UTAH INLAND PORT AUTHORITY

BRINGING SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS

Whether it was at the grocery store or your local car dealership, you likely witnessed something missing from the shelves or showroom at some point during the last year. Supply chain disruptions have impacted all of us in one way or another and shown us how vulnerable we are to a broken logistics system.

With demand for consumer goods reaching record highs in 2021 and on pace to skyrocket even higher, the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) is taking steps to address the immediate crisis of goods shortages and higher consumer prices while charting a new course for the future of the logistics industry.

“It’s important to understand that logistics and the infrastructure around logistics don’t create growth; they follow growth,” said UIPA executive director Jack Hedge. “Our goal is to make those logistics systems cleaner, smarter, and more efficient. That may seem obvious, but it’s not traditionally how the U.S. has approached logistics. The U.S. lacks a national strategy for transportation and goods movement.”

But now the industry is coming together to transform the nation’s supply chain with a new model that aligns ocean carriers, ports, rail, cargo owners, and other key industry stakeholders to reduce fragmentation of cargo destinations. “With the anticipated trade growth, the only way that you will be able to accommodate the growth is by increasing velocity,” said Andrew Hwang, manager of maritime business development and international marketing for the Port of Oakland.

Increasing velocity starts with partnerships to bring international containers further inland by rail to be sorted and sent to consumers. Those containers can then be returned to the coast full of exports. Utah’s geography places the state at the strategic crossroads for this model, and the Port Authority’s expertise and relationships have put Utah at the center of the conversation.

“This is now a national crisis,” said Dr. Noel Hacegaba, deputy executive director at the Port of Long Beach. “This is why partnerships with the Utah Inland Port Authority, Union Pacific, Valor Victoria, Port of Oakland, and others are so important. It’s so critical that we all recognize that we’re part of a broader system.”

To facilitate UIPA’s more than two dozen partnerships, the statewide multimodal logistics agency has several projects in process focused on the efficient movement of goods. Today, 90% of the goods that come into this market arrive by longhaul truck. UIPA’s new transloading facility allows some of that cargo to shift to rail, providing a relief valve for coastal ports and eliminating 300 trucks for every 100 train cars.

Trucking still remains an integral part of the logistics system, and the Port Authority is helping address current issues facing the industry. Today, Salt Lake City sees more than 300 trucks parking overnight on the streets. UIPA is developing truck parking facilities that offer a secure location where truck drivers can plug in auxiliary units, reducing idling and eliminating 45 tons of emissions per year.

Improving the visibility of cargo containers is also key to the next generation of logistics. Approximately 30% of transactions in the supply chain are recorded manually, and recorded data is often siloed. UIPA’s intelligent crossroads network is the first private 5G/LTE system dedicated to the supply chain. This new generation of innovation provides comprehensive data aggregation of freight movement that will identify inefficiencies and inform decision-making for cargo owners.

Utah Inland Port Authority’s mission to bring smart, sustainable solutions to the national supply chain is transforming trade patterns for the benefit of all of Utah — helping goods movement today and improving quality of life tomorrow.