business backgrounder | industry
Riding the Rails of Prosperity
To a remarkable degree, Washington’s strong economy is powered
by freight rail. A new study finds that one out of every 10 jobs in the state
comes directly or indirectly from freight trains.
Brian Mittge
Calling it the “circulatory system of capitalism,” a new report by the former top economic advisor for two California
governors says freight rail adds $28.5 billion to Washington’s GDP — equal to a decade of economic growth.
Washington thrives from trade, and the freight rail system is
one of the most powerful engines of that prosperity.
That’s the conclusion of a new study, which finds that an
average family in Washington is $5,000 richer thanks to the
economic benefits of freight rail. Due to international trade
fueled by low-cost rail shipments, Washington — the second
most trade-dependent state in the nation — has incomes
that are about 10 percent higher than the U.S. as a whole.
Because of those strong ties to foreign markets, the Great
Recession didn’t hit Washington as hard, and this state’s
diverse economy bounced back faster.
According to “An Engine of Prosperity: Freight Rail’s
Pivotal Role in the Pacific Northwest’s Export Economy,”
a study published in September, more than 300,000 jobs —
about 10 percent of total state employment — exist as
direct or ripple effect of
freight rail. And those are
conservative estimates.
at a glance
Philip Romero, professor
of business administration
Freight rail is responsible for
at the University of Ore$28.5 billion in economic activity in
gon, wrote the study, which
Washington — nearly $1 out of $10
was commissioned by the
in the state’s GDP. That equals a
Washington Council on
decade’s worth of economic growth.
International Trade and
Rail supports more than 342,000
BNSF Railway.
jobs in Washington, which
Romero, who served
is more than 10 percent of the
as chief economist for
state’s workforce.
California governors
Pete Wilson and Arnold
BNSF will invest $6 billion in
Schwarzenegger, said he
system expansion and maintenance
was surprised by what he
this year, making this the third
year in a row of record spending to
discovered about the scale
expand track capacity to match the
of impact freight rail has
nation’s economic growth.
on the state and region’s
economy.
48 association of washington business
Cutting his teeth as a regional economist in California, with
a focus on fast-growing Silicon Valley, Romero said he had
thought of rail as a mature, ho-hum industry. Digging into it
for this study, however, he came to a very different conclusion.
Washington’s resilient, thriving economy is due in large
part to our prominent place in the