b'14American Journal of Transportation ajot.com(HARMFULcontinued fromthe machinists union local that page 10) representstouchlaboratthe be able to substantially increasefactory,calledthemovejust their own prices and still retainanother in a string of bad deci-the entire market, wrote econo- sions Boeing has made that fails mistsDebraAron,Ph.D.,andto capitalize on the strengths of Justin Lenzo, Ph.D., with Charlesour workforce.River Associates. Businesses of all sizes engaged in e-commerceC oStlyo vErhEAdwould suffer the consequences ofBoeingsaiditwillkeep higherpackagedeliveryprices.building787sinWashington Thoseconsequencesincludeuntil it lowers output to a six-reducedvolumeofsalesofairplane monthly rate sometime e-commerceproductsandcon- nextyear.Butbyspreading sequently lower profits to e-com- Everettscostsoverasmaller mercebusinesses.Consumers,productionbasebymid-2021, in turn, would pay higher pricesthecompanyriskscreatinga for e-commerce products as thefinancialdragthatlowersthe cost of higher shipping costs areprofitsoftheremainingwide-passed on by businesses. body programs and its mainstay Raisingpackagepricescommercial business.would force the Postal ServiceLonger term, Boeing could toexititsprofitablepackagelook to put its next new jetliner delivery business, depriving theintoEverett,whetherthats Postal Service of tens of billionsanarrow-bodyormid-sized of dollars in revenue. wide-body,saidRobertSpin-Imposingapackagetaxgarn, an analyst at Credit Suisse would harm businesses and con- Group AG.sumers who would face higherHe said the 787 is unlikely SC Ports Inland Port Greer bustles with activity about 220 miles northwest of the Port of Charleston via interstatepricesandfewerchoices.Ato return to its original home in highways or Norfolk Southern rail.(Photo credit: Craig Lee, South Carolina Ports Authority) package tax would act as a dragEverett,eventhoughtheNorth onecommercegrowth,costingCharleston facility only has the (BOOMINGcontinued fromWelch Terminal. about half of the Greer rail lifts,small businesses tens of billionscapacitytomanufactureseven page 8) Newsome said, while recent addi- in lost sales and profits. jetsamonthhalfofBoeings r EtAilb ringing P ortv olumES tor iSE5tionsinUpstateSouthCarolinaConsumers would be forcedtotalDreamlineroutputatthe d ivErSiFiCAtion P ErCEnt includeEastCoastdistributiontopayhundredsofbillionsofstart of the year. If demand for Walmartsoperationsarehubs for tiremaker Michelin anddollars to private express deliv- wide-bodyjetseverrebounds Enhancedcapabilitiesforprojected to increase the Port ofFirst Solar Inc., the nations largestery companies for the same orenoughtonearpre-pandemic distribution for retail customersCharlestons annual containerizedsolar module manufacturer. diminishedpackagedeliverylevels, the company would prob-are crucial to the sustained suc- cargo volume by about 5 percent. First Solar is among com- services they enjoy today fromably build a second assembly line cess of SC Ports, according toTobalancetheheightenedpanies benefiting from the Portthe Postal Service. in South Carolina, Spingarn said.Newsome. importbusiness,SCPortsisofCharlestonsaccesstosuchTheonlybeneficiariesofIdontthinkthisreloca-Tocontinuetogrow,welooking to plastic resins and otherglobalmarketsasVietnam,such a policy would be the pri- tion is an optimal outcome. This knewwehadtodiversifyourtransload opportunities to add towhere First Solar has factories,vate express delivery companiesis not something they wouldve cargo base, including focusingexport volumes. Four local resin- and its overnight rail link to thethat directly compete against thedone otherwise, Spingarn said. onretaildistribution,New- packagingoperationsFron- Port of Charleston. PostalService. AscitedintheThisisreactive.Itsneces-some said. tierLogistics,A&RLogistics,Michelin recently decided topaper,independentinvestmentsary. They fortunately have the While megaretailer WalmartA&RBulk-PakandMid-Statesmove finished tires through Inlandbank analyses confirm that pri- benefit of multiple locations to is the first company to commitPackagingwill fill a combinedPort Greer for its nearby 3-million- vate carriers could generate bil- dothis,buttheyrelookingat to a Ridgeville Commerce Park75,000 export containers a year,square-footdistributioncenter.lions in windfall profits. excess capacity.facility, it is expected to be joinedaccording to Newsome. This builds off Michelins exist-by numerous other firms in build- SCPortsalsoisdevelop- ing supply chain partnership withA ngryg ovErnoring distribution hubs on availableingadditionalexportbusiness,SC Ports; Michelin began moving(SNUBScontinued fromTheshifttoSouthCarolina sites at the port-owned commerceincludingtransloadingofagri- raw materials through Inland Portpage 12) had been widely expected, given park,whichisneartheinter- cultural goods and forest prod- Greer in 2015. by sapping demand for flights,Boeingsinvestmentinabrand-change of north-south