The Port of Portland is the port district responsible for overseeing Portland International Airport, general aviation, and marine activities in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the United States.
The 16th Oregon Legislative Assembly created the Port of Portland in 1891. The current incarnation was created by the 1970 legislature, combining the original Port with the Portland Commission of Public Docks, a city agency dating from 1910.
The Port of Portland owns four marine terminals, including Oregon’s only deep-draft container port, and three airports. The Port manages five industrial parks around the metropolitan area, and they own and operate the Dredge Oregon to help maintain the navigation channel on the lower Columbia and Willamette rivers.
History
19th century
In 1891, the Oregon Legislature created the Port to dredge and maintain a shipping channel from the city of Portland to the Pacific Ocean. Through the years, the Port acquired the Commission of Public Docks, which operated public-use docks in Portland Harbor, and they built Portland's first airport.
20th century
The Port of Portland's administration was embroiled in questionable business practices in the early 1930s. Port authorities, including James H. Polhemus, the general manager of the port from 1923â€"1936, were found guilty of mismanagement, both through conflict of interest and cronyism, as well as negligence, sale of equipment at lower than assessed prices, carelessness, and preferential treatment of some private shippers. Much of the blame was because of discounted rates for using the port's dry dock. Companies specifically named as beneficiaries of this graft were McCormick Steamship Company and States Steamship Company. The investigating committee called for the resignation of Polhemus and other staff.
On November 20, 1933, shortly after the commission found Polhemus and his staff guilty, professional auditor Frank Akin was found shot to death. His murder was never solved, leading to many conspiracy theories. In mid-December, the Port commissioners voted to reject the investigating committee brief, meaning Polhemus was exonerated. Polhemus stayed with the Port for another three years before becoming a vice president at Portland General Electric. MacColl summarized the events in 1979, saying this:
21st century
In 2010, the port signed a 25-year lease to allow Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services to operate Terminal 6, the sole shipping container terminal in Oregon. Workers at the terminal claimed that ICTSI "decimated labor relations with its Portland workforce by creating a work atmosphere of hostility, based on a model of employee intimidation that is ICTSI's method of operation around the world." In February 2014, a safety inspection at Terminal 6 by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration "found ICTSI Oregon to be in violation of more than a dozen worker safety codes, such as not informing employees about potential exposure to airborne lead and having workers operate machinery that lacked proper guards against flying objects." OSHA imposed fines of $18,360 against ICTSI Oregon for the violations. Hanjin, a South Korean-based shipping line which accounted for 78% of all container traffic to the Port of Portland, stopped serving the Port at Terminal 6 on March 9, 2015. This decision came during a labor dispute between the terminal operator ICTSI and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union which represents dockworkers at all West Coast ports, including Portland. In 2013, when first announcing its intent to withdraw from Portland, Hanjin executives cited "substantially increased costs" under ICTSI management as a cause for its departure to other ports. The second-largest shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd, ended service on March 26, 2015. To replace connections to Idaho, the Port began a barge service carrying pulse exports from Lewiston to Portland in December of that year. Westwood Shipping Lines ceased service to Terminal 6 in May 2016, with no container ships calling on Terminal 6 since that time. In February 2017, the Port of Portland and ICTSI announced they had reached a deal to end their lease agreement early.
Jurisdiction
The Port of Portland has been considered a regional government with jurisdiction in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties since 1973.
Nine commissioners regulate the organization; they are appointed by the Governor and approved by the State Senate. Each commissioner serves a four-year term and can be reinstated to the same post indefinitely. One requirement of commissioners is that, of the nine, two must live in each of Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties while the remaining three are free to live where they choose.
Commissioners elect the Port of Portland's executive director who oversees the daily operations of the port.
Commissioners meet monthly to discuss the policies of the Port of Portland.
Ownership
- Four marine terminals
- Five industrial parks (including a few others referenced below)
- Three airports
- Portland International Airport
- Troutdale Airport
- Hillsboro Airport
- Swan Island Municipal Airport (1927â€"40)
Marine terminals
Port of Portland's marine terminals are located outside the population center with nearby main line rail and interstate highways minimizing congestion for both rail and truck traffic. The Portland Harbor exports the second largest amount of wheat from the United States and the Columbia River system, including Portland, is third largest wheat export gateway in the world. The Port is the fifth largest auto import gateway in the country, and the largest mineral bulk port on the U.S. west coast.
Marine terminals are located along the Willamette River and the Columbia River. Terminals are served by rail (Union Pacific and BNSF railroads), connecting interstates, and river barges. Around one thousand businesses and corporations are said to use the Port's marine facilities.
Over 17 million tons of cargo move through Portland each year. Twelve million tons of this cargo moves through the Port of Portland-owned and operated facilities.
Major exports include grain, soda ash, potash, automobiles, and hay; major imports are automobiles, steel, machinery, mineral bulks and other varied products.
Imports and exports at the Port of Portland total about $15.4 billion USD, annually.
The Port's terminal facilities (T-2, T-4, and T-5 are on the Willamette River; T-6 is on the Columbia River):
Industrial/Business Parks
The Port of Portland owns several business parks in the Portland metropolitan area:
Airports
The Portland International Airport (PDX) is owned and operated by the Port of Portland. It is the 30th busiest airport in the United States. The PDX capture region serves a population of more than 3.5 million people in two states (Oregon and Washington).
The airport offers scheduled nonstop passenger service flights to over 69 domestic destinations and 11 international cities. PDX served nearly 17 million passengers in 2015, breaking the all-time passenger record of 15.9 million in 2014. The airport averages more than 230 scheduled passenger departures daily during the busiest travel seasons, and 17 different domestic and international passenger airlines serve PDX. Portland is also well-served by 10 all-air cargo carriers.
PDX serves the commercial, passenger, transport needs of the Portland Metro area, while Hillsboro Airport, also owned by the Port, serves an integral part of the region's transportation system, providing well-maintained, financially viable general aviation facilities to businesses and residents of Washington County and beyond. The Port also owns Portland-Troutdale Airport which serves as a flight training and recreational airport with an increasing emphasis on business class capability.
The first airport operated by the Port of Portland was Swan Island Municipal Airport in 1927. It owned Portland-Mulino Airport, a general aviation field, from 1988 until 2009, when Portland-Mulino was transferred to the Oregon Department of Aviation.
See also
- United States container ports
References
External links
Media related to Port of Portland, Oregon at Wikimedia Commons
- The Port of Portland
