There are 75 ports in the state of Washington, each operating differently than the next, catering to various cargo imports and exports and interacting with diverse modes of transportation. All differences aside, Washington’s ports all work to achieve the same goal, which is to safely and efficiently transfer cargo for their customers while benefiting the economy of their respective communities. 

Your Port of Longview and our neighboring lower Columbia River ports also work by different business models, with the most distinctive difference being how we execute cargo handling operations. 

While other ports on the Columbia River, such as Port of Kalama and Port of Vancouver, lease docks to private companies or contract with outside companies to manage cargo handling, the Port of Longview retains local control of its docks and cargo operations. 

The Port’s unique position as an operating port, opposed to a landlord/non-operating port, brings with it great responsibility. The Port of Longview’s operations department is responsible for determining how to strategically load and unload vessels, including managing equipment and labor needs to meet customers’ expectations and time lines. 

To keep operations rolling, the Port directly owns hundreds of pieces of equipment and conveyor systems built and maintained on-site by steady crews of ILWU longshore labor. All of these operations take place on more than 830 acres of property, rail lines, docks, buildings and roads constructed and maintained using an in-house maintenance crew second-to-none. 

Your Port is Washington’s Working Port, a title it holds exclusively among neighboring ports in Southwest Washington.