Director's Message
Our Oregon Shipping Group continues to work on a variety of projects designed to enhance shipping capability and services for Oregon businesses. Some projects are moving quickly and others involve longer term activity and impact. The key to our work ethic is to be flexible. We can focus on projects which are “hot” for the short term but we are continuing to develop information for long term projects.
In a nutshell: our goal is to make Oregon farms and other businesses competitive by giving them efficient, cost-effective, and reliable shipping systems so they can meet their own production needs and so they can meet the needs of their clients.
In connection with this, our vision is to enhance and develop the Oregon transportation system so as to take advantage of current capability, including our geography here on the Pacific Coast. We should plan to be a major import and export state not only for Oregon businesses but for all of the interior states and even our neighbors to the North and South.
We have 28 shortline railroads. We strive to support these shortline railroads, so their lines can be improved and their connections structured with one and another and with the first class railroads. Our coastal ports, especially Coos Bay, Newport and the mouth of the Columbia River, need to be dynamically developed with excellent road and/or rail connections so we can make best use of their capability for importing and exporting cargo.
Our most immediate project is to assist in the development of a preliminary proposal for an establishment of an intermodal facility in the Mid-Willamette Valley. There is a December 15th deadline for preliminary proposals to be submitted. I welcome comments and ideas from all of our friends as we proceed with this.
Sincerely,
Kevin L. Mannix
Director
Oregon Shipping Group
