PORT AUTHORITY PROJECT
TO SHIFT SOME CARGO TRAFFIC TO ALBANY
by James C. McKinley, Jr.


ALBANY, Dec. 13 — In a move to reduce air pollution and revitalize this city's port, Gov. George E. Pataki unveiled a plan today to transport thousands of cargo containers now unloaded in New Jersey up the Hudson River to the Port of Albany.

The plan is part of a larger effort by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to ease pressure on its main docks in Newark and Elizabeth, N.J., where more than three million cargo containers enter the country each year.

Officials hope that shipping cargo upriver by barge and rail will reduce air pollution from truck traffic on the New York region's overburdened highways. The project is also expected to create at least 100 jobs at the Port of Albany, which was once a bustling port for fruit, cars and durable goods but now handles mostly salt, coal and fuel oil.

"This is a tremendous boon to manufacturers, small-business men and consumers," Mr. Pataki said.

The state and the Port Authority are providing the Port of Albany, a city facility, with $3.3 million to begin the shipping service, with part of the financing coming from a federal grant for reducing air pollution. The Port of Albany is negotiating with several barge companies to begin the service, which should be up and running within three months, state officials said.

The Port Authority wants to divert at least 10,000 containers from the New Jersey docks to Albany in the first year, gradually increasing that number to more than 250,000. Port Authority officials are using Albany as a testing ground and hope to set up six other regional ports in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware.

The goal of the project — called the Port Inland Distribution Network — is to cut by a third the number of containers being unloaded in New Jersey and shipped by truck. Now, about 84 percent of the containers that arrive in New York Harbor are unloaded onto trucks. That portion would drop to 57 percent once all the regional ports are in operation in 2020, said a spokesman for the authority, Steven Coleman.

Mr. Coleman said the barge service should reduce the backlog of containers in the Port of New York, which is actually in New Jersey. The port's 2,100 acres in Newark and Elizabeth are jammed to capacity most days with oceangoing containers, and the number of containers entering the country through New York Harbor is growing by 4 percent a year.

The containers that will arrive in Albany will be shipped via rail or truck across the state and the Northeast, state officials said.

Albany leaders have high hopes that the new plan will revitalize the port here, which has been operating since the Dutch settled the region in the 17th century. Until the 1970's, the Port of Albany was a major destination for ships and barges carrying a wide range of products, including bananas and Volkswagens. In recent years, however, the trucking industry has taken over more and more of that business, leaving the port to handle bulk commodities like fuel.

Albany city officials have tried to bring the port back to life, and Mr. Pataki and legislative leaders have helped by providing $1.7 million in state aid in recent years to buy a new crane and improve rail lines feeding the docks.

Joseph L. Bruno, the State Senate majority leader, who represents Rensselaer County across the river, said the jobs were sorely needed in the capital, as well as the cheaper shipping costs that businesses are expected to enjoy once the barge service begins.

"The bottom line is cheaper products for all the constituents," Senator Bruno said. "It's a win-win-win for everyone."
Copyright The New York Times Company

PORT OF ALBANY 1st PARTICIPANT
IN BARGE DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
by Eric Durr, The Business Review

The Port of Albany will become the terminus for barge-carried shipping container traffic in February, Gov. George Pataki said Friday.

The Port of Albany will become the first participant in the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Port Inland Distribution Network, the governor said. The two year demonstration project is being underwritten with $3.3 million in state and federal money.

The Port Authority will provide $1.2 million to support the Port Elizabeth, N.J., to Albany barge traffic.

When the service begins in February, barges will make the run up and down the Hudson River twice a week, said Port of Albany general manager
Frank Keane.

Columbia Costal, a New Jersey-based company that runs 13 sea-going barges up and down the East Coast of the United States, has the contract to provide the service.

Columbia Costal is counting on enough traffic heading north to make a profit, said Thomas Delaney, the firm's senior vice president for operations. If there's not enough return traffic to send full containers south from Albany, the company will simply reposition the empties, Delaney said.

Work on turning the Port of Albany into a major shipping container port has been underway for almost two years, said Albany Port District Commission Chairman Robert F. Cross. The state provided money to run rail lines down the river front, as well as $2.4 million to purchase the massive Liebheer Mobile Harbor Crane that will be used to unload the barges.

The final step was obtaining the funding to subsidize the Columbia Coastal service long enough to get a container route established.

The governor's announcement came during a riverside press conference at the port's Albany wharf.

The goal of the Port Inland Distribution Network is to eliminate traffic congestion in the New York/New Jersey area, take some truck traffic off the roads, and reduce air pollution, said Port Authority Chairman Joe Seymour. Albany is the first port to participate in the program but the Port Authority wants to enlist other ports, Seymour said.

The Port Authority will spend $6 million on the inland port initiative.

"This program is a win-win for the Port of New York and New Jersey and its regional port partners," he said.

Other inland ports in Buffalo, Newburgh, Syracuse, and Binghamton may ultimately participate in the program, the governor said.

"All of us together are taking an enormous first step towards economic growth and economic opportunity here in the Capital Region and across upstate," Pataki said.

It's estimated that 20,000 containers will go from the metropolitan New York region to the Port of Albany and back, the governor said. A full barge could carry up to 300 20-foot long containers on each trip, Delaney said.

While the high-tech industry that is going to be moving into the Albany region are important, the governor said, older industries like manufacturing, and then needs of consumers cannot be overlooked, he said.

"Having an inland port that's able to handle this containerized freight right here at the Port of Albany is a huge and very important step forwards," the governor said.

He estimated that the new port services could result in 100 new jobs at the port and the businesses operating there.

Albany Major Gerald Jennings, state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick), Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino, and a number of other area business leaders were on hand for the governor's announcement.

