Intermodal Briefs: Rocky Mountain Rail Park, Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, PANYNJ

Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
Rendering of Rocky Mountain Rail Park.

Rendering of Rocky Mountain Rail Park.

Rocky Mountain Industrials, Inc. (RMI) engages JHL Constructors, Inc. (JHL) to begin construction of Rocky Mountain Rail Park's northern parcel. Also, container dwell fee at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is put on hold through Oct. 21; and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) reports facility volumes for August 2022.

RMI

Colorado-based infrastructure company RMI announced on Sept. 22 that it has continued the engagement of design-build partner JHL to begin the infrastructure and rail construction on the northern phase of the company’s Rocky Mountain Rail Park after the “successful completion” of the southern parcel.

The project’s 620-acre footprint, currently under advanced construction, “will provide Class I mainline rail access to uniquely service the heavy industrial market in the Denver Metro area,” RMI says.

According to RMI, JHL began construction on the project’s southern property in late 2021 and will continue services on its northern parcel through completion in mid-2024. The 470-acre northern development, RMI says, “will provide significant private rail infrastructure, including both unit-train and manifest operating capabilities, rail related ancillary services, and large lot size options.”

“The RMI team is pleased to engage a well-respected Colorado-based organization. JHL has impressed since day one, and I appreciate the continuity with phase two on the North, making our vision a reality for the Denver market,” said RMI CEO Brian Fallin.

“JHL is humbled by RMI’s continued partnership on the North Parcel where we will be building up to 18 miles of rail, a water treatment plant, a wastewater treatment plant, and other significant infrastructure construction,” JHL Vice President Robert Wahl.

Both rail and non-rail served lots are currently available for lease or purchase throughout construction in 2022.

Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

The San Pedro Bay ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced on Sept. 23 that they will postpone consideration of the “Container Dwell Fee” for four weeks, until Oct. 21.

Since the program was announced on Oct. 25, 2021, the two ports say they have seen a combined decline of 52% in aging cargo on the docks.

The executive directors of both ports will reassess fee implementation after monitoring data over the next month. Fee implementation has been postponed by both ports since the start of the program. The Long Beach and Los Angeles Boards of Harbor Commissioners have both extended the fee program through Oct. 26.

Under the temporary policy, ocean carriers can be charged for each import container dwelling nine days or more at the terminal. Currently, no date has been set to start the count with respect to container dwell time.

The ports plan to charge ocean carriers $100 per container, increasing in $100 increments per container per day until the container leaves the terminal.

Any fees collected from dwelling cargo will be reinvested for programs designed to enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity and address congestion impacts.

The policy was developed in coordination with the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and multiple supply chain stakeholders.

PANYNJ

PANYNJ announced Sept. 23 that volumes across the agency’s facilities in August 2022 remained at or below pre-pandemic levels, except for the seaport, which handled a double-digit increase of cargo volume compared to pre-pandemic August 2019. The seaport, PANYJ says, was the busiest in the nation in August and marked 25 straight months of monthly cargo growth.

The latest facility operating volumes for August 2022 are detailed below. According to the agency, PATH’s total ridership in August 2022 increased to about 54% of its August 2019 total ridership. At the seaport, 24.1% more total cargo moved through the port in August 2022 compared to the volume handled during pre-pandemic August 2019, making the month the busiest August in the port’s history and the PANYNJ as the busiest in the U.S. for the month of August.

Traffic at the bridges and tunnels in August 2022 was “essentially flat” compared to August 2019; and air passenger volumes in August 2022 were 94% of pre-pandemic August 2019 volume.

PANYNJ has included monthly data comparisons below of August 2022 to the month prior to provide further insight into facility trends. Comparing August 2022 to July 2022, PATH ridership increased 5.6%; cargo movement at the seaport was up 8.6%; traffic at the bridges and tunnels increased by less than 1%; and the volume at the airports increased 3%.

PATH:

  • PATH reported 3.8 million riders in August 2022, which was 53.8 percent of PATH’s total ridership in pre-pandemic August 2019.

  • Compared to July 2022, August 2022 total ridership increased by 5.6 percent.

Port:

  • The Port of New York and New Jersey moved 843,191 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in August 2022, marking the busiest August in the seaport’s history and placing the port as the No. 1 port in the nation in total containers handled for the month. The month also marked more than two years of consecutive monthly record-high activity. August 2022 cargo volume increased by 24.1 percent compared to August 2019.
  • Cargo volume increased by 8.6 percent compared to July 2022, when the seaport handled 776,167 TEUs.

Tunnels, Bridges & Terminals (TB&T):

  • In August 2022, the Port Authority’s four bridges and two tunnels handled a total of 10.8 million eastbound vehicles, which was similar compared to the pre-pandemic August 2019 level of 11 million vehicles.
  • August 2022 volumes increased less than 1 percent over the previous month’s volumes when comparing average daily traffic. Automobile traffic was similar to July 2022, while truck traffic increased 9.4 percent.

Airports:

  • In August 2022, the Port Authority’s airports handled a total of 12.5 million passengers, which was 94 percent of pre-COVID August 2019 volumes.
  • Airport passenger volumes increased 3 percent from July 2022, when the airport served 12.2 million passengers.
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