Providing more reliable, predictable, and cost-effective shipping for the Mid-Valley

For more than a decade, shippers in the Willamette Valley have recognized the need for an intermodal facility in the Mid-Willamette Valley, south of Portland congestion, to move containers between truck and rail. Even when container shipping through Terminal 6 at the Port of Portland was a viable option, shippers recognized the need for a Mid-Willamette Valley Intermodal facility. In 2015, as container shipping slowed at the Port of Portland and shipping lines stopped calling at the port, the Oregon Shipping Group was formed to advocate for solutions on behalf of Oregon shippers. A primary alternative to the Port of Portland brought up time and time again by shippers has been the need for a Mid-Willamette Valley Intermodal facility.

In 2015, in response to the decline in shipping options available to Oregon exporters and importers, Governor Kate Brown launched the International Trade and Logistics Initiative. As part of that initiative, studies were carried out by Business Oregon to evaluate options for shippers, including a study as to the feasibility of an intermodal facility in the Mid-Willamette Valley. The Oregon Shipping Group utilized that feasibility analysis and additional research to advocate on behalf of private sector importers and exporters during the 2017 legislative session for grant funding toward a Mid-Willamette Valley intermodal facility. As part of a historic transportation package for Oregon, the 2017 legislative assembly appropriated $25 million for the development of a “Mid-Willamette Valley Intermodal Facility.”

The Brooks Intermodal and Transload Facility Project Plan demonstrates that the best location for this Mid-Willamette Valley intermodal facility is Brooks, Oregon.

1. An ocean carrier which designates Willamette Valley as a container yard will have more customers because shippers will want to use a yard which is closer to them and reduce the need to rely on trucks.
2. Ocean carriers will benefit because moving containers by rail between the Willamette Valley and Seattle/Tacoma eliminates uncertainties caused by traffic congestion, and opens up capacity at the ports.
3. Ocean carriers will benefit from the visibility we give them through our outreach to the community. Our Willamette Valley facility will recruit shipper customers for the ocean carriers using our facility. We will be your partners. 
4. Both the ocean carriers and the shippers will benefit from better predictability of rail schedules. Many Oregon shippers still move their product by truck between the Willamette Valley and Seattle/Tacoma and this causes congestion in the port areas.
5. Ocean carriers who use the Willamette Valley facility will not only save money through efficiency and less congestion but will also make more money because more shippers will use this system compared to trucks on the highway.
6. Importers and exporters will prefer our facility because we will be open 7 days a week and 24 hours a day and we will allow the efficient exchange of containers without having to go to another facility.
7. Congestion in Portland and Seattle and Tacoma will get worse, not better. Truck driver availability will be lower, not higher. Our Willamette Valley facility provides an answer for now but an even stronger answer for the future.