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.