b'22American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comInland ports are rising INLAND PORTS 2024Inland ports are trending upward as seaports invest in inland location to leverage efficiencies and a plat-form for growth to handle rising TEU volumes.By George Lauriat, AJOTInlandportsarerising.LLC(IRG),aLosAngeles Naturally,inlandportshavebased industrial realty group. alwaysbeenafundamentalWhiletheintermodalramp feature of the American portis the key offering, there is a systemwhetherthosebuild it and they will come ports are located on the Mis- quality to the ports concept. sissippi-MissouririversinByhavingtherailfacility the center of the country, orand connection, the idea is it theGreatLakeportsinthewillattractbothshipperand north or the hundreds of portsmanufacturerstotheregion. located in bays and estuariesThe port is also designated as on the coasts.a tech hub which could help But a new version of thespur development.inland port is rising, and it isAnd the race to build inland basedonrailandroadcon- connections has begun to rise in nectionstothesea.Inlandthe Gulf as well.In September portsaretransitioningintoaGulfInlandLogisticsPark, multi-dimensionalgatewaymanagedanddevelopedby whichaugmentsotherfacets(RISINGcontinued on of the supply chain, buildingpage 24) Barge traffic on Mississippi River at St. Louis, MO. resilience into the system. In a sense the new inland ports are industrialorlogisticsparks but with keener connection to the port structure itself.r ail is thek eyFor example, the St. Louis Regional Freightway is home toanumberofmultimodal terminalsservedbytruck-ing, rail and even barge trans-portation. The wide range of options in turn has attracted manufacturersandshippers to invest in the region.[For more information see Brenda SilvasarticleSt.Louis intermodalbusinessinvites investment August 19, 2024, issue 768 page 10]. Another similar inland port venture is the Utah Inland Port Author-ity [See Chris Barnetts arti-cleTheUtahInlandPort Authority (UIPA) is building thenationsmostcompre-hensive intermodal network August21,2023,issue756 page2].Likethecaseof the St Louis Freightway ter-minals,therailconnection, Union Pacific (UP) in UIPAs case, is the transportation ele-mentthatpullstheconcept together.ThisenablesUIPA towidentheirmarketbasin both north and south as well astheeast-westrunofthe railroadconnectingtothe mega-West Coast ports.AndtheUIPAisntthe onlyinlandporttakingaim attheWestCoastports. ThePortofNevadaopened itsdoorsthisyearoffering directintermodalservicefor imports and exports between Fernley,Nevada(located34 milesfromReno)andthe PortofOakland,California. The 224-acre Port of Nevada is the result of the ports col-laboration with Union Pacific Railroad(UPR),theCMA CGM Group and the Port of Oakland.Thedistancefrom the Port of Nevada to the Port of Oakland is about 240 miles. The Port of Nevada facility is ownedandbeingdeveloped by the Industrial Realty Group'