, we provide that consistency,” Trent said. “We believe we have a viable solution to not only support existing business in the St. Louis region, but also to grow business in the St. Louis region.”
The Inland Marine Expo (IMX), the annual trade show produced by The Waterways Journal, Inc., for the inland and intracoastal marine transportation industry, highlighted equipment and services critical in the transportation of goods along U.S. inland and intracoastal waterways.
Several St. Louis area organizations also held related meetings and/or events during FreightWeek STL, providing an additional dimension to the event. The East-West Gateway Council of Governments hosted a conference with the National Highway Institute to look at freight modeling; the Women’s Transportation Seminar joined the Missouri and Illinois Departments of Transportation to explore infrastructure investment and the Interstate 270 expansion project, and the Transportation Club of St. Louis hosted a networking event.
In addition, the Heartland Civic Collaborative – a regional organization representing the Des Moines, Kansas City, Omaha and St. Louis metros – hosted multiple events during the week. Among those was a special presentation by Andrew Smith, co-founder of the Missouri Hyperloop Coalition. Smith told attendees the possibility of bringing the first Hyperloop One intercity route to Missouri is progressing at a rapid pace, bringing this innovative technology — and what it would mean for travel and economic development in the region – closer to reality. He explained that, in addition to passenger travel, Hyperloop technology can also supplement the freight industry. Smith expects Hyperloop tubes to transport light-weight cargo currently moved by truck or air within 300 to 1,500 miles. He also believes the Hyperloop could become a larger player in connecting freight hubs across the Midwest.
The St. Louis Regional Freightway is a Bi-State Development enterprise established to create a regional freight district and comprehensive authority for freight operations and opportunities within eight counties in Illinois and Missouri which comprise the St. Louis metropolitan area. Public sector and private industry businesses are partnering with the St. Louis Regional Freightway to establish the bi-state region as one of the premier multimodal freight hubs and distribution centers in the United States through marketing, public advocacy, and freight and infrastructure development.