Minot Area Chamber EDC (MACEDC) joins Rail Modal Group (RMG) in celebrating the 100th train carrying containers with North Dakota and regional products to international markets from the Minot Intermodal Facility. The event marks multiple milestones, as the Minot Intermodal Facility also celebrates four years of operations and showcases recent awards from the State of North Dakota and International Economic Development Council.
“The Minot Intermodal Facility provides access to key West Coast shipping terminals for our producers and processors,” said Doug Goehring, North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner. “This is instrumental in getting our North Dakota agricultural and manufactured products to international buyers in Central America, South America and Asia. I’m pleased to celebrate this milestone and look forward to the future growth of the facility.”
“We are proud to support our local and regional shippers, producers and manufacturers with a successful intermodal shipping option through the Minot Intermodal Facility,” said Brekka Kramer, President | CEO of Minot Area Chamber EDC. “This effort has been a key avenue for businesses throughout the area to add greater value to their product as they are able to reach international markets more easily through use of the railroad. Reaching 100 trains in just four years puts the Minot Intermodal Facility ahead of projections and well on its way to shipping its next 100 trains out of Minot.
“Rail Modal Group is proud to operate the Minot Intermodal Facility and thrilled to announce our 100th train departure. Since launching operations, we have shipped over 20,000 containers to the Northwest Seaport Alliance. By providing local businesses, producers, suppliers, and industrialists with streamlined, green, and efficient logistics solutions, we’ve enabled access to the global supply chain,” said Todd Whitmore, Chief Commercial Officer at RMG. “We are honored to support the great state of North Dakota and all its suppliers, near and far. Special thanks to BNSF Railway, the Minot Area Chamber Economic Development Corporation, Commissioner Doug Goehring, Governor Doug Burgum, Congressman Kelly Armstrong, and the incredible people of North Dakota for their unwavering support of this logistics solution. Together, we’re driving growth and sustainability in North Dakota and beyond!”
The Minot Intermodal Facility opened in October 2020 and in the four years since has shipped more than 20,000 containers (primarily 40-foot containers) on 100 trains. The 100th train arrived the week of September 30, is scheduled to leave Minot Friday, October 4, and will travel to the ports of Seattle and Tacoma to be offloaded by The Northwest Seaport Alliance onto container ships that will transport the cargo to ports around the world.
Through the Minot Intermodal Facility, products have been shipped to ports in more than 20 countries on four continents. The top commodities shipped in the four years include wheat, dried distiller’s grains (DDGs), soybeans, pulses (peas, lentils, etc.), bagged lignite (a brown, soft, oxidized coal), and sugar beet pulp pellets. An average of three to five trains, with 200 to 220 containers each, leave the Minot Intermodal Facility each month.
“The Minot Intermodal Facility marks the first project in The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s Inland Rail Hub Strategic Initiative and has proved to be a great success,” stated Kristin Ang, Port of Tacoma Commission President and The Northwest Seaport Alliance Co-Chair. “By providing a seamless connection via rail for inland agriculture producers to reach international markets, inland farmers are able to expand their distribution while also limiting logistics time and costs. We look forward to our continued partnership with Rail Modal Group and the Minot Area Chamber Economic Development Corporation and expansion of this important rail hub.”
“The 100th train milestone marks a significant achievement for the Inland Rail Hub in Minot and is a testament to the successful collaboration between The Northwest Seaport Alliance, BNSF Railway, Rail Modal Group, and the Minot Area Chamber Economic Development Corporation,” stated Hamdi Mohamed, Port of Seattle Commission President and The Northwest Seaport Alliance Co-Chair. “This initiative has not only boosted agricultural exports from North Dakota, but has also contributed to a more sustainable and efficient transportation network.”
The Minot Area Chamber EDC has earned statewide and international economic development recognition for the Minot Intermodal Facility. The International Economic Development Council awarded MACEDC with the Gold Award in the category of Public-Private Partnerships for communities with populations between 25,000-200,000 and recognized the intermodal facility as a finalist for the “Best in Show” 2024 Excellence in Economic Development Award. MACEDC and the Minot Intermodal Facility also earned the Economic Development Association of North Dakota (EDND) 2022 Project of the Year and the 2024 North Dakota Main Street Summit Economic Diversification Award.
Minot Intermodal Facility
The Logistics Park North Dakota (LPND) is 800+ acres situated in Minot, North Dakota and includes an inland, intermodal port transfer facility (Minot Intermodal Facility) spanning 136 acres and featuring more than three miles of rail track serviced by BNSF Railway. The facility, operated by Rail Modal Group, organizes containerization and shipment for regional exporters of various products and commodities. The Minot Intermodal Facility is strategically located in northcentral North Dakota and serves as a central hub for shippers that would otherwise transport goods by truck over exceedingly long road and highway distances.
The purpose of the Minot Intermodal Facility is to facilitate improved access for agricultural and manufactured products from North Dakota and throughout the Upper Midwest to more lucrative, larger international markets. The effort by MACEDC, the State of North Dakota, and the private sector to accomplish this goal has been underway for nearly two decades. This goal was accomplished when MACEDC removed barriers, purchased the assets and entered into a long-term lease with an operator. For nearly two decades, parties worked to build intermodal service out of North Dakota. After financial challenges and years of no containerized movement, MACEDC established relationships with BNSF Railway and The Northwest Seaport Alliance (Ports of Tacoma and Seattle) to identify an operator and bring together the project. The Minot Intermodal Facility is now nearly four years into the successful, on-going delivery of unit trains to West Coast terminals for delivery around the world. Additional partners and promoters of the Minot Intermodal Facility include the following entities: Bank of North Dakota, BNSF Railway, City of Minot, North Dakota Governor’s Office, North Dakota Department of Agriculture, North Dakota Department of Commerce, North Dakota State Legislature, North Dakota Trade Office, Rail Modal Group, The Northwest Seaport Alliance, and many others.