Article published May 23, 2008
Intermodal future is now
THE Toledo area could be ideally suited to become a major "intermodal" freight and transportation center for much of the United States and Canada - provided we have the sense to be bold and work together to make the best of our assets.
While the city hasn't been booming in recent years, the area has one big advantage: location, location, location. We sit on a Lake Erie seaport that leads to the St. Lawrence Seaway, and at the intersection of three interstate highway systems. The area includes a major railroad center with airline transportation within easy access. Thirty percent of the nation's industrial base is within a day's drive.
The big question: Can the area's political and business leaders cooperate to get everyone working together and to get the job done? That's been a long-standing problem.
But now, there are a few glimmers of hope that the region may be poised to capitalize on its potential. If so, the area could become a transportation hub and a real force in the fast-changing global trade industry. If so, Toledo could overhaul its image and economy, and generate jobs.
To be sure, it will take more than visionary thinking at the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, where the authorities think hundreds or even thousands of transportation jobs at the Port of Toledo and elsewhere may not be beyond reach.
The port demonstrated that it intends to be a major player in the region's future when it announced this week that it paid $3.4 million for 181 acres at the old Gulf Oil refinery site from Chevron Corp. That made it the owner of the largest land mass of any Great Lakes port. Now, the agency will lease the property to Midwest Terminals of Toledo. The hope is that it will grow into a bustling intersection where ships, trucks, and trains interface.That vision is a long way from reality, but getting there could be vital to our economic survival. The region has been struggling to redefine itself in the wake of the fading automotive and manufacturing industries. Sometimes there has been good reason to fear that Toledo would be left in the rust-belt dust.
But we do have some visionaries. Local real estate developer Brian McMahon is looking to Fort Worth, reasoning that since it changed its economic base, Toledo can too. When the U.S. military vacated Fort Worth, the local airport was developed into an inland port. Now it's a major distribution center for the lower half of the nation.
If dusty Fort Worth could do that, why not us? Here's another sign that this can work: Toledo Express Airport already is the national hub for BAX and Schenker, the German air freight company. So it's not outlandish to imagine airport property becoming an intermodal port, where consumer goods are transferred from one mode of transportation to another. For this to work, area transportation systems are going to have to collaborate to benefit from their close proximity, as Toledo can no longer afford to act as though they are thousands of miles apart.
But there is no longer any room or tolerance for procrastination or failure. In a best-case scenario, an intermodal inland port here could attract export and import firms, boost the local economy, and remove some of the frustration involved in getting international and domestic consumer goods and products to their destinations. It's hard to tell so early how many jobs would be generated in various modes of transportation, distribution networks, and warehousing. But what is clear is that however many there are, our area surely needs them.
This type of opportunity doesn't come often, and time doesn't stand still. We have a choice. Toledo could be on the leading edge of the transportation future - or a cautionary tale that defines what happens when opportunity knocks, but is either ignored or bungled.
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