Newest domestic inland port opens in Tennessee

   R.J. Corman Railroad Group of Nicholasville, Ky., was selected by the board of the Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority to operate the nation’s newest multimodal inland port at Cates Landing, Tenn.
   “We see the Port of Cates Landing as having the potential for a wide range of prospective activities, where a modern berthing dock, abundant development area, a warehouse, operating authority for Foreign Trade Zone 283, and eventual on-dock rail will be available to facilitate cost-effective cargo handling and management of freight in connecting the state of Tennessee with the global market place,” said Jimmy Williamson, chairman of the Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority, in a statement.
   The Port of Cates Landing has been a 15-year, $50 million project and is the only site above the 100-year floodplain on the Mississippi River (located at River Mile 900) between Memphis, Tenn., and Cairo, Ill. The facility is located about 27 miles from Interstate 155 at Dyersburg, Tenn.
   The river terminal offers barge transport operators a 262-foot-wide loading berth space, along with a 9,000-foot-long channel, a 130-foot minimum water width at the harbor bottom, and a 14-foot draft.
   The industrial area includes an initially developed 150 acres of port property, with another 345 acres that’s been granted Tennessee Select status adjacent to the port and owned by the Lake County, and a further 4,000 acres of potential industrial development in the vicinity.
   As port operator, R.J. Corman will perform all dock operations, manage the transit shed and cargo lay-down areas, and oversee Cates Landing’s marketing. R.J. Corman has operations in 24 states and serves all seven North American major railroads, in addition to many regional and short-line railroads and dozens of industries using rail.
   Throughout the development of the facility, the Port of Cates Landing’s board used Informa Economics, based in Memphis, to provide marketing and analytical reviews.