Economic Development
The new Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility will bring significant economic growth and thousands of jobs to Alabama. The timing couldn’t be better for an economic boost for the region: according to June 2010 figures from the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, the Birmingham metropolitan statistical area’s unemployment rate is 9.0%; Jefferson County’s unemployment rate is currently 9.5%; and the adjoining counties of Tuscaloosa and Bibb have unemployment rates of 7.9% and 10.1% respectively. Even Shelby County, whose unemployment rate has hovered in the 2-3% range for years, now has an unemployment rate of 6.8%. Walker has an unemployment rate of 10.5%.
The Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility will allow for improved intermodal service between the Gulf Coast and the Northeast, providing the region with access to the global marketplace. We expect the opening of the hub will create 70 new jobs in McCalla.
Wages
Freight rail employees are among the nation’s most highly compensated workers. (See the Average-Industry-Comp-DOC2007 for a comparison chart published by the U.S. Department of Commerce). Despite sharply rising health care costs, railway workers pay only a nominal portion of the cost of their generous benefits.
Benefits
- In 2008, Class I carriers paid nearly $2 billion to provide health care benefits to their employees, up from approximately $870 million in 1999 — a 130 percent increase.
- Railroads in 2008 paid on average $11,147 per employee for family medical, dental and vision coverage or about 85 percent of the total cost. Employees’ share averaged about $1,995 in 2008.
- In contrast, American workers on average contributed $3,354 in 2008 toward the cost of premiums for family health care coverage.4
- In 2008, U.S. firms on average paid 74 percent of the total cost of family coverage.5
Economic Growth
Intermodal terminals have proven to be a powerful engine of growth. Since opening in 1989, a facility at the Virginia Inland Port in Fort Royal, VA, similar to the one planned for Birmingham, has resulted in:
- 27 major companies locating nearby.
- $599 million of investment.
- 7,000 new jobs.
But the benefits extend beyond McCalla – it is expected that the economic benefits to the state of Alabama by 2020 include a cumulative 10-year economic impact of more than $4 billion and the creation of 8600 jobs. Please click the link for more information about economic benefits to the region: Updated Birmingham Benefits Executive Summary 7-29-09
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1 Department of Commerce, 2007 data
2 NRLC
3 Department of Commerce, 2007 data
4 Kaiser Family Foundation, Employer Health Benefits 2008 Annual Study
5 Ibid