CEO: Ports of Indiana Numbers Reflect Recovery
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The chief executive officer of the Ports of Indiana says a positive year-end report for the state’s three ports is representative of Indiana’s recovering economy. The authority this week announced more than 11 million tons of cargo were handled at the ports in 2021, a 34% increase over the previous year. “I think our numbers represent Indiana getting back to work and doing what Hoosiers have always done,” said Vanta Coda.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Coda said Indiana’s ports have not had to weather the same supply chain challenges as the coasts.
“The headline supply chain problems [involve] largely imported goods coming through California ports, East Coast ports. For us here in the Midwest, we’ve not experienced that amount of disruption,” said Coda. “Now, having said that, we’ve always had a supply chain challenge largely in the workforce. We’ve been in a trucker shortage for 10 years; it’s not news to anybody who deals in transportation and logistics.”
Coda says the key to bridging the workforce gap in transportation in logistics is awareness.
“Among Millennials, we only have a 2%-3% recognition as a career path for transportation and logistics,” he said. “So we’re already fighting a battle.”
The ports in Burns Harbor on Lake Michigan and Jeffersonville on the Ohio River set new full-year records for handling cargo with 3.39 million tons and 3.22 million tons, respectively. The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon also saw a 32% increase in cargo tonnage last year.
Indiana’s ports handle a variety of cargo, such as coal, steel, grain and limestone, among others, as opposed to consumer goods.
Coda says more capital investment in Indiana’s ports will be key to build on the growth seen in 2021.
“We’re in the midst of finishing up our TIGER grant that ended up being a $24 million upgrade to our Jeffersonville facilities. We are a third of the way through in Burns Harbor on $20 million of federal grants and all of these, we bring half of the economic capital to bear,” he said.
Additionally, Coda did not have an update on the state’s search for a fourth port. In September 2020, Governor Eric Holcomb announced the state would no longer pursue a site near Lawrenceburg as a potential fourth port.
Coda says the port authority continues to do its due diligence in the search for a port location, but “we haven’t found that perfect combination at the moment.”