(The following story by Peter Passi appeared on the Duluth News Tribune website on April 2, 2009.)
DULUTH, Minn. The slowdown at taconite plants across the Iron Range is resulting in the loss of more than just miners jobs. Northland railroad workers are feeling the effects as well.
This week, the BNSF Railway reduced the frequency of its mine operations to one train every 48 hours, according to Stan Ujka, manager of the BNSF taconite terminal in Superior. Last year at this time, when mines were running strong, the railroad had trains running every 18 hours.
As a result, Ujka said the railroad has found it necessary to furlough 20 to 25 workers, and that number would have been larger, had it not been for some recent retirements. BNSF employs nearly 200 people in the Twin Ports area.
Canadian National Railway, which owns and operates the former Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway Co. ore dock in Duluth, has made mine-related cuts as well, furloughing more than 25 people in the Northland to date. When Arcelor-Mittal temporarily ceases production at the Minorca Mine in late April and Cliffs Natural Resources follows suit at United Taconite Co. in May, that number is expected to double, leaving about half of the 109 engineers and conductors on the line without work.
Patrick Waldron, a CN spokesman, said the company has furloughed approximately 600 workers throughout its rail network since the recession began.
As an industry, we need to react to the demands of our customers, he said.
The fact that there are fewer iron ore pellets flowing from the Iron Range to the nations steel mills is only part of the problem, according to Ujka. He pointed out that reduced mine operations have decreased the need to haul pellet ingredients such as lime and bentonite clay, as well.
The situation today contrasts sharply with last year, when local railroads were actively hiring.
We didnt see this coming, said Ujka. Just last year, there was tremendous competition for boats, and we couldnt move pellets fast enough. Now, a year later, were trying to meet what little demand there is.
Ujka said the mine cuts hurt, but there may be a bit more train traffic added to the local rail network as a result of flooding in the Red River Valley.
Drew Digby, a labor analyst for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, said that while area mines employ fewer people than they did in the past, Every person they employ has a lot more impact on the economy than they used to.
In fact, a recent study shows that each mining job on the Range supports the equivalent of 1.8 additional jobs, according work recently done by Jim Skurla, acting director of the University of Minnesota Duluths Bureau of Business and Economic Research.
Skurla said this figure includes contractors, service providers and suppliers. It also includes a large number of transportation workers.
The rail and truck sectors figure prominently, he said. A lot of materials flow into and out of the mines.
Any downturn in mining has a real ripple effect, Digby said. The hope is this wont be a long-term problem.
He pointed out that the mining industry was quick to respond to the economic downturn, and there is reason to hope it may be quick to bring workers back if demand for steel shows signs of a rebound.
