Port of Kalama Comprehensive Plan

Port of Kalama Comprehensive Plan 

June 1, 2015 

 

Page 35 

Trends & Forecasts 

Container traffic in the Pacific Northwest grew steadily through 2005, reaching four million 

TEU, but dropped to three million TEU in 2009 during the depths of the recession.  Regional 

volumes have been recovering since 2009, but not as fast as those at other gateways.  (See 

Figure 17) 

Pacific Northwest ports have lost market share to ports in Canada (i.e. Vancouver and 

Prince Rupert) and on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts.  From 2000 through late 2014, within the 

United States there was a large shift of in U.S.-Asia containerized trade that resulted in a 

6.6 percent drop in Pacific Northwest market share.  California ports saw a decline of 

6.7 percent, while the Gulf Coast market share grew by 2.0 percent; Southeast grew by 

4.6 percent and Northeast grew by 6.7 percent. 

Vancouver and Prince Rupert have become key competitors for Asian imports destined for 

the U.S. Midwest, the primary inland market for Pacific Northwest container ports.  The 

Canadian ports saw their volume of Asia-U.S. import containers grow from approximately 

20,000 TEU in 2000 to more than 520,000 TEU in 2014.  Much of this shift of cargo was due to 

lower rail costs (pricing) in Canada and the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) in the U.S.  

However, some of the shift is also due to lagging terminal productivity. 

Portland volumes peaked in 2003 at 334,000 TEU, but dropped to 165,000 TEU in 2014.  The 

primary issue for Portland is the growing size of container ships and the inability of the 

Columbia River channel to accommodate them.  In addition, however, productivity at the 

terminal has also been a concern

5

.  Portland’s main container tenant, Hanjin has decided to end 

ship calls at Portland and to instead serve the market via Seattle. 

The Ports of Seattle and Tacoma recently agreed to form a new Seaport Alliance that would 

unify management of the two ports’ marine cargo terminals and related functions.  The goal of 

the Alliance is to respond to global competition for container traffic, especially due to increased 

competition from ports in British Columbia, Canada and all water routes serving the East/Gulf 

coast after expansion of the Panama Canal. 

The strength of the competition between the Pacific Northwest and other regions, and the 

growing size of container ships, make the container trade a weak market opportunity for the 

Port of Kalama. 

                                                 

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  Source:   Bill Mongelluzzo,  Senior Editor  for the Journal  of Commerce,  “Hanjin confirms it  will leave Portland 

following two years of labor conflict”, Feb 10, 2015. 

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Port of Kalama Comprehensive Plan 

June 1, 2015 

 

Page 36 

Figure 17 – Pacific Northwest Container Trends (1,000 TEUs) 

 

Source:  Pacific Maritime Association 

Industrial Development

 

Industrial development in Cowlitz County historically focused on the processing of forest 

products, chemicals and related products, but declines in these industries have negatively 

impacted the absorption of industrial land in Cowlitz County.  Examples include the closing of 

the former Longview Aluminum smelter in Longview as well as the closure of several forest 

products mills.  However, several other industry clusters have emerged as growth 

opportunities, including grain exports and metal fabricating, and the Port of Kalama is a strong 

player in each of these clusters. 

Industrial property at the Port of Kalama has several characteristics that make it attractive 

to potential tenants, including: 



 

Existing buildings that are ready to occupy, 



 

Land that is ready to build, with roads and utilities in place, 



 

Excellent access to I-5, mainline rail and water transportation, and 



 

Space for additional buildings. 

Continued growth in the Portland/Vancouver area and Central Puget Sound has pushed 

many firms to look outside of the metropolitan areas for locations with lower-priced property, 

fewer incompatible uses, and less road congestion.  With its proximity to both of these markets, 

Cowlitz County has been able to attract a number of these firms and can be expected to see 

additional growth. 

The Port of Kalama properties offer excellent highway visibility and access, as well as 

access to the BNSF / UP railroad mainline and the Columbia River.  The Industrial Park is open 

to light and heavy manufacturing as well as warehouse/distribution.  Growth in demand for 

Port-related sites or light industrial properties could accelerate development of the Kalama East 

Port properties. 

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

TEUs (1,000

s)

Col Riv OR

Col Riv WA

Puget Sound/Wa  Coast

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Port of Kalama Comprehensive Plan 

June 1, 2015 

 

Page 37 

Other types of industrial development include general warehouse and distribution, 

research and development, manufacture of secondary (value-added) forest products, chemicals, 

transportation equipment, and recycled goods, among other opportunities. 

Commercial, Retail & Related Development 

 

The Port of Kalama is planning a new business park in the East Port area, called the 

Spencer Creek Business Park.  The site for this development is on the north side of Kalama, and 

was annexed by the City in April 2014.  The entire property consists of 260 acres, and will be 

used to support both business and recreational purposes.  An important part of the 

development was the replacement of the existing Kalama Fairgrounds and several sports fields 

(which were on the site) with the new Haydu Park, one-third of a mile away and three times 

larger than the former grounds.   

The Port envisions that Spencer Creek Business Park will 

encompass about 70 acres (2.8 million square feet) and provide 

approximately 500,000 square feet of space when built-out.  The 

development is being planned to support a mix of light industrial, 

office, commercial and retail uses.  Site uses may include a variety 

of building types such as: 



 

Professional office/flex 



 

Light industrial 



 

Research and development 



 

Commercial/retail 



 

Hotel 



 

Big-box retail 



 

Convenience store 



 

Restaurant 

The multi-use business property is expected to boost the area’s economy and job 

opportunities while strengthening the city’s revenue base. 

The Port owns an additional 132 acres of property adjacent to the Spencer Creek Business 

Park, which may be developed to support similar business uses.  

Market Overview 

The Port is currently initiating marketing plans to further guide development of the 

business park.  The following section is intended to provide a broad overview of potential 

demand for space in Cowlitz County within the next five years (from 2015 through 2019). 

Cowlitz County Development 

Cowlitz County is included in the Southwest Washington workforce development area 

(WDA), along with Clark County and Wahkiakum County.  The Washington Employment 

Security Department, Labor Market and Economic Analysis Branch, prepares an employment 

forecast for this WDA, which projects a net increase of 18,732 jobs between 2014 and 2019.  (See 

Table 9)  This amounts to a compound average growth rate of 2.0 percent per year.  The various 

The planned Spencer 

Creek Business Park will 

provide diverse business 

and recreation 

opportunities.  

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