Port districts are responsible for luring big industry to Eastern Oregon, though not all ports are equal. The Port of Umatilla, Port of Morrow and Port of Arlington are each situated along the Columbia River, facing their own unique struggles and successes.
Jerry Simpson hears the comparison made by residents, who wonder how 20 miles of river can make such a big difference.
By any metric, the Port of Morrow has seen remarkable growth over the past 25 years including a recession-busting 88 percent growth rate between 2006 and 2011. Port related businesses now employ about 4,000 people and generate nearly $1.5 billion annually for the local economy.
Both ports have industrial parks situated along the Columbia River, with districts that encompass adjacent counties that rely primarily on agriculture and natural resources. Yet the Port of Morrow has blossomed into Oregon’s second-largest port district behind only the Port of Portland. And it’s the state’s largest single owner of vacant industrial land. The Port of Umatilla, on the other hand, hasn’t seen the same kind of growth.
Simpson, a Port of Umatilla commissioner for 30 years, is quick to praise the success of their downriver neighbors, but says comparing the two isn’t entirely fair.
“They can offer a lot down there for processors and manufacturers,” Simpson said. “It probably will not be the same, but there are other niches we’ll be able to fill. I feel good things are going in the right direction.”
Every port district in Oregon is tasked with boosting local economic development and trade, leveraging their own unique resources and geography to lure new industries into town. Along the Mid-Columbia, the ports of Umatilla, Morrow and Arlington are close on the map, but are faced with different obstacles and advantages throughout the basin.
All three ports were established decades ago to help farmers ship grain and livestock downriver. It wasn’t until the completion of the federal Columbia hydro system and introduction of center pivot irrigation that specialty crops, such as potatoes and onions, could be grown on a large scale in the desert.
Irrigated agriculture has since become the hallmark industry of western Umatilla and Morrow counties and food processing plants were quick to follow. But processors need more than just raw product: they need the right land, utilities and flexible transportation to get those value-added goods to market.
Nowhere has that infrastructure come together like it has at the Port of Morrow. Started in 1958, the Port of Morrow is actually Oregon’s youngest port district. General Manager Gary Neal was hired in 1989 and immediately saw potential to grow.
With ample power, water, fertile ground and a Union Pacific main line converging on one location, Neal said companies have everything they need to sign on the dotted line. It’s up to the port, however, to invest in infrastructure to make sure the land is shovel-ready when they get there.
“I learned early on that if I wanted to have a serious conversation with a client … it’s a show-me process,” Neal said. “When you see a bare piece of ground out here, those businesses will typically keep on moving until they find someplace that can deliver.”
The port continues to upgrade roads and rail in the East Beach Industrial Park, which has become all the more crucial as ocean carriers dump Portland and make river barging less economical. Meanwhile, a new freezer warehouse should be finished June 1 to assist processors like Lamb Weston, which cut the ribbon on a $200 million expansion last year.
