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A rising tide may lift all boats, but a deeper river channel can too.

In the wake of Columbia River dredging, Columbia Grain Inc., a worldwide grain exporter, announced last week that it plans to begin a $40 million expansion at the Port of Portland within the next 30 days.

Major transportation infrastructure improvements at regional ports and surrounding waterways are helping companies meet increasing foreign demand. Nearly all of the region’s grain exporters have recently undertaken expansions worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the construction industry. Meanwhile, efforts also are under way to grow the region’s export business by billions of dollars.

鈥淭he big driver is obviously China, and they are just improving their diet all the time,鈥� said Tom Hammond, president and CEO of CGI, of increased demand for grain products. 鈥淭hey’ve got more money and they have a preference to eat more meat and, in particular in the case of China, they like pork.鈥�

That has equated to an explosion in demand for soy beans to feed pigs. Grain volumes were somewhat flat this year because of droughts in the Midwest, but CGI is anticipating exports growing over the next 25 years 鈥� particularly to Asia.

But to grow, the company also needed three feet of water clearance. In 2010, regional ports and business leaders celebrated completion of the $195.4 million Columbia River Channel Improvement Project, which deepened the 103-mile waterway from 40 feet to 43. The dredging cleared a path for larger ships to carry 10,000 additional pounds.

Industry changes may bring more ships. In 2015, a project to widen the Panama Canal will wrap up, and ships 14 meters wide with a 50-foot draw will be able to squeeze through Central America. The ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and Seattle are already equipped to accommodate such ships. Four eastern ports are scrambling to catch up.

Portland won’t be able to accommodate those vessels, but it could benefit from a trickle-down effect. As other port cities rush to cater to massive ships, smaller ones may need new berths, like Portland.

Also, rising fuel prices will make it increasingly inefficient to ship goods to places like Long Beach and then truck them to the Northwest.

鈥淚t’s going to take $2,000 worth of fuel to do what you used to do for $500,鈥� said Paul Breuer, senior vice president of Colliers International’s Portland office. 鈥淪o trains get more popular, but they’re not as speedy. It’s conceivable that we will have more business as a result of the opening of the Panama Canal.鈥�

CGI’s expansion also follows significant rail improvements at the Port of Vancouver U.S.A. and the Port of Portland.

The Port of Vancouver is tackling a $275 million project to add 15 miles of railroad track to its system, which will be able to handle 160,000 more rail cars per year.

Port of Portland projects include the $11 million South Rivergate rail yard expansion, $13.9 million Ramsey rail expansion, $11 million Leadbetter overcrossing and $3.6 million North Lombard widening effort.

Another worldwide grain exporter taking advantage of that infrastructure is United Grain Corp. It’s wrapping up an $80 million expansion at the Port of Vancouver. A deeper channel was a big driver.

鈥淭hat has enabled (larger) vessels to call on us, which has essentially cheapened our freight from Portland throughout the Pacific Rim,鈥� said Tony Flagg, United Grain’s vice president of business development. 鈥淏usiness that was typically loaded out of Mexico and (sent) through the Panama Canal is now being loaded out of the Columbia River.鈥�

In addition to increasing demand in China, United Grain is responding to domestic changes. Flagg said genetically modified organisms have made it possible to grow crops like corn closer to the Pacific Northwest, so regional ports are more convenient.

Other regional grain terminal projects include a new, $200 million export facility at the Port of Longview for EGT; a planned $25 million to $50 million expansion at the Port of Kalama for Temco; and a similar expansion wrapping up there for Kalama Export Co.

While ports add to the region’s shipping infrastructure, one local group is working to fill in gaps with local businesses. Specifically, the goal is to double exports from $21 billion to $42 billion annually over the next five years.

鈥淲e see (exports) as a fundamental aspect to the region’s work to help retain existing businesses, and help them expand,鈥� said Derrick Olsen, vice president of regional strategy and coordination for the Greater Portland Export Initiative. 鈥淎 lot of times, there is a lot of coverage given to recruitment, but retention and expansion is extremely important as well for job growth.鈥�

Olsen said that for every $1 billion in export volume, 5,400 jobs are created. If the GPEI were to meet its $42 billion goal, the region would gain 113,400 jobs. The goal is not so farsighted.

Between 2003 and 2010, Portland increased export volume by 109.3 percent and added 45,863 new jobs 鈥� outpacing Seattle in terms of growth.

The largest export industry in Portland, nearly 57 percent of the total, is for computer and electronics products. But Portland also is the top U.S. port for wheat exports, and last year the Port of Portland handled 13.5 million tons of cargo 鈥� the third-best year for tonnage on record.

Export activity has a positive impact on commercial real estate, Breuer said. Columbia Sportswear, Exel, Home Depot, and Lowe’s all have a significant presence in Portland because of the port’s proximity.

鈥淎ll of those businesses 鈥� everyone I just named 鈥� (occupy) over 100,000 square feet of warehouse space, and if we didn’t have a port they would be in Seattle,鈥� Breuer said.

CGI renewed its lease with the port for 25 more years, starting in January. It will pay $1.045 million for approximately 43 acres and approximately $1.9 million in wharf fees annually.

The company has identified a contractor for the expansion, though Hammond declined to say who it is. He said it may add workers when the project finishes in 18 to 20 months.