This is what we are competing with. Canadians need to give their collective heads a shake.
Either we start a real build out of infrastructure... Not water treatment plants and hockey rinks....
Or we will be left in the dust.
In sum, Argentina is making great efforts to rejuvenate its rail systems. Modernization efforts seem to be resulting in significant performance improvements and a substantial shift in traffic from motor to rail service. The United States, on the other hand, is relying somewhat less on its extensive rail network. Recent figures indicate that motor transportation has replaced rail as the preferred mode for movements from the elevator to processor or export port locations.
Water Transportation
The significance of motor and rail operations in all three settings has been clearly demonstrated but water transportation cannot be overlooked. Table 2 shows that approximately 20 percent of all U.S. grain movements from the point of consolidation to the processor or export port location are made by barge. In addition, more than 90 percent of U.S. grains moved by barge are ultimately destined for export markets. Barges serve as the primary mode of export movement for U.S. corn and soybeans (rail maintains a 60 percent share of wheat export movements). The use of waterways for export delivery is even more pervasive in South America.
Argentina and Brazil are currently looking to expand their already extensive network of navigable inland waterways. Significant investment in recent years extends the reach of barge and vessel traffic inland from the deep rivers of the region's major port cities along the Atlantic coast. Perhaps the most ambitious, and certainly the most controversial, of all South American transportation developments is the creation of the Rio Paraguay-Rio Paran� Hidrovia. The Hidrovia, or "water highway," is a multinational effort to extend the reach of inland navigation from Uruguay's Nueva Palmira to C�ceres in the Mato Grosso region of western Brazil, spanning 3,442 kilometers through all four Mercosur nations (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) as well as Bolivia. The extensive dredging and realignment in South American rivers is anticipated to have a significant economic impact on producers and carriers alike. It is estimated that transportation costs for upstream shippers will be cut in half by using the river system rather than rail or truck.
Progressive barge carriers in Argentina are already achieving considerable efficiencies within the nation's current network of navigable waterways. Foreign investment has dramatically expanded barge and towing capacity while also improving the navigability of large tows. Satellite tracking and guidance systems are helping South American barges to operate with efficiencies on a par with those of the United States. U.S. shippers and barge operators, on the other hand, are concerned with an aging waterway infrastructure. After several decades of extensive use and reliance on the river system for efficient bulk materials movement, the rivers are in need of renewed attention. Special concern is directed toward the aging lock system of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi serves as the backbone of efficient grain movement in the United States. The proximity of growing areas for corn and soybeans to the Mississippi and its tributaries make the system imperative for low cost exporting. The ability to quickly and efficiently access port facilities located at the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana has proven critical to the export success of these U.S. crops.
Either we start a real build out of infrastructure... Not water treatment plants and hockey rinks....
Or we will be left in the dust.
In sum, Argentina is making great efforts to rejuvenate its rail systems. Modernization efforts seem to be resulting in significant performance improvements and a substantial shift in traffic from motor to rail service. The United States, on the other hand, is relying somewhat less on its extensive rail network. Recent figures indicate that motor transportation has replaced rail as the preferred mode for movements from the elevator to processor or export port locations.
Water Transportation
The significance of motor and rail operations in all three settings has been clearly demonstrated but water transportation cannot be overlooked. Table 2 shows that approximately 20 percent of all U.S. grain movements from the point of consolidation to the processor or export port location are made by barge. In addition, more than 90 percent of U.S. grains moved by barge are ultimately destined for export markets. Barges serve as the primary mode of export movement for U.S. corn and soybeans (rail maintains a 60 percent share of wheat export movements). The use of waterways for export delivery is even more pervasive in South America.
Argentina and Brazil are currently looking to expand their already extensive network of navigable inland waterways. Significant investment in recent years extends the reach of barge and vessel traffic inland from the deep rivers of the region's major port cities along the Atlantic coast. Perhaps the most ambitious, and certainly the most controversial, of all South American transportation developments is the creation of the Rio Paraguay-Rio Paran� Hidrovia. The Hidrovia, or "water highway," is a multinational effort to extend the reach of inland navigation from Uruguay's Nueva Palmira to C�ceres in the Mato Grosso region of western Brazil, spanning 3,442 kilometers through all four Mercosur nations (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) as well as Bolivia. The extensive dredging and realignment in South American rivers is anticipated to have a significant economic impact on producers and carriers alike. It is estimated that transportation costs for upstream shippers will be cut in half by using the river system rather than rail or truck.
Progressive barge carriers in Argentina are already achieving considerable efficiencies within the nation's current network of navigable waterways. Foreign investment has dramatically expanded barge and towing capacity while also improving the navigability of large tows. Satellite tracking and guidance systems are helping South American barges to operate with efficiencies on a par with those of the United States. U.S. shippers and barge operators, on the other hand, are concerned with an aging waterway infrastructure. After several decades of extensive use and reliance on the river system for efficient bulk materials movement, the rivers are in need of renewed attention. Special concern is directed toward the aging lock system of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi serves as the backbone of efficient grain movement in the United States. The proximity of growing areas for corn and soybeans to the Mississippi and its tributaries make the system imperative for low cost exporting. The ability to quickly and efficiently access port facilities located at the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana has proven critical to the export success of these U.S. crops.
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