Intermodal Briefs: Ports of Indiana, Port of Los Angeles
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
(Courtesy of Ports of Indiana)
The Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor kicks off the construction season with more than $77 million in projects under way. Also, the Port of Los Angeles, Calif., logs its ninth consecutive month of year-over-year cargo growth.
Ports of Indiana
The Ports of Indiana on May 16 reported that more than $77 million in infrastructure and expansion projects, including two new rail yards and rail rehabilitation, are now being developed at its Burns Harbor, Ind., location on Lake Michigan.
The current projects, in various stages of development, include:
- Construction of a $35.4 million dual bridge entrance to the port. The Indiana Department of Transportation is building highway bridges that will serve as the two inbound and two outbound lanes connecting the port to State Road 249, according to the Ports of Indiana. The 1,200-foot structures will provide heavy-haul truck access for carrying port cargo over 10 Norfolk Southern tracks and six lanes of traffic. According to the Port, the project once complete will expand the port entrance from two lanes to four lanes.
- Development of a $25 million multimodal project. Partially funded by a $9.85 million U.S. Department of Transportation FASTLANE grant, the port said it is constructing three ship berths and two rail yards to expand shipping capabilities and improve efficiencies. Once completed, the projects are slated to increase port capacity for handling ocean vessels by 35% and for handling railcars by 1,200%, according to the port. By adding new storage capacity for 250 railcars, the port said it can offer unit train service. The project will also turn three “unproductive areas” of the port into working docks with multimodal facilities that can transfer cargo between ocean vessels, Great Lakes freighters, river barges, multiple railroad, and regional truck lines, the port noted.
- Construction of a $9 million bulk cargo facility. A new 84,000 square-foot warehouse and bulk storage area will be built near the East Harbor, funded in part by a $4 million U.S. DOT Maritime Administration grant from the Port Infrastructure Development Program. The project’s warehouse will increase the port’s capacity of covered bulk storage by 70% once completed in 2025, according to the port.
- Capital investments of $8.3 million in port infrastructure. Multiple port improvement projects are under way, including developing shovel-ready industrial sites, rail and dock rehab work, multiple paving projects, and additional building and infrastructure upgrades, the port reported.
“This port is going through a transformational multi-year expansion and the amount of construction happening right now exceeds every year since the port was built in the 1960s,” Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock said. “These are critical projects that ensure our port remains an international gateway for ocean vessels, lakers and river barges, and that our multimodal infrastructure can meet growing freight demands in the Northwest Indiana and greater Chicago market.”
“This is an exciting time for our port, and I am thrilled to see the amount of investment and capacity expansions happening right now,” Port Director Ryan McCoy said. “We have an aggressive investment strategy for this port that will drive new business into our region; create jobs for our longshoremen, operating engineers and construction workers; and fuel growth for customers and port operators like Logistec, Metro Ports and Burns Harbor Railroad. We want to grow port business by helping our customers grow their business.”
Among the other railroads directly serving the Ports of Indiana are Evansville Western Railway, CSX, and Louisville & Indiana Railroad.
In related developments, United Steel Supply LLC is investing up to $10 million to open a steel processing and painting facility at Ports of Indiana’s Jeffersonville, Ind., location; and infrastructure investments surpassing $1.1 million were recently completed at Ports of Indiana-Jeffersonville through a yearlong series of road and rail projects by the port and MG Rail, its rail switcher. Also, the Ports of Indiana announced that its 2023 tonnage was the second highest in its 63-year history; and has hired Matt Service and Ian Hirt to help develop new cargo and rail projects.
Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles on May 20 reported handling 770,337 container units last month, up 12% from April 2023. It was the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year growth, it said.
According to the port, waterfront workers in the first four months of 2024 processed 3,150,841 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) across Los Angeles marine terminals—nearly 25% more than in 2023 and 5% higher than the port’s running five-year average dating back to 2019, including two years of record volumes during the pandemic. Similarly, for first-quarter 2024, ending March 31, 2,380,503 TEUs were processed, a rise of nearly 30% over first-quarter 2023.
April 2024 loaded imports came in at 416,929 TEUs, up 21% from the prior-year period, and loaded exports reached 133,046 TEUs, up 51% compared with last year. April marked the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year export gains, according to the port. Additionally, 220,262 empty containers were processed in April, down 14% from 2023.
“All our vital operational statistics at the Port of Los Angeles are at or better than pre-COVID levels,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said during the port’s May 20 briefing. “I’ve been urging shippers to take advantage of our fluid terminals and excess capacity. We’re ready to upscale on demand as we move into the second half of 2024.”
Seroka was joined at the briefing by Daniel Hackett of Hackett Associates, which produces a rolling six-month forecast of imports of 16 major container ports across North America. (See video above.) Hackett shared insights into the rise of West Coast cargo volumes over the past year and the outlook for a traditional “peak season” shipping season later this year, according to the port.
