BOTH EYES ON THE ROAD, BRIDGE, RAIL AND WATERWAY. A CLOSER LOOK AT ILLINOIS’ TRANSpORTATION INfRASTRuCTuRE GApS.

COmmERCE LIfELINE OR LIfE SuppORT?

222ILLINOIS CAN uSE 222 mILLION BuSHELS mORE If THE STATE’S INfRASTRuCTuRE IS upDATED.

In 2011-2012, Illinois soybeans poured 378 million bushels worth of cash into the economy. ISA intends to increase this to 600 million bushels annually by 2020. Illinois can produce and use these additional 222 million bushels if our state’s infrastructure is updated and prepared to handle the larger output.

Many Illinois roads, bridges, railroads, locks and dams are in decline, threatening the lifeblood of the Illinois economy: food and energy. Illinois is America’s second largest soybean-producing state. Its heartland location helps produce a reliable supply of soybeans that can be sent to numerous markets.

Roads, railroads and waterways connect Illinois to hungry hogs and chickens and bio-product producers in the U.S. and more than 80 countries. But crumbling infrastructure already increases commodity costs, and the situation is getting worse.

OuR INfRASTRuCTuRE NEEDS mORE SuppORT.Illinois soybean farmers are increasing yields to help meet growing domestic and global demand. However, transporting these larger harvests to grain elevators and customers has become increasingly difficult due to deteriorating roads, bridges, railroads, locks and dams. The American Society for Civil Engineering recently gave the state’s infrastructure an overall grade of D+.1

Ultimately, these issues will lower Illinois farmers’ competitiveness and limit access to critical markets.

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THE WAY OuT Of THIS fIx IS

TO START fIxING IT.The volume of agricultural goods increases,

while transportation infrastructure deteriorates. As these deficiencies add up, so does the

time and money required to fix these problems. This affects the bottom line of every one of Illinois’

more than 45,000 soybean farmers. The sooner we start making improvements, the sooner we can

realize greater transportation efficiency and economic stability for Illinois and its farmers.

EvERYTHING HAS TO WORK TOGETHER fOR ANYTHING TO WORK AT ALL.Roadways, railways, waterways. Each avenue is unique, but we depend on each working together seamlessly.

Trucks are crucial to soybean transportation, but there simply are not enough trucks and drivers. Not to mention, the roads and bridges along many of the quickest routes cannot accommodate modern equipment’s size and fully loaded weight.

Although Illinois is the only state where all Class-I railroads converge, access and capacity are limited.

When looking for the most efficient and cost-effective bulk transportation we try turning to our waterways, but this mode faces risks from aging infrastructure and the ravages of Mother Nature. 3

mAYBE IT’S THE ROAD LESS TRAvELED BECAuSE THE BRIDGE IS OuT.

EvERY $1ROI Of $10.243INvESTED IN REpAIRS pROvIDES AvG.

Structurally deficient: Bridges that require significant maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement. Because of deteriorated structural components these bridges are restricted to light-weight vehicles.

functionally obSolete: Bridges containing one or more structural components that no longer meet the standards required for use today. These bridges may be too narrow or not have enough load capacity to accommodate modern trucks and machinery.

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Roads and bridges are the critical first link in the transportation system, most directly affecting farmer profits. Every single soybean begins its journey to market as part of a bushel, loaded onto a truck for transport to the first point of sale. The entire transportation process is largely dependent on the roads and bridges functioning properly.

However, more than 2,100 bridges are structurally deficient and almost 1,800 bridges are functionally obsolete.2 Many of these bridges lie in soybean-producing areas, and their inadequacies create delays and detours that increase costs and time spent getting soybeans to market.

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WHAT’S ANOTHER mILE AfTER mILE AfTER mILE AfTER mILE AfTER mILE?While a few extra miles and detours may seem minor, they actually cost Illinois greatly. A 2011 Illinois soybean checkoff-funded bridge study reported that closed or weight-restricted rural bridges could easily cause 20-mile detours. For a farmer with more than 300 corn acres and 200 soybean acres, this detour would cost him 5 cents per bushel. If the detour extended to 50 miles, that cost would rise to 11 cents per bushel.

COuNTRY ROADS AREN’T juST fOR SuNDAY DRIvES.

+4TIRES fOR LOAD

SuppORT

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Not only are bridges in poor shape, 73 percent of Illinois’ roads are in poor or mediocre condition.1 Weight limits and overweight permits differ widely across states, counties and townships. The lower weight limits in place have created the need for more truck drivers. There’s currently a 100,000-driver shortage nationwide and it’s projected to worsen.

Increasing current vehicle weight limits to 97,000 lbs. with a sixth axle would decrease the need for more drivers. Agricultural products would move 20-percent more efficiently and save the industry $84 million per year.

20pERCENT fEWER

TRIpS

CHECKOff-fuNDED RESEARCH SHOWS INCREASING WEIGHT LImITS WOuLD ACTuALLY DECREASE STRESS ON ILLINOIS’ ROADS AND BRIDGES.4

quICKER STOpS

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THE LAST THING ANY Of uS CAN AffORD IS AN EpIC RAIL fAIL. Railways are an important mode of transportation for Illinois soybeans. Illinois is the only state with all seven Class-I railroads and has more than 40 operating railroads throughout the state. More than 7,000 miles of track connect farmers and elevators with domestic and international customers.

35.6BILLIONINvESTmENT

GAp2012 – 20355

TuRNING WE-THINK-WE-CAN, WE-THINK-WE-CAN INTO WE’RE-SO-DOING-THIS.

