Three main rivers running through the Pacific Northwest—the Columbia River, Willamette River and the Snake River—all support the livelihood of our communities, economy, recreation and quality of life. More than 40,000 jobs in the Pacific Northwest exist because of our strong maritime commerce. And tons and tons of Pacific Northwest grain is being transported by barges traveling over these thoroughfares on their way to the Port of Kalama for export to communities around the globe.
Because of this efficiency and proximity to Pacific Rim customers, farmers in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington use the ports on the Snake River to send their wheat to deep draft ports like the Port of Kalama on the Columbia River. From there, grain is loaded onto ocean-going ships to feed consumers around the world. Check out this video of how Washington wheat is expertly transported through the river system to destination grain terminals like those at the Port of Kalama.
It’s kind of a big deal!
Did you know that the Port of Kalama is an internationally-renowned marine terminal and home to some of the most efficient grain export facilities on the west coast? Temco LLC stores and handles grains like corn, soybeans and wheat for export from the Pacific Northwest to ports around the world. Today, 50 million tons of cargo travel up and down the Columbia River.
The Columbia River is the third largest grain export gateway in the world, exporting more than 50% of the nation’s wheat. At the Port of Kalama, the Temco terminal handles up to 250 million bushels of grain per year and employs 120 local workers loading as much as 2 million bushels of grain every 24 hours.
Together, Port of Kalama companies and facilities employ 1,024 individuals, reported nearly $10 million in marine terminal operating revenues and accounted for nearly 14 million tons of grain exports in 2017.
Temco leases export facilities and terminals at the Port of Kalama providing a long-term revenue stream to the Port of Kalama that pays for infrastructure investments and other high-return economic activity. Such investments are part of the Port’s comprehensive plan to ensure that the jobs and local opportunities at the facilities continue long into the future.
Our River. Our Livelihood. Our Quality of Life.