Ag Driving Near-Record Burns Harbor Shipments
(photo courtesy the Ports of Indiana)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor says November could be a near-record month for shipments. Port Director Rick Heimann says ag cargoes are a primary driver, with year-to-date grain shipments more than double the same period last year.
In a release from the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System, Heimann says Québec has become "a key trading partner" for Indiana. “Looking ahead," he said, "we are expecting a surge in end-of-year shipments of steel products and bulk commodities for the steel industry in Northwest Indiana. Based on current projections, November could prove to be a near record month, especially for Seaway cargoes."
The report comes as the seaway system overall reports "a steady flow of traditional cargoes during the month of October." The system says year-to-date cargo shipments from March 21 to October 21 totaled 25.8 million metric tons, down more than 5 percent compared to the same period the previous year.
Indiana continues to explore a fourth port. Officials have identified a former American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) property in Lawrenceburg as the best location. Ports of Indiana Chief Executive Officer Rich Cooper says a port at the former Tanners Creek coal power plant site would connect Indiana to greater Cincinnati, which is the last major metropolitan touched by Indiana waterways that is not already covered by the system.