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Brookhaven Rail Terminal project region's 2021 economy in plywood and baking flour

Remember Long Island’s explosive demand for consumer products as the COVID pandemic took hold of our economy in 2020. Expect more of the same in 2021.

According to The Brookhaven Rail Terminal (BRT), the intermodal rail facility is already seeing trends that parallel the commodity demands that reordered consumer spending after COVID-19 began to stalk the region and the nation.

BRT’s President Andrew Kaufman stated, “There were two types of cargo transported by rail that were off the charts last spring as our economy went into COVID free fall: construction materials and flour. It revealed a demand by Long Islanders to invest in homes that had become their sanctuaries and a desire to find and consume comfort food, i.e.; anything with flour. Today we are seeing this repeated in what is being brought in by rail to our intermodal facility.”

Every year The Brookhaven Rail Terminal welcomes over 300,000 tons of products destined for a broad range of regional companies serving more than 7,500,000 million Long Islanders. It is estimated that the BRT eliminates some 14,000 long haul truck trips on local roads and the Long Island Expressway annually.

“It shouldn’t come as a surprise that plywood, framing lumber, cement, and roofing shingles were among the most significant construction materials brought in by train during 2020,” continued Kaufman. “These items were directly related to the exponential increase in home improvement projects initiated by Long Islanders who wanted to improve, expand, or renovate their dwellings. That demand has not abated and in the first month of 2021 we are seeing a continued surge in the transport of these commodities to the Island, which suggests that this year will see similar market demands.”

Additional building supplies found at BRT’s rail yard and warehouse include , rebar and structural steel ,  underlayment, wood trusses, pressure treated wood  and more, significantly reducing the wait time for material to get to the consumer.

Flour Power

The BRT is also handling a significant increase in flour destined for bakeries that provide a broad range of baked goods to retail outlets throughout Nassau and Suffolk.

“From pizza to whole wheat loaves of bread, the first stop for much of the flour now consumed on Long Island is the BRT rail yard. The demand for comfort food soared during Year One of the pandemic, and this January, we have exceeded what was shipped in (74,960,000 pounds) by rail over the last twelve months ago.” 

The importance of rail freight in the New York metro region is likely to be further heightened as the new Biden Administration is expected to seek funds to strengthen rail’s national infrastructure.

 The Brookhaven Rail Terminal was formed by local, established Long Island business professionals. BRT is the first multi-modal rail freight facility on Long Island to provide rail based shipping, warehousing and Logistic Services to this critical U.S. market.       

© Brookhaven Rail Terminal.