North Carolina studies inland port
Benefits that an inland port might bring to the economy of western North Carolina will be assayed in a study getting underway.
About $250,000 has been set aside for the study, which will be performed by AdvantageWest and the Institute for the Economy and Future of Western Carolina University.
AdvantageWest is one of seven regional economic development agencies in North Carolina and encompasses 23 counties in the western part of the state, including the city of Asheville.
Funding for the study was appropriated by the North Carolina legislature ($100,000), and the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center ($40,000), with $110,000 from the federal government’s Appalachian Regional Commission, which also encompasses western North Carolina.
The commission has adopted a strategy “to connect a relatively economically disadvantaged region to world markets through a network of inland ports that would facilitate movement of products between the region and seaports,” said Michael E. Smith, an associate professor of management and international business at Western Carolina University.
“Wise investments could potentially allow improved transportation services while minimizing adverse impact by providing for more efficient utilization of transportation infrastructure,” he said. “An inland port may contribute such advantages by supporting shipments utilizing multiple modes of transportation” and perhaps warehousing and light manufacturing.
Dale Carroll, chief executive officer of AdvantageWest, said the idea is to see if an inland port could help boost the local economy, which has been hard hit in recent decades by the decline in the furniture, textile and garment industries.
He said a goal is to see if an inland port might help boost advanced manufacturing companies that have opened in the area in recent years. These include a large Volvo plant, which makes construction equipment, and several defense contractors.
Carroll also noted that an inland port could be well situated to serve businesses in the greater Atlanta region, in Tennessee cities such as Chattanooga and Knoxville, or in the Ohio Valley.
Both CSX and Norfolk Southern have lines in the region. It is also traversed by Interstate 40, which travels from Wilmington, N.C. to California, and I-26, which travels from Charleston into the Ohio Valley.
The North Carolina State Ports Authority supports the idea of the study. The authority has two inland terminals, one in Charlotte from which it operates a “sprint” truck service to its marine terminal in Wilmington, and one in Greensboro, which is operated by Bridge Terminal Transport, the truck drayage arm of A.P. Moller. ' Chris Dupin
