Long Beach eyeing short-haul rail to move cargo off docks

The deployment of megaships, road congestion, and a decline in rail cargoes such as coal and crude oil are some of the reasons the Port of Long Beach is taking another look at the idea of moving more cargo out of the port using short-haul rail.    The Port of Long Beach is looking at the possibility of moving more cargo out of the port using short-haul rail.
    “Up to 70 percent of containerized imports that move through the San Pedro Bay ports leave the harbor complex by truck,” according to the Southern California port. “Of that total, about 40 percent are headed east for distribution centers and warehouses in San Bernardino and Riverside counties known as the Inland Empire.”
   “At these facilities, cargo is transloaded to larger containers or trailers for shipment by rail across the country, or by truck to local destinations. This includes the Inland Empire’s own consumer market of more than 4.3 million people,” it said.
   “We want to know if there is a valid business case for moving this transloaded segment of cargo to the Inland Empire by rail,” said Mike Christensen, the Port of Long Beach’s senior executive lead for supply chain optimization.
   The port has a goal of moving half the cargo in the port by rail.
    Logistics consultant Strategic Mobility 21 is evaluating the business case for short-haul rail at Long Beach in a study due to be completed in the coming months. The port said “the analysis will shed light on the market demand, the anticipated costs, and the next steps if the findings support shuttling cargo by rail between the San Pedro Bay port complex and the major consumer markets and warehousing districts within 100 miles of the harbor.”
   The short-haul rail concept is not a new one, “but the idea did not pencil out when it was explored more than a decade ago,” the port said. “Today, the dynamics are different. The cost of drayage to the Inland Empire is substantially higher and freeway commutes are slower than ever.”
   Christensen noted Class I railroads are in the midst of a steep decline in crude oil and coal cargoes that is contributing to a “new openness” to the idea of short-haul rail moves by both railroads and cargo owners.
   Long Beach said the growing number of megaships delivering more cargo in a single call is a major reason for the study because “Increasing the number of containers leaving the terminals by rail reduces gate waits and improves truck velocity.”
   “Short-haul rail could allow the entire supply chain to manage those surges more efficiently,” said Christensen.