Missouri River: Open for Business & Business is Booming
On February 12th and 13th, the Missouri River Stakeholders converged on Kansas City, Missouri to discuss current challenges and opportunities for growth. The main message echoed repeatedly, is the Missouri River is open for business, and business is booming.
Over the course of the two-day event, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard worked with the river’s commercial navigators to address areas of concerns as well as plan for the future growth of transportation on one of the nation’s most vital freight corridors.
Record attendance was seen at the Annual U.S. Army Corps/U.S. Coast Guard Navigator’s meeting, in part, due to expanded services up to Omaha and Blair Nebraska and Sioux City, Iowa. Ports, terminals, barge lines and boat companies ranging from Sioux City to St. Louis are experiencing freight growth, thanks to increased communication with vital river service providers, such as the U.S. Corps and Coast Guard.
Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals, Inc. (IRPT) continues to play a key role in strengthening the communication with its revitalization committee. Since the start of the committee in 2014, many ports and river terminals have come back on-line providing freight services on the river.
IRPT is a trade association for the nation’s inland waterway, port, and terminal professionals. Its mission is to provide a platform for inland river port and terminal professionals to improve their businesses and to inform policy makers on the needs and economic impacts of our industry. To learn more, please visit www.irpt.net