February 23 - The Ports of Indiana has handled nearly 3.9 million tons (3.5 million tonnes) of cargo during the fourth quarter of 2016, the highest quarterly shipment total in the organisation's 55-year history.
The total surpassed the ports' previous quarterly record, set in the second quarter of 2015, by 300,000 tons (272,155.4 tonnes).
The state's three ports' - Indiana-Burns, Indiana-Mount Vernon and Indiana-Jeffersonville - shipped nearly 11.3 million tons (11.25 million tonnes) in 2016, the second highest volume in its history and the third consecutive year the ports exceeded 10 million tons (9.07 million tonnes) annually.
Rich Cooper, ceo, Ports of Indiana, said: "With our total 2016 shipments more than 2 million tons (1.8 million tonnes) higher than the previous five-year average, a global steelmaker announcing plans to build a processing plant at our Jeffersonville port and several existing port companies making significant capital investments during the year, the prospect for continued growth at the ports is certainly encouraging."
As HLPFI reported earlier this month, the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor saw a 25 percent increase in large over dimensional cargoes, and has handled significant project cargoes, including beer fermentation tanks and wind turbine components, throughout 2016.
Meanwhile, the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon handled 2.5 million tons (2.3 million tonnes) of cargo during the fourth quarter, surpassing its previous quarterly record by 44 percent, and the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville handled the second highest steel shipments in the port's history.
