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Re: Goldman Sachs looks to pitch port-rail investment (Humboldt Bay)
Author: Joel Manly
Date: 05-28-2008 - 13:53
Some thoughts on this subject
I don't know what Goldman Sachs' angle is on this but I find it hard to believe that they have done much research about the Humboldt County political climate. 500,000 units is 1369 per day, several ships per week, something of this magnitude will never happen in Eureka. They can't even get a Walmart or Home Depot built.
Lets say that Hell did freeze over and they actually got the Port built and the railroad running, what will happen when there are slides that close the railroad. Even being closed for 1 week will mean that there are 4000 or so containers sitting around or having to be trucked in and out of Eureka. This is at best a one load per day per truck haul because of the distances and roads involved. Letting containers sit for even a day or two is not an option because of the timelines that the shipping lines are on and the tens of thousands of dollars per hour involved if a ship is delayed. In addition much of the freight that is moved today is JIT - Just in Time - meaning that the receivers are counting on the freight being delivered when promised.
I don't know what Goldman Sachs' angle is on this but I find it hard to believe that they have done much research about the Humboldt County political climate. 500,000 units is 1369 per day, several ships per week, something of this magnitude will never happen in Eureka. They can't even get a Walmart or Home Depot built.
Lets say that Hell did freeze over and they actually got the Port built and the railroad running, what will happen when there are slides that close the railroad. Even being closed for 1 week will mean that there are 4000 or so containers sitting around or having to be trucked in and out of Eureka. This is at best a one load per day per truck haul because of the distances and roads involved. Letting containers sit for even a day or two is not an option because of the timelines that the shipping lines are on and the tens of thousands of dollars per hour involved if a ship is delayed. In addition much of the freight that is moved today is JIT - Just in Time - meaning that the receivers are counting on the freight being delivered when promised.
