By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — For the first time, ships on Indiana waterways for the fourth consecutive year topped 10 million tons of cargo. Part of the credit goes to 14 percent increases in both ethanol and fertilizer shipments during 2017.

 “Ports of Indiana experienced a historic year and we look forward to extending our growth spurt in 2018,” said Rich Cooper, Ports of Indiana CEO.

The 11.8 million tons handled at all three ports in the state was 5 percent more than in 2016. Forty-five million tons of shipments from 2014-17 also exceeded the previous four-year average by nearly 50 percent, according to ports officials.

The higher totals last year were also influenced by increases of 28 percent for minerals, 26 percent for limestone, 14 percent for steel and 9 percent for coal. Shipments of heavy lift and project cargoes such as wind turbines, laboratory equipment and mega storage tanks increased by 27 percent, officials said.

Cooper said the arrival of companies like Metro Ports and POSCO Steel also helped drive up the numbers.

The port at Mt. Vernon along the Ohio River handled 6.8 million tons of cargo, while 2.8 million tons went through Burns Harbor and Jeffersonville recorded 2.2 million tons. According to ports officials, the biggest gain at Mt. Vernon was a 41 percent increase in fertilizer.

The biggest increase last year at Burns Harbor was a 38 percent gain in steel, and a major influence in shipping volumes at Jeffersonville was the September 2017 opening of POSCO, one of the largest producers of steel worldwide, officials said.

Cooper said the potential is there to handle even greater volumes of cargo in the future due to major expansions planned at Jeffersonville along the Ohio River and Burns Harbor at Lake Michigan.

Work on a $17 million expansion at Jeffersonville will begin this year. Included in that project are major rail extensions, a unit train rail siding, a bulk terminal and a new transmodal facility.

Burns Harbor will see a $20 million investment for an expansion still in the development stages, officials said. The work there will include the construction of two rail yards, a 1,200-foot expansion of a cargo dock and new cargo terminal with connections for handling cargo transfers among ships, barges, railcars and trucks.

The possibility of adding a fourth port on 725 acres at Lawrenceburg is still under serious review.

Chris Hurt, a professor in agricultural economics at Purdue University, said increased shipments of ethanol is likely from higher demand for the corn-based fuel overseas from countries like China and Brazil. He said China, for example, wants the cleaner-burning fuel to add to gasoline for reducing air pollution stemming from a growing economy.

Hurt wasn’t sure why fertilizer shipments were up at the ports, but said it could be a result of higher transportation costs by truck. “Sounds pretty positive; two of our ag commodities have more transportation and movement through the ports,” he observed.

He said port activity can be a leading indicator on the health of the overall economy. However, more shipments on water can also reflect fewer goods delivered by trucks when diesel fuel prices go up like they did in 2017, and more buying of grain overseas from low prices, which isn’t necessarily good for the farmer.