Cargo Statistics: Brownsville, Indiana, Virginia

 

The Port of Brownsville’s total operating revenue reached nearly $24 million in unaudited total revenue in 2017, exceeding the previous high-water mark of $19.9 million set in 2015 by more than $4 million. On the annual tonnage side of the business, the volume of cargo handled at the port topped 10.3 million short tons, also a new record.

 

BND Commission Secretary Sergio Tito Lopez and Commissioners Carlos Masso and Ralph Cowen discussed new businesses at the port and current and future projects including channel deepening, the $1.5 billion Valley Crossing Pipeline project and the renovation and expansion of the port’s administration facilities.

 

Other noteworthy achievements of 2017 discussed at the State of the Port:

 

Vessel traffic: A 21% increase in vessel traffic. A total of 1,317 vessels called on the port in 2017 – up from 1,091 vessel calls registered FY 2016.

 

New tenant operations: CSC Sugar/Sugaright; West Plains LLC; SteelCoast; Texan Cement.

 

Foreign Trade Zone No. 62: The port’s FTZ again ranked second in the nation for the value of exports in 2016, according to the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board’s annual report to Congress. FTZ No. 62 reported more than $2.8 billion in exported goods in 2016. Additionally, it ranked 25th nationally for the value of imports totaling more than $2.5 billion. FTZ No. 62 consistently ranks in the top five nationally since 2012 and this marks the second time in a row it achieved the nation’s number two spot.

 

Ship Recycling: The USS Independence completed its final voyage of 16,000 miles after arriving at the Port of Brownsville from Bremerton, Washington in June. International Shipbreaking Ltd. won the Navy bid to recycle the 60,000-ton vessel, the last of the Forrestal-class of "supercarriers" to arrive at the port. This is the third vessel of its kind to be recycled by the company, which is part of the EMR Group.

 

Keppel AmFELS: Honolulu-based Pasha Hawaii announced the selection of Port of Brownsville-based Keppel AmFELS for the construction of two containerships, with an option to order two additional vessels. Delivery of the first vessel is expected in the first quarter of 2020, while the second vessel will be delivered in the third quarter of the same year. The contracts are worth $400 million to Keppel, creating 700 local well-paying jobs.

 

Regional Collaboration: The BND signed an MOU with the Mission Economic Development Corporation to collaborate on international trade opportunities with Mexico and other development projects. This effort was subsequently followed with similar MOUs with the Cameron County Bridge System and Pharr Bridge, all promoting international economic development.

 

 

The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor completed a landmark year in 2017 and is poised for significant future growth as a result of several historic developments. In addition to handling an 8 percent increase in cargo shipments in 2017, the port doubled the size of its bulk terminal, attracted a nationally-renowned stevedore in Metro Ports, handled its most valuable cargo ever, and announced a $20 million expansion made possible by earning one of only 10 "FASTLANE" small project grants awarded in the U.S. last year.

 

The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor handled 2.8 million tons in 2017 completing the highest four-year total in the port's history, a 27 percent increase over the previous four-year period. Cargoes contributing to the 2017 increase included limestone, steel-related products and heavy lift/project cargoes, such as refinery tanks, laboratory equipment and windmill components. 

 

The most valuable shipment ever to cross the port's dock was called "ICARUS" - the world's largest liquid argon particle hunter - which was unloaded from an ocean vessel in July by Federal Marine Terminals (FMT). Hundreds of Twitter users followed the device via #IcarusTrip as it was shipped in two semi-truck sized containers from Switzerland to the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory ("Fermilab") in Batavia, Ill. The port is a preferred hub for oversized cargoes being shipped by ocean vessels into the Midwest.

 

In 2017, the port was awarded a $9.85 million grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation that will supplement an approximately $20 million expansion, which includes the construction of two rail yards, a new shipping berth, a truck marshalling yard, a 1,200-foot dock expansion, and a new bulk cargo terminal with multimodal connections for handling transfers between ships, barges, rail cars, and trucks.

 

Despite a slight dip in volume of .7 percent in February, The Port of Virginia’s® fiscal year 2018 cargo volumes are up nearly 4 percent, or nearly 69,000 TEUs.

 

In February, the port processed 218,729 TEUs, which is .7 percent, or 1,647 fewer units when compared with last February. Cargo volumes at Richmond Marine Terminal (RMT) and Virginia Inland Port (VIP) and were up 45 and 4 percent, respectively. Rail volume was up 3 percent, total barge traffic increased 1 percent while truck volume was down 4 percent.

 

The port is taking a number of measures to improve its performance, including:

• expanding hours of operation at the truck gates
• shifting more vessel services to Portsmouth Marine Terminal
• having activated its truck reservation system at NIT on March 1
• delivering eight new diesel-electric shuttle trucks to Virginia International Gateway (VIG) on Feb. 28

 

In April, the first of 13 new container stacks at VIG will go into service. Further, eight additional shuttle trucks and six new rail-mounted gantry cranes will be arriving at VIG later this month and the second new container stack is scheduled to go into service in mid-May.

 

The port’s fiscal-year (July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018) volumes continue to track ahead of last year: VIP volume is up 4.6 percent; RMT, up 16 percent; total barge traffic up 7.4 percent; truck volume up 7 percent; vehicle units up 12 percent; breakbulk tonnage up 3 percent; and rail volume up .5 percent.