Document text
3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Another wolf makes its way into Southern Oregon ... Our View: Let Medford voters decide on marijuana sales ... Reopening of the Siskiyou Line means trucking companies will take a hit ... Another wolf makes its way into Southern Oregon ... Our View: Let Medford voters decide on marijuana sales ... Reopening of the Siskiyou Line means trucking companies will take a hit ... SUNDAY FOCUS: SHIPPING FREIGHT Reopening of the Siskiyou Line means trucking companies will take a hit By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 18, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 18, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Twice a day, Larry Smothers heads his Peterbilt truck down Interstate 5, over the Siskiyou Summit to the Roseburg Forest Products mill in Weed, Calif., returning to White City with a load of veneer destined for the Umpqua Valley. Smothers is a driver for F V Martin Trucking Co., a firm that has operated in Jackson County since 1976. When the company expanded operations as the result of a deal with Roseburg Forest Products, it brought on new drivers, including Smothers, who jumped at the opportunity to make short hauls and spend nights in his own bed. "I used to get home two nights a week at the most," Smothers said. "This puts me home every night with weekends off instead of being gone a lot; it's been great." But those regular tours over the summit may soon come to an end for Smothers and fellow transport workers. The Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad is poised to begin operating the entire 296-mile short line between Eugene and Weed next month as the $13 million Siskiyou Summit Railroad Revitalization project nears completion. The resumption of train traffic on the Siskiyou Line south of Ashland means veneer and other wood products destined for points north will be shipped by rail. As a result, F V Martin and other trucking lines may reassign some employees and even lay off others. "With one of my customers going to rail, it will take four trucks off a haul from Weed to White City, two shifts a day," said F V Martin Transportation President Troy Hutchens. "That's eight local drivers and two lift truck operators." Freight service over the summit was discontinued in 2008, leaving Roseburg Forest Products, Timber Products and other regional shippers little choice but to shift their loads to trucks. Since April 2013, F V Martin has shuttled an average of 16 loads, sometimes as many as 20, a day to its yard, where bigger rigs consolidate loads for shipment to Dillard. From 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. or later, the company's truckers are making the hour-and-45-minute-trip to Weed and either loading or unloading in between. When work on a 65-mile summit section, including rail, tunnels, ties and bridges, is completed and GP38 and SD40 locomotives begin pulling 12 to 14 cars a day, trucking schedules will change. "It's going to affect me some, but how much I don't know," Smothers said. "That kind of thing happens in this industry. You can't predict the trucking industry because there are too many factors." F V Martin Trucking revenue will drop roughly $1.5 million, Hutchens said, dollars that would have rippled through the local economy, touching fuel companies, mechanics and others who service trucking operations. "We can find something for those four trucks and drivers to do, but it's going to require a longer haul," Hutchens said. "That's not the job they hired on to do." Beyond that, the company won't necessarily have use for the forklifts without the veneer loads. He understands the economics involved. "I am a very small piece of this pie," he said. "I don't blame my customers, either; for them, it is the right choice." There was a time when Bettendorf Trucking Co. might have taken a hit from rail competition, but for now it won't, said Oregon Operation Manager Steve Coldwell. "In years past, we had more freight going over the Siskiyous that would have been affected by rail going over, but right now there is very little," Coldwell said. "When the shutdown came in 2008, we had a lot of requests to move freight into California, but we're more of a specialized carrier. We primarily move wood chips and solid waste. Our California divisions move a very little amount into Medford." Nonetheless, Coldwell expects local trucking firms to see less demand on roads paralleling the Union Pacific-owned tracks. "I think it will have a ripple effect," he said. "But it's a kind of wait-and-see thing. This has happened a few times over the past 25 years, where freight lines were discontinued over the Siskiyous. But I think the biggest impact will be on flatbed carriers." Per-mile costs are less by rail, making it an attractive option to some Southern Oregon shippers, said Tony Orton, a freight forwarder and third-party logistics agent in Medford. "There is going to be a pull from local carriers, but to what degree, I don't know," Orton said. "There is going to be a cost savings versus over-the-road trucking, in spite of the fact (diesel) fuel is coming down." Rail will remain a small portion of the overall transportation picture. "You can't put everything on rail," Orton said. "Trucks are going nonstop between their 10-hour breaks. Trains are stop-and-go. Then there is the jolting from stops and hooking up cars. Anything that is delicate, such as electronics, isn't good to move on rail." The bigger challenges for the industry, Orton said, are finding drivers, updating fleets to meet changing emission standards and adjusting to regulations governing driving hours. In 2016, everyone will be mandated to go to electronic log books. "Trucking rates will be going up, so the gap between rail and truck rates will be going up," Orton said. "Obviously, the railroad people have done their homework, otherwise they wouldn't have reinstated service." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31 , and read his blog at www.mailtribune.com/EconomicEdge . By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 18, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501