The Port of Stockton, California has selected Savage Companies (Savage) to manage the M-580 Marine Highway Corridor between the Port of Stockton and Port of Oakland. The Port of Stockton and Savage have entered into an agreement in which Savage will provide Container-on-Barge service including management, marketing, logistics, and operating services for the project. Savage will immediately begin marketing the M-580 Marine Highway to potential customers of the Container-on-Barge service. Operations of the M-580 Marine Highway are scheduled to commence during the first quarter 2012.

In February 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the award of a $30 million TIGER grant for the Ports of Oakland, Stockton, and West Sacramento to develop the infrastructure necessary to establish a container-on-barge service between the Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay area. The Port of Stockton received $13 million of the grant to support the purchase of two 140-ton mobile harbor cranes, and also to make the necessary improvements at the Port to support the project. The Port of Stockton has purchased the two cranes with a scheduled delivery of January 2012. In addition to the cranes, the Port has purchased two barges to be dedicated to the project. The barges are scheduled to undergo modifications in order to handle containers. The barge modifications are scheduled to be completed early in the first quarter 2012.

“We are very pleased to have selected Savage to manage our Marine Highway program. The strength of their proposal, combined with their existing supply chain capabilities, ensures the Northern California Marine Highway will offer efficient and extensive services to anyone shipping by container in our region and beyond,” Port Director Richard Aschieris said.

The M-580 Marine Highway will offer an environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient way to transport containers between the Ports of Oakland and Stockton. The M-580 Marine Highway will help reduce congestion along the I-580/I-5 corridors and improve air quality and public safety in the region.

“This is a great example of a public-private partnership that will help shape the future of freight transportation in Northern California in an environmentally conscious and sustainable manner,” said Allen Alexander, Chairman and CEO of Savage.

In addition to the environmental benefits, this project will also help drive efficiencies and cost savings to potential M-580 customers. It has been estimated that approximately 1,600 containers per day move between the Port of Oakland and Stockton, causing I-580 to be one of the most congested highways in the state.

The M-580 will serve as an overweight corridor offering cost savings to exporters by allowing them to load containers to full capacity, reducing the number of containers required.