Port of Kalama Comprehensive Plan
June 1, 2015
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Trends & Forecasts
Container traffic in the Pacific Northwest grew steadily through 2005, reaching four million
TEU, but dropped to three million TEU in 2009 during the depths of the recession. Regional
volumes have been recovering since 2009, but not as fast as those at other gateways. (See
Figure 17)
Pacific Northwest ports have lost market share to ports in Canada (i.e. Vancouver and
Prince Rupert) and on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts. From 2000 through late 2014, within the
United States there was a large shift of in U.S.-Asia containerized trade that resulted in a
6.6 percent drop in Pacific Northwest market share. California ports saw a decline of
6.7 percent, while the Gulf Coast market share grew by 2.0 percent; Southeast grew by
4.6 percent and Northeast grew by 6.7 percent.
Vancouver and Prince Rupert have become key competitors for Asian imports destined for
the U.S. Midwest, the primary inland market for Pacific Northwest container ports. The
Canadian ports saw their volume of Asia-U.S. import containers grow from approximately
20,000 TEU in 2000 to more than 520,000 TEU in 2014. Much of this shift of cargo was due to
lower rail costs (pricing) in Canada and the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) in the U.S.
However, some of the shift is also due to lagging terminal productivity.
Portland volumes peaked in 2003 at 334,000 TEU, but dropped to 165,000 TEU in 2014. The
primary issue for Portland is the growing size of container ships and the inability of the
Columbia River channel to accommodate them. In addition, however, productivity at the
terminal has also been a concern
5
. Portland’s main container tenant, Hanjin has decided to end
ship calls at Portland and to instead serve the market via Seattle.
The Ports of Seattle and Tacoma recently agreed to form a new Seaport Alliance that would
unify management of the two ports’ marine cargo terminals and related functions. The goal of
the Alliance is to respond to global competition for container traffic, especially due to increased
competition from ports in British Columbia, Canada and all water routes serving the East/Gulf
coast after expansion of the Panama Canal.
The strength of the competition between the Pacific Northwest and other regions, and the
growing size of container ships, make the container trade a weak market opportunity for the
Port of Kalama.
5
Source: Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor for the Journal of Commerce, “Hanjin confirms it will leave Portland
following two years of labor conflict”, Feb 10, 2015.
Port of Kalama Comprehensive Plan
June 1, 2015
Page 36
Figure 17 – Pacific Northwest Container Trends (1,000 TEUs)
Source: Pacific Maritime Association
Industrial Development
Industrial development in Cowlitz County historically focused on the processing of forest
products, chemicals and related products, but declines in these industries have negatively
impacted the absorption of industrial land in Cowlitz County. Examples include the closing of
the former Longview Aluminum smelter in Longview as well as the closure of several forest
products mills. However, several other industry clusters have emerged as growth
opportunities, including grain exports and metal fabricating, and the Port of Kalama is a strong
player in each of these clusters.
Industrial property at the Port of Kalama has several characteristics that make it attractive
to potential tenants, including:
Existing buildings that are ready to occupy,
Land that is ready to build, with roads and utilities in place,
Excellent access to I-5, mainline rail and water transportation, and
Space for additional buildings.
Continued growth in the Portland/Vancouver area and Central Puget Sound has pushed
many firms to look outside of the metropolitan areas for locations with lower-priced property,
fewer incompatible uses, and less road congestion. With its proximity to both of these markets,
Cowlitz County has been able to attract a number of these firms and can be expected to see
additional growth.
The Port of Kalama properties offer excellent highway visibility and access, as well as
access to the BNSF / UP railroad mainline and the Columbia River. The Industrial Park is open
to light and heavy manufacturing as well as warehouse/distribution. Growth in demand for
Port-related sites or light industrial properties could accelerate development of the Kalama East
Port properties.
0
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3,500
4,000
4,500
2000
2001
2002
2003
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TEUs (1,000
s)
Col Riv OR
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Puget Sound/Wa Coast
Port of Kalama Comprehensive Plan
June 1, 2015
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Other types of industrial development include general warehouse and distribution,
research and development, manufacture of secondary (value-added) forest products, chemicals,
transportation equipment, and recycled goods, among other opportunities.
Commercial, Retail & Related Development
The Port of Kalama is planning a new business park in the East Port area, called the
Spencer Creek Business Park. The site for this development is on the north side of Kalama, and
was annexed by the City in April 2014. The entire property consists of 260 acres, and will be
used to support both business and recreational purposes. An important part of the
development was the replacement of the existing Kalama Fairgrounds and several sports fields
(which were on the site) with the new Haydu Park, one-third of a mile away and three times
larger than the former grounds.
The Port envisions that Spencer Creek Business Park will
encompass about 70 acres (2.8 million square feet) and provide
approximately 500,000 square feet of space when built-out. The
development is being planned to support a mix of light industrial,
office, commercial and retail uses. Site uses may include a variety
of building types such as:
Professional office/flex
Light industrial
Research and development
Commercial/retail
Hotel
Big-box retail
Convenience store
Restaurant
The multi-use business property is expected to boost the area’s economy and job
opportunities while strengthening the city’s revenue base.
The Port owns an additional 132 acres of property adjacent to the Spencer Creek Business
Park, which may be developed to support similar business uses.
Market Overview
The Port is currently initiating marketing plans to further guide development of the
business park. The following section is intended to provide a broad overview of potential
demand for space in Cowlitz County within the next five years (from 2015 through 2019).
Cowlitz County Development
Cowlitz County is included in the Southwest Washington workforce development area
(WDA), along with Clark County and Wahkiakum County. The Washington Employment
Security Department, Labor Market and Economic Analysis Branch, prepares an employment
forecast for this WDA, which projects a net increase of 18,732 jobs between 2014 and 2019. (See
Table 9) This amounts to a compound average growth rate of 2.0 percent per year. The various
The planned Spencer
Creek Business Park will
provide diverse business
and recreation
opportunities.
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