Interstateucts,sothatcontainerlinesespeciallyontheinternationalnewcampus,afterexecutives 95 and east-west I-26 and just updonthavetoshipemptycon- i nnovAtivE , C rEAtivE routespliedbywide-bodyjetsrevealedinJulythattheywere Norfolk Southern Railway trackstainers back, he said. F ACility such as the Dreamliner. studying consolidation of Dream-from Port of Charleston marineIts a really, really innova- liner production in a single site. terminals. A rail shuttle is part ofi nlAndP ortSF louriShing tive and creative and successfulC ontrovErSiAlP lAnt Even so, the decision was panned eventual, future plans. SC Ports inland port facilitiesinland port, Newsome said ofBoeings 787-only factory inbyWashingtonGovernorJay F EdErAlF undSg iving are vital to moving goods to andInland Port Greer. More than 90North Charleston has been contro- InsleebeforeBoeingofficially from Charleston as well, accord- millionconsumerslivewithinversial since inception more thanannounced it.b ooSt ing to Newsome, who commented,a 500-mile radiusor one-daya decade ago, when senior leadersThe move would jeopardize FederalofficialsalsoareWeve believed in expanding thetruck tripof Inland Port Greer. includingthen-ChiefExecutiveabout 1,000 jobs, Inslee said in sold on the Ridgeville Commerceport-type infrastructure to the inte- SCPortssecondremoteOfficer Jim McNerney were chaf- astatement,andwouldforce Park and the role it bodes to playrior of the state.hub, Inland Port Dillon, openeding at a lengthy machinists unionthestatetotakeahardlook in retail supply chainsso muchGreer has been a rousingin2018justoffI-95nearthestrike that hobbled manufacturingatthecompanysfavorabletax sothattheU.S.Departmentofsuccess, he said, citing 150,000SouthCarolina-NorthCarolinaaround Seattle. treatment.Wehaveaskedthe TransportationannouncedSept.annual rail lifts now taking placeline,about130milesnorthofQualityissuesattheplantBoeing Company multiple times 16 that it has awarded SC Portsat SC Ports Inland Port Greer,Charleston. The Dillon facility,drew the attention of U.S. regu- what it needs to keep 787 produc-a $21.68 million Better Utilizingwhichopenedin2013aboutserved by CSX rail, has Harborlators, and came to the fore againtion in Washington, Inslee said.InvestmenttoLeverageDevel- 220 miles northwest of Port ofFreight Tools as its anchor clientin recent weeks as Boeing wasThis move would signal an opment(BUILD)granttobeCharleston docks via overnightand is seeing about 35,000 con- forced to ground eight Dream- allegiance toshort-termprofits usedforimprovementsonandrailthroughNorfolkSouthern.tainer moves a year. linersbecauseofpotentiallyandWallStreetnotquality, near the commerce park. IntheGreenville-SpartanburgWebelieveinexpandingdangerous structural weakness. safety and a vision for the future On-site improvements backedmetropolitan area, the Greer siterail, Newsome said. Its oneAbout 1,000 mechanics andof the industry, he said.bythefederalgrantincludeais just off I-85 between Atlantaofourinitiatives,becauserailelectriciansassembleDream-2-mileindustrialaccessroad,and Charlotte. expandsthereachofaport,linersinEverett.BoeingalsoC AShb urnas well as a 20-acre truck chas- BMW, with a major automo- and thats critical to support ouremploysmanufacturingandBoeingChiefExecutive sis and empty container storagetive plant in Greer, accounts forgrowth. industrialengineerswhopro- Officer Dave Calhoun and Chief yard.Off-siteimprovementsvide daily support on the factoryFinancialOfficerGregSmith include widening S.C. Highwayfloor, and design engineers whosaid in July that the company was 27 to provide better access andconfigure airplanes to each cus- reviewingitsoperations,over-traffic fluidity between the proj- tomers specifications. headandfacilitiesandfocus-ect site and Interstate 26.Its not clear how many engi- ing spending on critical areas as Noting that SC Ports fore- neers might lose their jobs. Manyit faces a market thats likely to sightedly bought the 1,000-acreof them support multiple airplaneremain depressed for years.Ridgevillesitefrom WestRockprograms and Boeings Work LifeEven before the pandemic, in2018,foraveryreasonablecomputer system has been bedev- Chicago-basedBoeingwas $16millioninvestment,New- iledbyglitchesasthecompanyembroiledincrisisandscandal some said, That really gave uscarries out large-scale layoffs, saidbecause of two deadly crashes of the footprint that we could turnSPEEA,anengineeringunionits best-selling 737 Max jet, which around and offer to Walmart forwith 17,600 members. hasbeengroundedsinceMarch this facility. WebelieveBoeingis2019.Boeingcouldseeastag-Walmartisalsoservedbymaking a mistake, said SPEEAgering $23.3 billion cash outflow a TradePort Logistics transloadSC Ports inland port facilities in Greer and Dillon, South Carolina, is eachExecutive Director Ray Goforth. thisyear,accordingtoMelius facilityatSCPortsWandolinked to the Port of Charleston via overnight rail service. JonHolden,presidentofResearch analyst Carter Copeland.'