Estimate of jobs at Rocky Mount cargo terminal dwindles to almost nothing
When the Carolina Connector intermodal rail terminal was announced in 2016, the company behind the project promised to bring hundreds of jobs to the Rocky Mount area.
But in an update this week, CSX officials said they’re now planning to create fewer than 10 positions.
After five years of planning and construction, the Carolina Connector terminal, capable of moving 100,000 shipping containers a year between trains and trucks, is expected to open in early October, officials said.
CSX officials provided an update on the project to Nash County commissioners this week in which the terminal appeared to be moving ahead as planned until Commissioner Fred Belfield Jr. asked about jobs.
“What’s your projection of increased employment in the immediate area here, especially in Nash and Edgecombe counties?” Belfield asked.
“Given how advanced in technology this terminal will be, we anticipate that the direct jobs will probably be, meaning the ones on site, will probably be less than 10 employees,” CSX Director of Business Development Kellen Riley responded.
When CSX announced the Carolina Connector in July 2016, the company said the project would bring 300 on-site jobs to Rocky Mount.
The new projection would be 97% fewer positions than originally promised.
WRAL News asked CSX what caused the drop in on-site positions. The company responded in a statement that changes to the design of the Carolina Connector over the past five years mean fewer resources are required to operate it. Indirect jobs generated by the site still provide broad economic value to the community, officials said.
“What we’re really talking about there is not only truckers and logistics companies, but it’s also local manufacturers and suppliers,” Riley told commissioners. "An intermodal tends to attract big boxes. So, think of your Amazon, your Target distribution centers, your Walmart distribution."
The state Department of Transportation estimates the project will bring $160 million in infrastructure investment to Rocky Mount. The agency also has projected the Carolina Connector will create more than 1,300 indirect jobs statewide – a boost that should lift Rocky Mount’s economy, too.
“It’s the indirect jobs that we’re anticipating are going to be the biggest impact,” Riley said.
