Jeffersonville Port Sets Quarterly Shipping Record
The Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville recorded the highest quarterly shipments in its 30-year history during the first quarter of 2015. Cargo volume exceeded 800,000 tons, up 10 percent from the previous record set in the first quarter of 2014.
First quarter volumes of grain remained steady while steel cargoes more than doubled and fertilizer shipments were up nearly 30 percent from the record year-ago quarter, including a 70 percent increase in potash used in fertilizers.
"The strong start to 2015 is testimony to this port's connection to international markets and the diverse portfolio of companies which are leaders in their respective business categories," said Port Director Scott Stewart. "High-performing steel processors, a leading grain and transportation services company and efficient barge loading and unloading capabilities combine to make this port one of the region's top economic assets."
Widely known for its steel focus serving the automotive and appliance industries, the port's increase in steel volume was helped, in part, by the addition in 2014 of Mill Steel Co. of Grand Rapids, Mich. to the family of steel processors that make up the port's "Steel Campus." Mill Steel's new flat-rolled service center began shipping steel to customers last June. Long-time port steel processors Voss Clark, Steel Dynamics and Metals USA also invested in their respective facilities last year to accelerate line speeds and increase capabilities.
Located on the Ohio River inside the Louisville metropolitan area, the port offers multimodal capabilities with year-round barge service to 20+ states, ocean vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes via the U.S. Inland Waterways System. Rail service is provided by CSX, Louisville-Indiana Railroad and onsite switching operations by MG Rail.
The port now has 28 companies and 316 acres of industrial sites available for businesses that rely on multimodal connectivity for their inbound raw materials and outbound finished products.