Increased shipments of steel, coal, soy products and grain through Indiana's three-port system in 2018 led to a record-setting year for the Ports of Indiana.
The Ports of Indiana, which includes the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville and the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon, handled 14.8 million tons of cargo last year, a 25 percent increase over 2017 and a 21 percent increase over its previous record set in 2015.
The past year also marked the first time the Ports of Indiana set cargo-handling records in each quarter, and the fifth consecutive year that the Ports of Indiana handled more than 10 million tons of cargo, port officials said.
“We are so grateful for such an extraordinary year and fully appreciate what it took on behalf of all our port businesses and employees to achieve this kind of highwater mark,” said Vanta E. Coda, CEO of the Ports of Indiana. “Each of our ports builds and maintains exceptional infrastructure to allow our world-class port businesses to leverage what Indiana does exceedingly well manufacture the products essential for modern life and move food products for the world.”
Port officials said coal shipments were up 58 percent from 2017; soy products were up 26 percent, while grain rose 17 percent and steel saw a four percent increase.
The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor and the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville collectively shipped more than two million tons of steel, which is each port's largest commodity. The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon, which has been breaking volume records for the past four years, handled 61 percent more coal this year than it did it 2017, and experienced increased shipments in ethanol, soy products and dried distillers grain, port officials said.
Increased port activity comes as the Ports of Indiana increased investments at all three ports, pursued expansion through federal grants at its facilities in Burns Harbor and Jeffersonville and began the process to replace an overhead crane at the transit shed at Mount Vernon.
