CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS URGED TO USE MISSISSIPPI; PORT DIRECTOR SAYS RIVER VITAL SOURCE FOR MOVING GOODS

Participants in a five-state economic development conference were urged Thursday to take advantage of the Mississippi River as a vital transportation resource and a link to international markets.

"We're sitting on the biggest interstate system in the country," said Allan Maki, executive director of the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority, in reference to the Mississippi. Being part of the inland waterways system gives everyone the opportunity to be an international seaport, he said.

Maki delivered the keynote address at the annual Quinstate Economic Development Conference Thursday and today at Southeast Missouri State University.

Maki focused his remarks on the potential of the river for transportation and the role it can play in reaching international markets.

The port director pointed out that there are 25,000 miles of inland waterways in the United States, with 10,000 miles of that system along the Mississippi River. Missouri has 700 miles of inland waterways, more than any other state.

He said that in 1988, 560 million tons of cargo moved along this river, which is more than all other types of transportation combined. Seventy percent of all grain in the United States comes down this river.

Maki said 220 million tons of cargo passed by the SEMO Port last year along the Mississippi. Had the river not been here, Maki said it would have been impossible to move that cargo along the highway system.

"If you took that cargo and loaded it on semi-tractor-trailers there would be a line 40,000 miles long of bumper to bumper traffic," explained Maki.

There are 32,000 miles in the state highway system in Missouri, so that means there would be gridlock on every state highway and a line 8,000 miles long waiting to get into the state, he said.

Besides taking much of the traffic load off highways, Maki said it is much cheaper to ship by barge. To go from the SEMO Port to New Orleans costs $25 per ton to ship by truck; $15 per ton to go by rail; and just $5 a ton to go by barge.

It also takes less fuel to ship by river. One gallon of fuel in a truck will move one ton 52 miles; one gallon of fuel by rail will move a ton 200 miles; and on the river, one gallon will move a ton 400 miles.

However, Maki stressed that while it is cheaper, shipping by river is not for everything because of the time involved. While a truck can get from here to New Orleans in about 12 hours, it takes five days to go down river to New Orleans and 10 days to go up river.

The economic impact of the river in Missouri is major, Maki said, pointing out that there are 67,000 river-related jobs in the state with a $2.67 million impact on the economy.

Maki urged conference participants to be creative in their thinking about economic development opportunities and to be aggressive in pursuing their ideas.

"Even though it is a recessionary time, it is a time for opportunities if you are creative and aggressive," said Maki.

He said that with improved technology it is easier for companies to set up small operations around the country. If a company starts small in a town and finds a good workforce and gets good results, it is likely to expand, Maki said.

On Thursday afternoon, conference participants toured the Missouri Dry Dock, Lone Star Industries, and the port authority.