Little growth in shipping volume can be expected in the lower Snake because its location is separated from the rest of Idaho and Montana by mountains and curving 2-lane roads. Growth in grain shipments has been flat for the last 13 years and averages about 750,000 tons a year from the Port of Lewiston. Rail is economical for grain shipping. Note the new J.R. Simplot grain terminal in Mountain Home, Idaho. He plans to feed the grain to cattle in his large Grandview feedlot.
Rail is economical for grain shipping.
Note that the majority of grain that is sent to Portland for export is shipped by rail cars, not in barges. Few commodities are shipped up-river to Lewiston. There is some fertilizer and some petroleum products but little else. There is no customs office there. The lower Snake Ports are 14 feet deep and accomodate barges only, not ocean-going cargo ships.