CAMROSE, Alta. – They’re looking for a few good ideas.
And if the Port of Prince Rupert gets them, Peace River country farmers may have a secondary way of getting grain to port.
“We need somebody who’s interested in some imports,” said port spokesperson Gene Ludwick about developing truck delivery to the northern British Columbia port. “It all depends on the availability of backhauls.”
A group of farmers trucked grain from the Peace country to the port last spring. While the delivery went well, it’s too costly to do regularly, unless truckers can find a load to bring back on the return trip, they say.
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Since the first truck deliveries, the grain terminal has turned one rail delivery line into a truck delivery point at a cost of about $100,000, Ludwick said.
Calling all importers
Now the port is calling for entrepreneurs to import through Prince Rupert products that Peace River truckers could haul back.
“That could be coffee beans in bags, rice, or whatever,” said Ludwick.
One trucking operation hauls grain to the port and picks up wood products at Burns Lake, B.C., which it then hauls to Edmonton.
Pelletized screenings have also been carried back, Ludwick said.
But more imports are going to be needed to make truck delivery more than just a sporadic event.
“It’s one of those things where you can do it, but you can’t make any money unless you get a backhaul,” he said.
Even if a backhaul system can be set up, Ludwick said Prince Rupert has no illusions trucks will replace trains. It would take more than 200 b-train trucks to equal the grain carrying capacity of a single train.
But it might be an option producers want, he said.
If the system starts backing up in November, another truck haul might occur, Ludwick said.
