This story does a good job of laying out the strengths and weaknesses of both on-highway and waterborne transportation. It underlies an argument we’ve been making for years: Intermodal short sea shipping isn’t perfect for every shipper. Barging will always have to work in tandem with its agile cousins, the trucking industry. But when it comes to moving large amounts of freight in a cheap, green way, we can’t be beat.
“The trucking industry has done a great job in providing excellent service, and flexible service at reasonably low prices, but they’ve done it at the expense of the environment and the infrastructure,” said Kevin Mack, vice president for development at [...]

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has designated HML’s West Coast Hub-Feeder project as being eligible for funding as part of a federal initiative.

John Driscoll at The Times-Standard filed this report from the most recent Humboldt Bay Harbor District meeting.
“A heavily trimmed budget has seemingly only intensified the debate over the direction the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District should chart into the future. At a public hearing on the preliminary budget — cut by $350,000 from its first draft — commissioners sparred over how those cuts should be made, and whether potential changes in policy should be discussed before or after a final budget is approved.” [...]

The industries biggest players are carrying millions of TEU’s a year. Contargo, for instance, boasts an annual revenue of $220 million by moving a million boxes a year. From the Journal of Commerce: “Barges are emerging as Europe’s inland transport of choice as shippers, container lines and ports seek alternatives to congested highways and under performing railways. Inland shipping has taken a hit from the collapse in ocean container traffic, its main market, with volume down as much as 30 percent since the fourth quarter of 2008. But barge operators say traffic appears to [...]”

Costs on a Southern California-to-Pacific Northwest route could be 47% cheaper than trucking rates.

A few months ago, Professional Mariner had a great story on the federal government’s efforts to move freight off of highways. We love this quote: “With the advent of rail and the interstate highway system, we essentially turned our backs on the sea,” said U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton.

“For proponents of coastal shipping, America’s reliance on land transportation has long blocked a promising opportunity: Move more freight by sea and the nation could ease highway congestion, reduce air pollution, cut fuel costs and improve safety. Now, with federal support growing in the face of a volatile energy market and a deteriorating roadway grid, the approach has gained new momentum.” [...]

[ May 29, 2009; 7:00 pm; ] Today’s Times Standard spells out what’s going down at the Humboldt Bay Harbor District meeting tonight:

“The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District will hold a public hearing today on its budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

In April, commissioners recommended cutting the salaries portion of the budget by $250,000, likely by eliminating a bar pilot[...]

Grants from $20 million to $300 million can be used for intermodal and port transportation projects.

In the latest issue of World Trade Magazine, Neil Shister looks at near-sourcing — a.k.a. nearshoring — and fuel costs.
“In the immortal warning of the Jaws movie poster, ‘Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water,’ so it is with near-sourcing.
“Last spring and summer,” recalls Charlie McGee, Vice President of [...]

[ May 12, 2009 to May 14, 2009. ] Humboldt’s own Dave Hull is chairing this month’s California Maritime Leadership Symposium.
“Our focus will be education and information,” the Humboldt Bay Harbor District port director told MarineLink.com in a recent interview. “We want to expand public and private understanding of the critical role our ports and harbors play in California’s economy, and of the substantial “green technology” initiatives industry has taken in recent years.” [...]