ST. LOUIS, MO - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Washington State University teamed up at FreightWeek STL to present the findings from recent research efforts aimed at modeling the prioritizing of agriculture transportation infrastructure improvements that support specific export supply-chains to increase exports, in this case soybeans and soybean products. The research, sponsored by the USDA, aims to identify a modeling approach that could be utilized to prioritize national, regional and local transportation infrastructure investments that increase market access to the global soybean market. The session featured robust discussion with attendees, who included transportation stakeholders and representatives from the commodities sector, economic development agencies and other interested stakeholders.

Moderator and presenter Eric L. Jessup, Associate Professor, Washington State University School of Economic Sciences, began the session by noting that their research project and modeling approach hopes to answer the question of how the U.S. should invest in its freight infrastructure to remain competitive in the global market place, and he presented a series of statistics that illustrate just how important investment in our nation’s infrastructure is becoming. Among those statistics: 32% of major roads are in poor or mediocre condition; 42% of major urban highways are congested, and 11% (one in nine) of the nation’s bridges are structurally deficient.

“Despite the obvious need, we’re currently spending 10% less in real terms on improving our infrastructure compared to the mid-1980s,” said Jessup. “Brazil and Argentina are investing more heavily in enhancing their infrastructure and continuing to grab a larger percentage of the global soybean export market.”

He shared information regarding four projects they have identified and run through their modeling approach, one of which just happens to the Merchants Rail Bridge, replacement of which is the St. Louis region’s top priority infrastructure project. Co-presenter Suzette Galinato, Research Associate, Washington State University School of Economic Sciences, showed how the modeling revealed the Merchants Bridge serves an area that draws significant soybean volumes from the upper Mississippi River Valley and also highlighted the significant volume of commodities flowing down the Mississippi River to the gulf ports. While the Merchants Bridge doesn’t carry a significant volume of soybeans, the findings reinforce the strategic location of the Merchants Bridge at the center of America’s heartland and underscore that it is a critical bridge with national significance.

Galinato noted that soybean exports represent the highest valued agricultural exported commodity from the U.S., with annual exports totaling $25.4 billion, and 59% of that product is exported through the central gulf ports. Soybean exports utilize both truck-barge through the Gulf of Mexico and truck-rail to ports in the Pacific Northwest to access markets in China.

“The world soybean trade is expected to increase by 33% through 2027, and that represents opportunity for the St. Louis region to help move a greater share of that product as it makes its way from America’s heartland to the Gulf of Mexico for export to China and other countries,” said Mary Lamie, executive director of the St. Louis Regional Freightway, which partnered with The Waterways Journal/Inland Marine Expo (IMX) and the Institute for Trade and Transportation Studies (ITTS) to host the inaugural FreightWeek STL conference and events.

This modeling for the soybean exports will be combined with the findings from similar studies in other areas looking at the supply chains for tree nuts, wheat and broilers (young chickens), and the consolidated findings will be presented at an Ag Summit in Washington, D.C. on July 26th.

During the workshop, Jessup also called attention to the online Freight Data Warehouse that Washington State University has created and made available to the public at http://ses.wsu.edu/fpti/freight-data-warehouse/.

“We are compiling, documenting and providing visibility into a wealth of information we’ve been able to gather from USDA, USDOT, the Dept. of Energy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and many others,” Jessup said. “The interactive website allows users to plug in information on shipping different types of commodities from point A to point B by a variety of different modes, such as truck, rail, barge or ocean freight, and to get historic data for comparison purposes.”

The inaugural FreightWeek STL, held May 21 – 24, brought together freight and transportation experts as well as exhibitors from around the country to share ideas and collaborate on the forward movement of America’s growing freight industry. Attendees also had ample opportunity to gain firsthand exposure to the St. Louis region’s enviable location as the epicenter of American logistics.