The following is a list of trade and transportation studies the Port of Portland has either funded or helped develop.
The study, performed by Economic Research Group (EDRG), seeks to address the need to apply new methods in order to differentiate transportation projects that are particularly critical for business and economic growth, by asking: (a) why it makes sense to give weight to freight movement and critical business routes in the evaluation and prioritization of transportation investments, and (b) how a methodology and process can be implemented to appropriately take consideration of critical freight and business activities in the decision-making process. The Port of Portland partnered with the Portland Business Alliance on this study.
Executive Summary (PDF)
Detailed Report (PDF)
The state's economy is transportation dependent, with over 400,000 Oregon jobs or 1 in 5, dependent on the transportation systems for their operation. Oregon is the 9th most trade dependent economy in the United States and a gateway to global markets. Despite Oregon's excellent rail, marine, highway and air connections to national and international destinations, projected growth in freight and general traffic cannot be accommodated on the existing system. Increasing congestion and travel time delay statewide will significantly impact the state's ability to grow and maintain jobs and our quality of life. This study, commissioned by the Port of Portland, Portland Business Alliance, Oregon Business Council, and other businesses and agencies statewide, examines the impact of congestion and traffic delay to twelve of Oregon's major businesses and evaluates the cost to our state economy.
Executive Summary (PDF)
Detailed Report (PDF)
The Working Harbor Reinvestment Strategy is a 10-year program of coordinated public investments in the economic vitality of the working harbor industrial districts. The strategy will focus on land, work force and public infrastructure improvements that stimulate private industrial reinvestment. The strategy is being prepared as an economic development component of the River Plan, North Reach - a comprehensive plan of the land along the Willamette River in Portland and includes investments in northwest Portland, Linnton, lower Albina, Swan Island and Rivergate by the city of Portland, Portland Development Commission, and the Port of Portland.
Business interviews are a part of the strategy. Conducted by staff in 2006, the interviews included business and property owners and other industry stakeholders in the harbor area, with the purpose of identifying expansion opportunities, harbor area advantages and constraints, and industrial priorities for public investments. Here are conclusions distilled from the interviews:
- Industry is expanding and reinvesting in the harbor districts.
- Overcommitted rail appears to be the area's most pressing competitive need.
- Road congestion is widely affecting industry.
Working Harbor Reinvestment Strategy (PDF)
Martin Associates, a Lancaster, PA-based economics research and consulting firm, conducted an economic impact study of the Port’s marine, aviation, and industrial park activities for calendar year 2006. The Port has periodically conducted these analyses of its maritime, aviation, and industrial park activities to quantify its contribution towards its mission of enhancing the region’s economy and quality of life.
To better inform Port business planning and provide input into the regional planning processes, a consortium of agencies commissioned the following study of trade patterns affecting the Portland/ Vancouver region. The information from the analyses will provide input into regional planning efforts.
Executive Summary (PDF)
Detail Report (PDF: 2 MB)
Portland boasts excellent air, highway, marine and rail connections to national and international destinations. Businesses have located in the greater Portland area to benefit from our transportation advantages and, as a result, the region’s economy is largely transportation-dependent.
However, projected growth in freight and other types of traffic cannot be accommodated on the region’s current transportation infrastructure. As congestion increases so do the potential impacts to our region’s ability to sustain a robust economy and our cherished quality of life.
To better understand the challenges posed by increased traffic congestion, the Port of Portland, the Portland Business Alliance and Metro commissioned a study to provide base-line information about the relationship between investments in transportation and the region’s economy.
Detail Report (PDF: 10 MB)
The terminal access study was conducted during 2004/05 to address how Portland International Airport should accommodate all passenger terminal area access modes (including pedestrians, bicycles, buses/vans, light rail, private vehicles, and rental cars) as the airport grows from approximately 12.4 million annual passengers (MAP) in 2003 to 23 MAP in the future. This study is an update of the 1994 Terminal Access Study which addressed similar growth issues to accommodate the then assumed 20 year growth forecast to approximately 18 MAP in 2013. The primary need for this update is based on the findings of the 2000 PDX Master Plan (Decentralized Alternative, Phase 1), as well as 1) new mode choice patterns resulting from the opening of regional light rail transit service to the terminal in 2001; 2) changes in passenger time of arrival, re-circulation, and parking usage patterns due to Federal security requirements as a result of September 11, 2001; and 3) changes resulting from the increased volume of low-fare airline passengers and reduction of international service. After much analysis and input from stakeholder groups, this study results in forwarding two terminal landside growth concepts to be further evaluated against airfield and terminal needs in the upcoming PDX Master Plan update.
Detail Study (PDF: 15 MB)
The Portland International Airport Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan represents two elements of the Port’s alternative mode strategy at PDX. The plan includes policies, strategies, and facility maps that together reflect the Port of Portland’s intent regarding how we plan to incorporate bicycle and pedestrian facilities into development at PDX.
