www.joc.com THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE 35
PACIFIC
NORTHWEST
GATEWAY
SPECIAL
REPORT
IN THE BATTLE for market share, Seattle-
Tacoma and the British Columbia ports
of Vancouver and Prince Rupert realize
it will take more than infrastructure
investment to win; it's going to take faster
cargo velocity in and out of the terminal.
While they are expanding their ter-
minals and on-dock rail capacity, and
buying
larger cranes, the Pacific North-
west ports believe the true competitive
edge will come from faster cargo velocity
at the terminals, faster truck turn times,
and seamless hand-offs of containers to
intermodal rail. Given the region's rela-
tively small local population, the gateway
is especially dependent on efficient, com-
petitively priced rail services to population
centers in the East.
Pacific Northwest ports
drive for market share,
focusing on ways to boost
cargo velocity
By Bill Mongelluzzo
PRODUCTIVITY
ACCELERATOR
