‘Moving Minnesota to Market by Water’

A St. Paul think tank is looking to raise awareness of the merits of marine shipping for commercial goods in Minnesota.

Shipping grain, minerals and other commodities on river barges is an efficient, environmentally friendly and relatively cheap way for Minnesotans to ship goods, according to “Safe, Clean and Efficient: Moving Minnesota to Market by Water,” a report by Minnesota 2020.

“I think most people don’t know much about water-born freight,” the report’s author Conrad deFiebre told the R-E Wednesday.

Before becoming a fellow at Minnesota 2020, deFiebre reported on transportation issues for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

In the report, deFiebre says there are numerous benefits to marine shipping over other forms of transportation.

Among them is that Minnesotan’s get a good bang for their buck. deFiebre notes the federal government pays for much of the maintenance to commercial waterways. Marine transportation is safe, both to people and the environment, he writes. He notes marine transportation is more fuel-efficient than truck and rail.

“A lot of people see barge traffic and think it’s a big polluter, and the exact opposite is true,” deFiebre said.

He states without barge traffic there would be at least 2.9 million additional semitrailer loads on Minnesota roads and there would be 665,000 more railroad cars traveling the state to make up the difference.

deFiebre also points to data from the National Transportation Safety Board, citing that transporting cargo by rail and truck led to 1,000 deaths nationwide in 2009. That same year marine shipping resulted in 19 deaths.

In the report, deFiebre takes issue with those who would seek to cut funding for state’s port facilities.

While marine transportation dipped last year — Red Wing for example, shipped 735,000 tons of cargo in 2009, compared to its five-year average of 785,494 — deFiebre expects marine shipping to rebound.

“The state should not give up support of this valuable resource for Minnesota’s economy,” deFiebre said. “It deserves sustained, prudent attention to whittle down the backlog of needed improvements.”

Tags: river, minnesota, outdoors, business