February 9 - The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor handled nearly 2.6 million tons (2.4 million tonnes) of cargo in 2016.
Over 8.6 million tons (7.8 million tonnes) have been handled at the port since 2014- the highest three-year total in the port's history.
According to the port, the 2016 shipping total was its third highest tonnage in the last ten years. The port also claims a significant increase in heavy lift cargoes, with shipments of large over dimensional cargoes growing by nearly 25 percent.
Shipments included multiple large cranes and containers of crane components from Europe for intermodal yards around the US Midwest, storage tanks destined for manufacturers and wind tower components and blades, says the port.
Nearly USD2.5 million was invested in port infrastructure in 2016 including dredging and adding stabilisation stones to two berths increasing the number of docks capable of handling vessels that operate at the maximum draught for the St Lawrence Seaway. To improve multimodal connections, the port also replaced 2,000 ft (610 m) of rail track and rehabilitated three rail turnouts.
The port claims that other 2016 highlights included a major expansion by Ratner Steel, a producer of carbon sheet steel for service centres and the manufacturing of agricultural and transportation products. The Minnesota based company is adding an extra 100,000 sq ft (9,290 sq m) of capacity to load and unload steel shipments. The USD8 million project is expected to be completed by March 2017.
According to the port, it currently has 110 acres (44.5 ha) available for development.
