BLS & Co. Project Director Michelle Comerford was quoted in this Inbound Logistics article on 'Port Services and Solutions'. Read Michelle's full insights below.
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The Inland Ports Alternative
The terms "inland port" or "dry port" may seem like oxymorons. Don't ports, by their nature, need to be near water?
Not exactly. Inland or dry ports refer to the rail infrastructure from a seaport to an inland location, with a goal of relieving port congestion, says Michelle Comerford, project director, and industrial and supply chain practice leader with Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Company, a location economics consulting firm. The idea is to "remove the bottleneck at the water's edge," she adds. As a result, inland ports can be located miles from any body of water.
As container traffic has swelled, finding road networks to get products in and out of ports has become increasingly challenging, Comerford says. In addition, the land near seaports tends to be both limited and costly.
Inland ports allow shippers to access the services of a port without being right next to it. Inland ports also allow companies to locate their products closer to their markets, Comerford says.
Michelle Comerford is the Industrial & Supply Chain Practice Leader at Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Co., one of the largest, most highly regarded site selection and incentives advisory firms in North America. BLS & Co. helps manage the complexities associated with finding optimal location and securing incentives to support new ventures. Michelle has recently been published in fDi Magazine, Inbound Logistics, Trade & Industry Development, Supply & Demand Chain Executive, among others.