The Northwest Seaport Alliance has launched an incentive program that officials say could help increase rail cargo and enhance service delivery in the Seattle-Tacoma gateway.
About $11 million has been committed to the incentives, which took effect May 1 and includes the Voyage Consistency and On-Time Arrival Award Program, the International Container Rail Cargo Incentive and the Gate Operations Incentive.
Under the Voyage Consistency and On-Time Arrival Award Program, ocean carriers are rewarded for keeping the most reliable voyage schedules, with top performers qualifying for $200,000 to $500,000 in rewards.
With the International Container Rail Cargo Incentive, the Seaport Alliance plans to give “$100 per lift for incremental year-over-year rail volumes” passing through the gateway. Those that use BNSF and Union Pacific rail to move cargo are eligible, including cargo traveling by inland rail hubs linked to the Seattle-Tacoma gateway.
About $8 million has been budgeted for the incentive.
For the Gate Operation Incentive, the alliance has set aside $2 million to give to marine terminals that commit to regular gate hours and offer enhanced gate services.
“By targeting the incentives toward three key parts of the supply chain, we can drive increased cargo volumes, schedule reliability and operational efficiency,” Port of Seattle Commission president and NWSA Co-Chair Hamdi Mohamed said.
The Seaport Alliance, which is a marine cargo operating partnership between the Seattle and Tacoma ports, previously introduced its 2023 Rail Incentive Program, which resulted in more than 54,000 lifts and accounted for 15% of international intermodal rail volume last year, according to the NWSA.
