The Port of Oswego Authority (POA), recently opened its 22,000 metric ton grain storage and handling facility to grain deliveries, said William Scriber, POA executive director. And in the same stroke, the operation substantially reduces greenhouse gases while helping Central New York farmers again ship their grain from the Port.
“Because local farmers can deliver their grain locally with a relatively short haul to the Port and water transport, this moves 4, 513 truck trips off the road and equates to almost $95,470 in saved road repair costs in the first five years,” Scriber said. “Ships are the most environmentally friendly way to transport goods.
“For every gallon of fuel per ton of cargo, a ship emits less greenhouse gasses than either truck or rail.”
According to Nate Berg of Greenbiz.com: “Aside from being the cheapest mode (shipping), it’s also the most carbon-efficient method of shipping: A big ship will emit about 0.4 ounces of carbon dioxide to transport 2 tons of cargo 1 mile. That’s roughly half as much as a train, one-fifth as much as a truck and nearly a fiftieth of what an airplane would emit to accomplish the same task.”
Oswego, for many years, was a major player both regionally and nationally in grain exports, Scriber said. “This ended the in the early 1980s, when the Port’s west pier grain silos were demolished. We aim to bring Oswego back to its prominent position as a major Northeast grain exporter to international markets.”
About 100 farmers from Oswego County and Central New York recently made the first deliveries to the Port export center. It’s part of a recent agreement the Port signed with The Andersons, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDE), Maumee, OH, to lease the Port’s 780,000-bushel grain storage facility and export the grain on vessels to Europe and Africa. “Oswego is home to the largest facility of its kind on Lake Ontario and the most technologically advanced handling system in New York State and on the Great Lakes and has an on-site USDA lab. This system can unload a truckload of grain (35,000 lbs.) in less than a minute, and it can load a railcar (100 tons of grain) in just eight minutes. This reduced unloading time allows farmers the ability to flow more grain into the facility.” See the video of a truck unloading grain below:
The Grain Export Center was funded by the New York State Department of Transportation through a $15 million grant. Construction of the facility has involved scores of local workers and tradespeople, Scriber said.
A 2018 economic impact study commissioned by the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership documented that the in 2017, the Port of Oswego supported 209 jobs, $26.7 million in economic activity, $13.8 million in personal income and local consumption expenditures, and $5.8 million in federal and state tax revenue.
“ We are accessible from any international port in the world,” Scriber said. “That’s why we are one of the most productive ports in America, with more than one million tons of cargo—from grain to windmill generator parts— moving through the port on an annual basis. “
The historical port is also home to the Oswego Marina, the H. Lee White Marine Museum, historic maritime district, and fourteen companies that call it home for its domestic and international operations. The Port of Oswego’s strategic location at the crossroads of the Northeastern North American shipping market, puts them less than 350 miles from 60 million people. As one of the most productive ports in North America with nearly 120 vessels and more than one million tons of cargo moving through the port on an annual basis, the Port is a leader not only in domestic shipping, but also international shipping.
For more information, visit www.portoswego.com
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