Shipments on the rise at Ports of Indiana

The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon’s volume for the first nine months of 2017 rose to over 4.5 million t, up 15% versus 2016 figures and the second highest ever at the port for that time period. The port is on track for a third-consecutive year of exceeding 6 million t. Coal and ethanol shipments have remained strong and were up 31% and 34 %, respectively, compared to last year. There were also significant increases in shipments of salt (54%), fertilizer (49%) and minerals (32%). 

Shipments at the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville for the first three quarters of the year reached over 1.6 million t and remain strong, driven, in part, by auto- and construction-related steel processing. In September this year, the port’s ‘steel campus’ celebrated the opening of POSCO, the world’s fifth largest steelmaker. The nine-month tonnage for 2017 was 9% higher than the previous five-year average and the port continues to track towards a fourth-consecutive year of handling in excess of two million t. of cargo.

The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor handled 2 million t from January through September this year, recording not only the second-highest total for that nine-month time period, but also the second highest figures for September in the port’s history. Overall shipments for the first three quarters of 2017 rose nearly 11% while steel cargoes were up nearly 49%, oils up 40% and grains up nearly 14%, compared to last year. Ship and barge traffic were both up 20% during the first three quarters. Shipments included Midwest soybeans headed to Spain and several vessels carrying over-sized cargoes, such as windmill components and the ICARUS detector, the world’s largest liquid argon particle hunter and the most valuable piece of cargo ever handled at the port.

Read the article online at: https://www.drybulkmagazine.com/ports-terminals/30102017/shipments-on-the-rise-at-ports-of-indiana/