Jeffersonville Port Sets Cargo Record in 2014
The Port of Indiana - Jeffersonville handled over 2.4 million tons of cargo in 2014, up 48 percent from the previous year, according to a news release from the port. This was the first time annual shipments exceeded two million tons in the port’s 29-year history.
The 2014 total was 464,000 tons higher than the previous record set in 2006. Another outstanding harvest in 2014 helped push grain tonnage to its highest volume ever breaking the previous record set in 1993.
Steel and salt shipments also set all-time records, up 72 percent and 51 percent from 2013, respectively. For the year, the port handled approximately 1,300 barges, 197,000 trucks and 18,000 railcars.
“These robust year-end numbers illustrate the impact our port companies have on the region’s economy,” Ports of Indiana CEO Rich Cooper said.
“We also had tremendous growth in the port’s ‘steel campus’ in 2014 as five companies announced over $50 million of new investments related to steel processing. The port’s access to the Ohio River provides a sustainable competitive advantage for multimodal companies that want to reach world markets from the Midwest.”
The Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville opened in 1985, becoming Indiana’s second on the Ohio River. The first was the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon, which opened in 1976 in far southwestern Indiana.
Meanwhile, two companies operating a joint plant at the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville are planning a 25 percent expansion.
Chemtrusion Inc. and Mytex Polymers US Corp. are requesting tax abatements for a total of $1.4 million in real property and $5.9 million in personal property, according to a news release from One Southern Indiana. The companies must receive approval from the Jeffersonville Redevelopment Commission and Jeffersonville City Council.