The Port Authority is also discussing establishing inland distribution centers in Salem, N.J. and Camden, N.J.

edurr@bizjournals.com | 518-640-6808

© 2002 American City Business Journals Inc.


Saturday, December 14, 2002

PORT OF ALBANY GETS CARGO DISTRIBUTION DEAL
Albany 100 jobs will be created to handle increase
of goods headed up Hudson
by Erin Duggan, Staff writer

To ease congested ports and highways around New York City and New Jersey, cargo containers will be sent up the Hudson River by barge to the Port of Albany. The port will become the Northeast's first port distribution center, creating at least 100 new jobs and bringing in up to 250,000 extra tons of cargo, Gov. George Pataki said Friday.

``This is an extremely important development,'' Pataki told a crowd of 60 gathered by the water before noon. He said 84 percent of cargo landing in and around New York is loaded onto trucks, clogging highways and polluting
the air.

Pataki, who was joined by Mayor Jerry Jennings and state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, said the new Port Inland Distribution Network will get shipments moved faster, cheaper and with less impact on the environment and communities.

Albany should receive its first container shipment in late February or early March, and more ports across upstate New York and the Northeast are expected to open to create a network for container cargo. Once the cargo lands in Albany, it will be transferred to rail cars or trucks.

The empty cargo containers will be returned to the port, for use by local manufacturers to ship cargo back through New York and New Jersey, said Robert Cross, chairman of the Albany Port District Commission. ``It's really a good balance of trade,'' he said.

Currently, the port handles about 650,000 tons each year of ``break-bulk'' cargo, like grains, cocoa, salt, molasses and other materials that arrive in huge holding tanks, Cross said. The new shipments will be sent to Albany in 20- or 40-ton containers, with up to 300 containers per barge. The new cargo mostly will be finished goods such as electronics, toys and apparel, he said.

Besides employing more workers on the docks and in tugboats, the city should see an increase in money brought in from wharf and dockage fees. Shipments will come into Albany twice a week to start and should increase next year, Cross said.

With American ports under tighter security after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Pataki said he's confident the added cargo won't create any security concerns for Albany. The shipments go through Customs screenings in the major port of entry, before being sent up the Hudson.

In anticipation of the new use of the port, the state gave Albany $750,000 in September 2000 for upgrades to rail lines and switches. Also in 2000, the city purchased a mobile harbor crane that lifts cargo off the boats.

12/23/2002

FIRST REGIONAL PORT IN UPSTATE NY

Use of barges and trains to move cargo will reduce truck traffic, improve the environment and provide jobs and economic activity for the region

The Port Authority has launched a unique barge and rail cargo distribution network that will provide jobs and economic activity for the region, speed the flow of goods to consumer markets in the region and help reduce highway truck traffic. The Port of Albany will become the first Northeast port to participate in the program.

The Port Inland Distribution Network will move containerized cargo by barge or rail between marine terminal facilities in the New York-New Jersey area and regional terminals in New York, New Jersey and three other Northeast states. Local trucking will then be used to bring the cargo from the regional port facility to its ultimate customer location.

New York Governor George E. Pataki said, "This new cargo distribution network will provide major benefits for both upstate and metropolitan New York, including more port-related jobs, less traffic on congested highways and improved air quality. This project will create new jobs, help revitalize the Port of Albany and provide tremendous benefits for New York?s consumers."

New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey said, "When this network is in full operation, it is anticipated to generate approximately $125 million throughout the New Jersey and New York region from new distribution warehousing activities. In addition, 257 dockworker jobs will be created in New Jersey to handle additional cargo containers created by the new network. We look forward to implementing the next phase of this program in South Jersey to boost economic development and job opportunities in that region."

Port Authority Chairman Jack G. Sinagra said, "Our Board believes strongly in this project, and has committed up to $6 million in start-up costs to ensure its success. It will provide significant relief for the region?s highways and will help improve the environment by eliminating large amounts of truck diesel emissions."

Port Authority Vice Chairman Charles A. Gargano said, "This new network will further entice international shippers to call on the Port of New York and New Jersey. It will provide their goods with a quick, cost-efficient conduit to the Port of Albany and other inland locations."

Port Authority Executive Director Joseph J. Seymour said, "This program is a win-win for the Port of New York and New Jersey and its regional port partners. It will efficiently handle future cargo growth and ensure the Port of New York and New Jersey remains the leading East Coast destination for international shippers. At the same time, the program will increase business at regional ports and strengthen the economies of communities just beyond the New York metropolitan area."

The Port Inland Distribution Network will be a new service for containerized cargo such as furniture, clothing and beverages that is now being transported by truck. The regional ports will contract with private barge operators, which will charge shippers for the service. The Port Authority will provide financial support to make the service even more appealing to shippers.

One of the primary goals of the cargo distribution network is to reduce the heavy reliance of port customers on trucks to move cargo. Currently, about 84% of the containers that come in to or go out of the Port are transported by truck. When all of the ports are on line by 2020, the percentage of maritime containers moved by truck could be reduced to 57%. By then, more than 1,000 truck trips a day on New York State roadways would be eliminated due to the Port Inland Distribution Network.

The reduced truck miles traveled also improves air quality by eliminating large quantities of truck emissions. By 2020, it is estimated that hundreds of tons of nitrogen oxides and other pollutants will be eliminated as a result of the cargo distribution network.

In September, the Port Authority Board approved up to $6 million to assist with start up costs for the Port Inland Distribution Network. In addition to Albany, the Port Authority is in negotiations with port operators in Davisville, RI; Bridgeport and New Haven, CT; Camden and Salem, NJ; and Wilmington, Delaware.


© 2000 American Journal of Transportation Inc. All Rights Reserved.