Detail Plan (PDF: 1 MB)
Efficient and interconnected transportation networks are a key component in the health and growth of business today. While many appreciate the importance of shipping, trucking, and air cargo to the regional economy, the role of freight rail in this new dynamic is not as explicit.
The Port commissioned a study to better understand freight rail´s role in the Oregon economy and its impact on the state´s industries. The study considers industries´ needs and public policy opportunities to enhance choices for the state´s shippers.
Detail Study (PDF: 4 MB)
The Port of Portland commissioned the following study so it could better understand the value-added segment of the distribution industry's contributions to the region, and better estimate the overall industry's need for industrial land in the future. The study confirms the significant positive impacts that modern distribution-center operations have in the region. The study found the region's value-added distribution segment created nearly $810 million in personal earnings and paid $88.6 million in taxes to state and local governments in 2003. Because Portland serves as a major gateway to international trade, the city's percentage of total employment in the transportation, distribution and logistics sector ranks as one of the highest in the nation. With freight growing faster than the population, this sector will play an increasingly important role in this region's economy.
Detail Study
In 2002 Metro, the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Port of Vancouver USA, the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council, and the Port of Portland cooperatively funded a project to estimate current regional freight volumes and predict future volumes by commodity type by mode. The project contained two distinct, yet related elements: an update to the region´s most recent commodity flow forecast (conducted in 1999) and a forecast of waterborne cargo by commodity moving on the lower Columbia River anywhere between the mouth of the Columbia and the Portland and Vancouver harbors. Both forecasts shared data for waterborne cargo movements and were therefore reconciled so that the forecasts were consistent.
Lower Columbia River Cargo Forecast - Final Report
Commodity Flow Forecast - Final Report
Responding to concerns regarding the availability of industrial land in the Portland metropolitan region, a number of public- and private-sector organizations in the Portland-Vancouver area co-sponsored an industrial lands study to analyze the situation.
Conducted between 1998 and 2001, the study involved three phases and three reports:
The first phase of the report included focus-group research of stakeholders to solicit opinions about industrial land availability and industry location considerations from six perspectives: geographic, warehousing/distribution, business park/flex space, manufacturing, large campus industrial, and land use/environmental/agriculture interests. The results are included in the following report, which can be accessed by clicking the following link:
The Industrial Lands Focus Groups - Phase 1
The following study is a detailed, site-specific look at the region's industrial land supply. It identifies a 20-year industrial land need; provides a detailed inventory of vacant zoned industrial land; qualifies the vacant industrial land supply into tiers of development readiness; and determines there is a lack of "development ready" industrial land to accommodate the expected job growth.
The Phase 2 final report is available on Metro's Web site. The report can be accessed by clicking the following link:
Regional Industrial Lands Study for the Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Area - Phase 2
The following report contains potential policies that can increase the supply of development-ready industrial land.
Phase 3 of the study undertook the following:
- Analyzed the feasibility, strategies and potential impacts of converting development-constrained land inside the urban growth boundary into development-ready land.
- Analyzed the costs, tradeoffs, and impacts of creating new development-ready industrial land outside the urban growth boundary.
- Compared the costs and development issues for case-study sites inside and outside the urban growth boundary.
- Identified policy issues that should be considered to enhance industrial land supply to meet the region's job growth projections.
The Phase 3 report is available on Portland State University's Institute for Portland Metropolitan Studies' Web site. The report can be accessed by clicking the following link:
Regional Industrial Land Study - Phase 3
The following plan is a compilation of road, rail, waterway, transit, bike, pedestrian and transportation demand management projects that have been identified through transportation and other studies managed by or in coordination with the Port. The plan also identifies the Port’s transportation project priorities.
Updated annually and approved by the Port of Portland Commission, the PTIP provides a long-range vision of transportation improvements that support the Port's mission.
2008 Final Plan
(PDF: 14.6 MB)
2007 Final Plan (PDF: 8.4 MB)
2006 Final Plan (PDF: 9 MB)
As part of an ongoing regional discussion on the availability, quality and cost of servicing industrial land, the Port of Portland, Metro, the Portland Development Commission and the Portland Bureau of Planning sponsored a Brownfield/Greenfield Development Cost Comparison Study. Using a case study approach, this paper evaluates and contrasts the costs of industrial development on brownfield and greenfield sites in the Portland metropolitan region. Proposed industrial uses for the study included an industrial park, high tech manufacturing, warehouse/distribution, and general industrial. The case studies are based on a pro forma analysis of a physical layout and development of each industrial use on individual brownfields and greenfields.
The study presents findings and conclusions based on each proposed land use and discuses opportunities to affect the policy, regulatory and funding framework for industrial brownfield redevelopment at the state, regional and local level.
Executive Summary (PDF: 2 MB)
Detail Study (PDF: 19 MB)
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