North Dakota Exports Journey Further and Faster with Intermodal Service
In partnership with: North Dakota Department of Agriculture
North Dakota leads the nation in the production of important agricultural commodities such as beans, canola, durum wheat, flaxseed and honey, among others. In 2020, the state expanded shipping capabilities by strategically supporting the Minot Intermodal Facility. It allows for the centralized, direct loading of containers on rail for transport increasing North Dakota export opportunities.
“What our producers and farmers have been asking for years is more in-state options for shipping their products to international markets,” says Brekka Kramer, Minot Area Chamber Economic Development Corporation (EDC) president and CEO. “This benefit is now available.”
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The Minot Intermodal Facility at the Logistics Park of North Dakota provides an alternative for producers, processors, miners and shippers of farm goods, minerals, manufactured products and more.
After nearly two decades of effort, this intermodal service has come to fruition via collaboration by the Minot Area Chamber EDC, City of Minot, North Dakota congressional delegation, North Dakota Trade Office, private industry, state legislators, and the state departments of Agriculture, Commerce and Transportation, as well as key partnerships with the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), BNSF Railway, and Rail Modal Group, the operator of the Minot Intermodal Facility.
A key strategic advantage for shipping through the Minot Intermodal Facility is the fact that the BNSF Railway delivers loaded unit-trains directly to docks at two terminals in Seattle, Washington. As a result, costs are reduced for producers and shippers because goods have fewer touchpoints.
All Aboard
Kramer says having regular containerized service out of Minot has allowed both longtime export producers and export novices to employ another reliable choice. To date, 13 shippers have utilized the facility for North Dakota exports.
“This has included shipments of DDGs (distiller’s dried grains) from ethanol plants, byproducts from sugarbeet cooperative plants, products destined for international markets made directly in Minot and many others,” Kramer says.
Relatively young shippers are embracing the opportunity to test run single containers to new markets. That’s something that would not have been financially feasible if it weren’t for the facility’s centralized and accessible location, according to Kramer.
“The Minot Intermodal Facility at the Logistics Park of North Dakota provides easy access from all four directions, thanks to U.S. Highways 2, 52 and 83, all going through Minot – within just a few miles of the facility,” Kramer says. “The operator, Rail Modal Group, is an NVOCC (non-vessel operating common carrier) and can provide a range of options for shippers and producers when it comes to taking their North Dakota product to international buyers.”
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On Track for Shipping
North Dakota exported $5.2 billion worth of goods in 2022, an increase of 22% since 2012, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
Thanks to the launch of the Minot Intermodal Facility, North Dakota commodities and products are now shipped in containers from in-state to ports in more than 21 countries, including Brazil, Chile, Japan, Indonesia, Peru, Spain, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
Kramer reports that in the first three years of operation led by Rail Modal Group, 74 full unit-trains with more than 15,000 40-foot containers and over 850 20-foot containers were shipped to the West Coast.
The Minot Intermodal Facility at the Logistics Park of North Dakota is praised as the first successful project under the NWSA’s Inland Rail Hub Strategic Initiative. Plus, it was also the Economic Development Association of North Dakota’s Development Project of the Year in 2022.
Future plans include increasing the regular service at the Minot Intermodal Facility from three or four unit-trains released in a month up to five or six unit-trains released in a month by the end of 2024. Additional storage and transfer facilities are also being built on-site to accommodate this growth allowing for more opportunity for North Dakota exports.
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