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Summit kicks off rail, freight planning efforts

The efficient movement of freight through and within Idaho is essential for a robust economy and could become a significant factor in achieving Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s Project 60 plan to grow the state’s annual gross domestic product.

How important is freight to the state’s economy, present and future?

The answer is evident in the turnout for the first Idaho Freight Summit and Rail Plan, at Boise State University Tuesday. Co-sponsored by ITD, the Idaho Department of Agriculture and BSU, the summit focused on two separate but complementary plans – the Idaho Freight Study and the Idaho Rail Plan.

Organizer Maureen Gresham of the Division of Transportation Performance expected about 30 people to register when she planned the half-day summit. She had to cap participation at nearly three times the initial estimate. About 88 people assembled at BSU to begin laying a foundation for Idaho’s future freight movement.

Delegates represented a broad range of organizations: federal, state and local governments; agricultural producers and shippers; commodity producers and distributors; economic development groups; railroad representatives and policymakers.

ITD Chief Deputy Officer Scott Stokes called it a “very powerful group,” and emphasized the need to form partnerships and work collaboratively to “determine a path forward.”

He told participants the summit was especially timely following the announcement last month of ITD’s strategic plan that will serve as a foundation for how the department operates. ITD’s expanded mission is: “Our Mission: Your Safety. Your Mobility. Your Economic Opportunity.”

One of the foundational goals, Stokes said, is to “provide a mobility-focused transportation system that drives economic opportunity.”

Gresham said the summit and emerging plans need to consider all modes of transportation while addressing how freight moves into, out of and within Idaho. A key question, she said, is how to manage that freight movement better and more efficiently.

Brian Greber, a BSU professor and founding director of the university’s Center for Business Research and Economic Development, said Idaho producers need to “ship more, ship more farther, and ship more, farther more efficiently.”

Freight movement in Idaho constituted 8.3 percent of the state’s gross domestic product in 2010. Idaho remains heavily dependent on trucks to move goods, which presents a challenge and an opportunity Greber said.

Comparing products shipped into Idaho with those leaving the state reveals an 8-million-ton imbalance annually. Idaho should develop products that can take advantage of the “back-haul” capacity, empty trucks and rail cars leaving Idaho. He said product exports are heavily concentrated in markets within a 1,000-mile radius.

Idaho producers should look for markets beyond that range, Greber suggested.

Erika Witzke, a senior associate at Cambridge Systematics and former deputy project manager for the award-winning Minnesota Statewide Freight and Passenger Rail Plan, affirmed Idaho’s heavy reliance on trucks rather than rail cars to distribute commodities.

But as highways become more congested around the nation’s emerging “mega –regions,” efficiency suffers and shipping slows. Idaho is in a position – because of its seaport (Lewiston) and rail and trucking networks – to capitalize on the heavy traffic around regions like Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston, she said.

Idaho legislator Scott Bedke provided a personal testimony about the importance of efficient shipping. A recent windstorm in the Southwest closed trucking lanes and delayed the shipment of cattle from his ranch in southern Idaho to markets in California. “It’s all about efficiency,” he said.

If the freight plan is outdated and the transportation system is not efficient, he said, Idaho will suffer financial losses and breaks in supply chain management.

After a panel presentation and questions from the audience, participants engaged in small-group discussions about what they believed should be addressed in the freight study and rail plan.

The freight study should be complete by late November 2012, and the Rail Plan updated by April 2013.