SALT LAKE CITY — As the coronavirus pandemic continues to cripple the global economy, Utah Inland Port critics are calling on Utah leaders to abandon the concept of the trade hub on about 16,000 acres near Salt Lake City International Airport.
As more and more countries begin closing borders and some states implement shelter-in-place mandates, anti-port groups question if the state and national economy will any longer support a Utah Inland Port with connections in rural counties.
“In light of the economic turmoil we’re experiencing now and the potential for a recession, we’re wondering if it makes sense to be investing in something that was planned for a healthy economy,” said Deeda Seed, a campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity and a lead organizer of the group Stop the Polluting Port.
“It’s not clear how this is all going to unfold, but I think one of our thoughts is we really should be focusing on what we have already built and the businesses that we already have,” Seed said. “We’re going to be very busy as a society working to restore what we’re losing. So investing in some huge expensive future-orientated thing does not make sense right now, frankly.”
But there’s no indication state leaders intend to stop the port authority.
As uncertainty continues to swirl around the economy, Gov. Gary Herbert on Tuesday signed HB347, a compromise bill the Utah Legislature passed this month, approving more changes to the Utah Inland Port Authority statute as a result of negotiations between city and state leaders.
Jack Hedge, the port authority’s executive director, argues the economic gridlock amid COVID-19’s spread and the ravenous demand for medical supplies, food, household items, cleaning supplies and — yes — toilet paper, actually makes the case for why Utah needs an inland port.
“Port logistics in and of itself is not economy inducing,” Hedge said. “It’s not a ‘if you build it they will come’ type of industry. It is a supportive industry. It’s necessary to have a strong economy that you have a strong logistics network, a supply-chain network.”
Hedge said the COVID-19 outbreak, particularly as it began incapacitating China, has shown “how easy it is to disrupt our supply chain.”
“Most of our consumer goods are manufactured in China,” he said. “When production in China shut down, everything just stopped.”
Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Hedge says “demand” for goods hasn’t stopped, and cargo owners have had difficulty keeping up with that demand — hence the shortage of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies and other items as panic shoppers have hoarded goods off of physical and virtual shelves. Even online distribution giants like Amazon have struggled to keep up with demand.
“So that’s where we come in,” Hedge said, reiterating the argument that Utah, because of its position between Mexico and Canada and both east-west and north-south interstate connections, is a critical checkpoint for cargo and has the potential to enhance supply chain connections, particularly for trucking.
“That’s why our location is so important, so we can really work with them to serve and support multiple trade lanes coming from different places and different directions,” he said. “Freeways to Canada and Mexico, as well as West Coast ports, we’re positioned to support that sort of supply chains ... It makes the whole logistics network more robust and more sustainable and more reliable.”
Seed and other anti-port activists have called for port planning to come to a grinding halt at least until the COVID-19 outbreak subsides. As other states implement shelter-in-place requirements, and Utah’s leaders discouraging gatherings of 10 or more people, Seed said COVID-19 and “economic recession it may bring raises questions about the financial viability of the proposed port, and whether we should be investing public resources in it.”
The Utah Inland Port Authority Board does not have any upcoming meetings scheduled, but Hedge said he and his staff are continuing to work on a strategic business plan they expect to present to the board in May. It’s not clear how or if COVID-19 will affect that meeting.
State officials have said it’s likely only the beginning for the COVID-19 pandemic, and it could be months until life returns to some normalcy.
Pressed on the economic challenges ahead — as businesses and local governments brace for economic downturn — Hedge told the Deseret News he and his team are pressing ahead with development of the strategic business plan.
Again, Hedge said, the argument for a Utah Inland Port is “more fundamental” than the state of the economy, rather it’s something already needed as the economy continues to shift to one hinging on the importance of logistics and the shipment of goods.
“It’s not about building a big infrastructure project. It’s about being able to bring to bear the best practices and link what we have here and what our needs are here with the rest of the supply-chain network in order to get us the goods that we need,” Hedge said.
He and his team have already found examples of weaknesses in Utah’s logistics economy in conversations with trucking industry officials. For example, Hedge said truckers have had difficulty finding places to park overnight, an issue that’s been aggravated as more demand for supply amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
“It’s about engaging with logistics industry partners, what are they seeing as problems and what can we as an entity we can do to help assist,” Hedge said. “Now we have this huge, massive flow of goods that have to move and catch up.”
Though the economic forecast appears bleak, Natalie Gochnour, an associate dean in the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah and chief economist for the Salt Lake Chamber, circulated a message of hope and optimism on Friday.
“Stay strong, everybody,” she wrote on Twitter. “We can get through this.”
Gochnour said the best economic response is to “follow public health guidelines” to ensure “the shortest and least acute impact.”
“Remember the measures we are taking are urgent, but temporary,” she said. “Economic life will return to normal once the social distancing, herd immunity, medical response and public health research (vaccine) does its job.”
Gochnour also said during a time of “critical economic need” the federal and state government should be “large, agile and present” to lessen the impact and shorten the duration. She credited the government for “acting responsibly.”
“Utah is well positioned to weather this economic storm,” she said. “State government has set aside a $900 million rainy-day fund and the unemployment insurance trust fund is at a record level. We also have great leadership.”
Gochnour also pointed out Utah has experienced two recessions in the past 20 years but bounced back. Particularly from 2009 to 2010, Utah experienced “it’s longest, deepest and broadest recession in modern times. The economy recovered and commenced with the longest expansion in state history.”
But in the months ahead, Seed is worried about transparency and the logistics of pressing ahead with port planning when officials are encouraging social distancing.
“It is an uncertain future,” she said. “It’s an uncertain future for all of us on every level, given what the world is facing right now. And people’s priorities change in a situation like this. Many of us are sheltering in place worried about our loved ones who are vulnerable to this disease, and that takes priority over things that are going to happen in the future.”
“But,” Seed said, “We just move forward one day at a time.”