Dan Stahl retiring as CEO of Port of Longview, leaving with a track record of success but in a time of uncertainty

Port completed many projects during his six-year tenure, but tariff war with China may reduce grain exports, the port's most important commodity

Port of Longview Chief Executive Officer Dan Stahl will retire this summer, ending a six-year tenure that set the stage for growth but which closes at a time of uncertainty due to Trump administration tariff policies.

Stahl, who will turn 62 this summer, will stay on until a new CEO is hired and has a couple weeks on the job before finally stepping out of the “White House” administrative office for the final time as the port’s leader.

Stahl came to the Port of Longview as chief operating officer 2017 and was named CEO August 2020. He previously served 11 years at the Port of Bellingham and 8 years at the Port of Anacortes.

In all, he’ll have worked 32 years in the port industry by the time he retires. He remarried last year and wants more personal time with his family, Stahl said.

“We all tried to talk him out of it,” said Evan Jones, one of three commissioners who set port policy and which will select Stahl’s replacement.

The commission nevertheless knew the time was coming, because Stahl only wanted to sign a one year contract last year, Jones said.

Stahl was so dedicated to the port that the commissioners tried to discourage him — without success — from working so many Saturdays, Jones said.

During Stahl’s tenure, the port rehabilitated and improved Willow Grove Park, which it took over from Cowlitz County in 2016. It also demolished the old Continental Grain elevator at Berth 4 to get the site ready for — one day — what is expected to be a new bulk cargo handler.

It also moved port administrative offices into the historic, two-story “White House:” that was the original Long-Bell Lumber Co. office in Longview.

In January, the port awarded its biggest contract ever — $44.7 million — to add two new rails to the existing two-track rail corridor linking the port to the BNSF main line. It also will prepare the railroad beds for the eventual addition of four more track sets. The project is intended to reduce rail congestion and make the port more attractive to developers and bulk cargo.

“In order to develop Berth 4 you need expanded rail corridor to serve that terminal. There are times when the (existing) two tracks are at capacity,” Stahl said.

According to a 2025 U.S. Department of Transportation study, the port is the nation’s 22nd largest handler of bulk cargo, mostly grain. It handled nearly 10 million tons of bulk cargo in 2022.

“Dan proved to be an excellent leader for the port and was a very steady hand in the way he guided staff and partners,” Ted Sprague, president of the Cowlitz Economic Development Council, said by email.

“He was not fearful about taking on large projects, such as improvements to Willow Grove and the port’s rail system. I am thankful for Dan and his steadfast support for economic development,” Sprague added.

Stahl said he wanted to finish up his tenure strong, which is why he committed to helping his replacement settle in.

The port has had at least three strong financial years in a row, bringing in more than $60 million in revenue in each. It kept spending below budget and earned net revenue (profits) of $17.9 million, $7 million, and $14.1 million in 2022-24.

“During the time of Dan’s leadership, the Port team earned nearly $60 million in net revenue – more than double our previous pace,” Port Commission President Allan Erickson said in a prepared statement. “These funds have been reinvested into port assets that continue to serve our customers.”

Stahl said he’s most proud of the way that port staff — about 110 people, counting administrative and maintenance staff and longshore workers — handled the COVID pandemic.

“It was not just people in the office. It was outside in the maintenance crew and longshore labor as well. Those were difficult times and we worked well together. When logistics chains got bottled up, that brought new opportunities to this port,” such as handling tapioca and plywood, which are out of its regular wheelhouse.

“We seized on them and and made a good profit, and we have reinvested that in the rail corridor, which hopefully will bring us more business in the future,” Stahl said.

The port has long been a critical cog of the local economy, supporting 1,250 direct jobs and generating $33 million in state and local taxes and $2.6 billion in economic activity in 2023, according to a consultant’s report.

But there are challenges and uncertainties ahead. President Trump’s tariff war with China could disrupt the port’s grain business. Last month, the Chinese government suspended the import licenses of three U.S. companies, including EGT, which operates a grain terminal at the port of Longview. China is a major purchaser of U.S. grain, and Longview is one of the conduits for that product.

”There is so much uncertainty in the market,” with the situation changing daily, Stahl said. For now, the Port of Longview’s three dry bulk export terminals — 2, 5 and 9 — “remain pretty busy.”

A representative of Missouri-based Bunge Global SA, partial owner of EGT, did not not immediately return calls for comment.

Stahl is obviously concerned about the potential impact of a trade war, but his demeanor never hints at it. He’s the prototype of an unflappable manager.

”You have to keep your eyes on the prize,” he said. “To be effective you have to have a goal on the horizon and find ways to continue to work in that direction. If you are going to focus on achievement, you have to stay calm,” Stahl said.

And patient.

A case in point: One of the port’s industrial properties is the largely vacant, 282-acre Barlow Point area west of Longview. Development out there likely is many years away. It has none the roads or infrastructure needed to service industrial clients. And the port’s five-year capital plan does not include any work there, Stahl said.

“It will take a significant lift (financial investment) to bring the infrastructure out there.”

An agreement with a hydrogen fuel producer to locate at Barlow Point has expired, and “change in policies has caused the U.S. hydrogen market to step back,” although its still active globally, Stahl said.

In any case, permitting major industrial projects “continues to be a challenge” because of the number of permits needed from federal, state and local agencies and the opposition from environmental groups.

But it is because of challenges like this that Stahl has enjoyed his career in the port business.

He holds a master’s degree in ocean systems management from MIT and an undergraduate degree in marine transportation from the Maine Maritime Academy.

“Port work is challenging. On the one hand you are a public agency and you need to do all your business in public, but you have to run it like a business and make a profit. Those two things are hard to do at the same time.”

He also enjoys working with a diverse group of people, from dock workers to international shippers, to foreign-flagged vessel operators to industrial clients.

“It’s a very interesting place to work.”

He says he’ll miss his coworkers the most but he looks forward to spending more tine with this family, which includes a son in the merchant marines in the Great Lakes region and a daughter who is a occupational therapist in Tacoma.

Stahl plans to travel in retirement but will remain active in both the American Association of Port Authorities and Washington Public Port Authorities. He alsop wants to pursue his interest as a certified leadership coach.

“I’ve worked on the waterfront my whole life. While I’ll no longer be at the port’s helm, I’ll never be far from the water.”