Jeffboat Announces Plant Closure

 

Following recent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notices of November 1, 2017 and February 1, 2018 announcing layoffs, Jeffboat president and CEO Mark Knoy said they will finish construction of barges around the first of May.  Following the closure, Jeffboat will be reviewing the best alternative uses for the 65 acres of riverfront property currently occupied by the shipyard. 

 

Over an 80 year history here in Jeffersonville, Jeffboat’s skilled workers have built 12,900 vessels.  The majority of these vessels were towboats and barges that deliver cargoes throughout the inland river system.  Over this time, Jeffboat has been known for its quality of barge and boat construction, and has enjoyed a strong following of customers over its long history.  In recent years, Jeffboat’s workforce has been as high as 1,300 teammates.

 

Unfortunately, the current barge market is in an over-supply situation and the outlook for new barge construction is very poor for the foreseeable future.  As a result, Jeffboat has seen its barge construction demand drop significantly over the last three years, and its workforce has shrunk to just 220 teammates today.  With orders running out and no future backlog of business, the shipyard will launch its last barge sometime in the middle of April. 

 

Knoy acknowledged the great relationship and strong support Jeffboat has had within the local community and with Teamster Local 89.  “Our great teammates have made the difference over time in delivering a quality product to our customers, and I want to thank them for their commitment to excellence.” 

 

While American Commercial Lines owns Jeffboat, it also owns American Commercial Barge Line LLC (ACBL).  “While we’re very sorry that market conditions have left us with no choice but to close Jeffboat.” Knoy said, “The shipyard closure will not have an impact on ACBL’s barge freight business or its customers, vendors and teammates.”   ACBL is one of the nation’s largest and most diversified barge carriers, operating 3,600 barges and 140 boats that transport nearly 60 million tons of our nation’s building blocks, grain exports and fuels and chemicals across our 12,000-mile inland waterways system upon the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to New Orleans, along the Gulf coast from Texas to Florida, and to major transportation and manufacturing hubs along the Illinois Waterway, and the Ohio River and its tributaries.