Having multimodal access is important because shippers want to immediately move product off ships to rail via hopper or tank car. There is also growing consideration -- given fuel costs, capacity issues, and emissions concerns -- for offloading product to barge for all-water movement elsewhere.

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Shippers can reduce transportation costs, especially for bulk commodities, by moving product through a port -- particularly one that has multimodal opportunities such as barge, rail, and truck.

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