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With Illinois farmers continuing to increase soybean yields, rail infrastructure is struggling to provide adequate capacity, especially short-line rails that connect rural areas to major cross-country Class-I lines. Growing demand for rail transportation, coupled with a finite amount of available rail capacity, means freight rates will continue to rise as both ag and non-ag industries vie for limited rail space.

A recent checkoff-funded study discovered a large gap between projected investments and expected cargo growth. It is crucial for this gap to close if Illinois soybean growers are to continue their recent successes.

mANY LOCKS ARE

WHILE TOWS ARE 600 fT1200 fT

If YOu CAN’T DRIvE ‘Em, fLOAT ‘Em.With more than 1,100 miles of navigable waterways serving the state, barge transportation is an economical, environmentally friendly way to move soybeans (and other commodities). In fact, a single barge can be loaded with more than 52,000 bushels of soybeans in less than two and half hours—and most tows move 15 barges, or 780,000 bushels at a time.

WE SHOuLDN’T BE LOCKED OuT Of pROGRESS.Waterways provide a critical connection to foreign and domestic markets. Unfortunately, many of the locks were built seven decades ago—with a 50-year economic design life—and have never been modernized. the future of waterway transportation will not be successful if running on outdated mechanisms. In order to move forward, we need to fix the lynchpin of our waterways: locks and dams.

There are 28 locks and dams along the Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio rivers serving Illinois. Most of these lock chambers are 110 by 600 feet. The average tow is 1,200 feet long, requiring it to be split in half or thirds and moved through each lock one section at a time, causing costly delays. The time required to split a tow, move individual tows through the lock and put them back together can take two to three times longer than moving a single tow through a lock. Massive delays are also created for barges next in line.

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Transporting cargo over major waterways avoids burdening our highway and rail systems. Without waterways there would be 83 percent more trucks on the highway and 25 percent more tonnage on the nation’s rail system. Both would increase demand for equipment and lead to higher freight rates and congestion, with slower, less reliable delivery times.6

1050LARGE SEMI TRACTOR TRAILERS5

IS EQUAL

TO RAIL CARS216 IS EQUAL

TOBARGE15TOW

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AN EmpTY BOx IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE. While we work on fixing our roads, railways and waterways to improve efficiency for larger loads, there are other opportunities within Illinois’ transportation system. Exporting soybeans in shipping containers is an emerging, alternative transportation channel for Illinois soybeans to reach foreign markets.

Many packaged goods and raw materials from Asia and elsewhere around the world are imported in intermodal containers, which can be carried by ship, train and truck without opening the container. In the past, thousands of containers returned to ports of origin empty—costing the supply chain $7 billion annually. Shipping companies now recognize the value of filling each empty container with 991 bushels of Illinois soybeans instead of sending them back empty.

THINK INSIDE THE BOx fOR ALTERNATIvES.Containerized soybeans also provide niche market opportunities for Illinois soybeans. Growing demand comes from customers who want a specific type of soybean such as high-protein, non-GMO or other identity-preserved traits. Demand also comes from countries without the infrastructure to accept bulk vessels.

Illinois soybean checkoff-funded research has revealed that exporting soybeans in containers, instead of other backhaul shipments such as paper or scrap, offers a much higher return to the local economy. Research also showed physical and composition quality remain intact during the travel time, so this mode provides the opportunity to deliver specific types of higher-value soybeans directly to the customer.

15%INTERNATIONALOf ILLINOIS SOYBEAN ExpORTS uSE

CONTAINERS(Informa Economics) 13

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REpAIR, mEND, fIx, REvAmp, REfuRBISH: pROSpER.

Learn more about what you can do to help improve your local infrastructure.

ILSOY.ORG vOICEfORSOY.ORG

The Illinois transportation infrastructure is broken. But it can be fixed.

Efficient and timely transport helps increase farmer profits and protects market access while benefiting the entire Illinois economy. Let’s get rid of the obstacles and get our soybeans, and other products, from point A to point B more efficiently.

WE CAN DO THIS.Through checkoff funding, ISA invests more than $1 million each year in research and education efforts emphasizing the need to improve Illinois roads, bridges, railways and waterways. We want to work with business, government, academic and industry leaders like you to find solutions to the challenges facing our aging infrastructure and start moving forward.

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A mESSAGE fROm THE ISA BOARD Of DIRECTORS:Our transportation infrastructure has functioned far longer than expected. We are fortunate previous generations provided us with tough and resilient assets that have survived despite significant shortfalls in necessary maintenance. It is now our time, and our responsibility, to reinvest in our road, rail and water network so we can continue feeding our economy by moving agricultural products in and out of our state.

1. http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/illinois/illinois/2. 2012 data from the Federal Highway Administration and the Illinois Department of Transportation3. Illinois Critical Bridge Assessment and Economic Impact Relative to Soybean and Soybean Product Movements http://www.ilsoy.org/_data/mediaCenter/files/1793.pdf4. Impacts of Higher Road Weights on Illinois Soybean Value Chain http://www.ilsoy.org/mediacenter/details.cfm?pageID=42&mediaCenterID=13745. Maintaining a track record of success expanding rail infrastructure to accommodate growth in agriculture and other sectors

http://www.unitedsoybean.org/wp-content/uploads/Rail-Study-Maintaining-a-Track-Record-of-Success-January-20131.pdf6. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Navigation Data Center, Waterborne Commerce of the United States 2009