Ethanol boosts Indiana port volumes

   The Ports of Indiana handled 8.1 million tons of cargo in 2011, the largest annual tonnage since 2006.
   “Despite continued economic uncertainties, this was the fourth consecutive year our ports experienced growth,” said Ports of Indiana Chief Executive Officer Rich Cooper. “Our 2011 shipments were nearly a million tons higher than the five year average. We’ve also seen a significant increase in capital investments by our port companies as they prepare for future growth. This is a good sign for things to come.”
   New shipments of ethanol and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) shipments combined with gains in limestone, salt and steel cargoes fueled a 5 percent increase in total shipments moving through Indiana’s three ports.
   The Ports of Indiana is a statewide port authority that operates a system of three ports: Mount Vernon and Jeffersonville on the Ohio River, and Burns Harbor in Portage on Lake Michigan.
   The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon handled 4.7 million tons in 2011, 12 percent more than in 2010 and its largest annual tonnage since 1994.
   Ethanol-related shipments played the biggest role in the increase, with Aventine Renewable Energy operating in its first full year at the port and other ethanol producers taking advantage of the port’s new rail-to-barge transloading facility. Ethanol shipments were five-times the previous year’s total and DDGS, a byproduct of ethanol production used as animal feed, was 10-times greater than in 2010.
   Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor moved 2 million tons of cargo in 2011, an increase of 10 percent over 2010 which was fueled by shipping increases in limestone, steel, fertilizer, coal, and salt.
   The Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville handled 1.4 million tons in 2011 with salt shipments increasing 17 percent over 2010 figures. There were also small increases in coal and steel.