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4/11/2023
The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) has launched a rail cargo incentive program aimed at driving growth in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
The program seeks to increase cargo volumes in the region while reducing costs to shippers using the alliance’s gateway, NWSA officials said in a press release.
Starting May 1, the program will provide a $50 incentive per rail lift for eligible rail volumes moving through the gateway. About half of the import cargo moving through the gateway is bound primarily for the Midwest, NWSA officials added.
The incentive is expected to generate 60,000 additional rail lifts, or about 15% of NWSA’s international intermodal lifts in 2022.
"As competition in the shipping industry intensifies with current market conditions, the rail cargo incentive program is an important tool to help attract additional cargo volumes that provide critical jobs for maritime workers across our gateway," said NWSA Co-Chair Sam Cho.
Initially, the alliance will invest $3 million worth of incentives into the program, with the option of extending it beyond its current end date of April 2024.
Most intermodal inland ramp locations served and/or operated by BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad will be eligible for the program, including ramps in Minot, North Dakota; Pocatello, Idaho; Millersburg, Oregon; and Wallula, Washington.