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Business View Magazine
our system from Tulsa to points globally.”
Portiss agrees. “Another reason we believe that con-
tainers will soon move on a regular basis by barge: if
you look at the west coast ports, they’re saturated.
They’ve not been able to expand. They’ve done a great
job handling what they do handle, but with the dou-
bling of international trade, something has to give. Sec-
ondly, when you look at the major cities of our country,
the congestion in those cities is absolutely incredible.
Whereas, in this part of the world, we are open year-
round to navigation; all of our modes of transportation
are available year-round. We have ample land that’s
available for development. There’s no reason in the
world that this particular part of our country cannot
be – and it will be – a major distribution center. Goods
moving up the waterway, moving in here by rail, by
truck, and for further dispersion out into the central
part of the U.S. There’s no doubt about it.”
Yarbrough seconds Portiss’ positive attitude: “We are
not going to wait for somebody to solve this,” he states.
“We are going to solve it. We won’t do it alone; we have
great partners in companies that own and push the
barges. We’re developing relationships with the folks
that are in the business of unloading those containers
at our coastal ports. We’re going to find a solution that
makes sense.”
So, the next time someone doubts that Oklahoma is,
in fact, a maritime state; all they need do is check out
the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, where the waters are flowing
