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Re: News for the Port of Portland
Author: BOB2
Date: 04-08-2015 - 10:01
It's not the channel depth in the Columbia River, nor the ILWU, that's the problem with Portland as a port.
Portland is a really local small market, located about 75 miles up the damned river from the sea, with no particular economies of scale, nor any significant advantage for the landside connections. That is the real problem.
Portland is just not a particularly good container port, because you can have a container there in about 5 hours from Seattle/Tacoma. SEA/TAC is just a bigger better port complex with significantly greater economies of scale, serving a much larger population base (including northern Oregon), with as good, or better landside access, with exactly the same union, but at a much lower cost per unit handled.
Portland is a really local small market, located about 75 miles up the damned river from the sea, with no particular economies of scale, nor any significant advantage for the landside connections. That is the real problem.
Portland is just not a particularly good container port, because you can have a container there in about 5 hours from Seattle/Tacoma. SEA/TAC is just a bigger better port complex with significantly greater economies of scale, serving a much larger population base (including northern Oregon), with as good, or better landside access, with exactly the same union, but at a much lower cost per unit handled.
