11-12. NovDec 2021 issue.qxp_Pages-12-40-JanFeb WPD 13/12/2021 16:20 Page 23
bulk
inland waterways
US Corn Belt Ports enabling waterborne commerce Gordon Feller reports...
T
he US inland waterways system includes 12,000 miles of commercially navigable channels and some 240 lock sites. America’s inland marine highways move commerce to and from 28 states, serve industrial and agricultural centres, and facilitate imports and exports at gateway ports. This extensive infrastructure helps barge transportation move the products used every day - the underpinnings of the US economy. Barges are ideal for hauling bulk commodities and oversized or overweight equipment, including grain, steel, iron, chemicals, cement, petroleum, coal, aggregates, project cargoes, and containers. In 2019, 514.9 million tonnes of waterborne cargo transited America’s inland waterways, a volume equal to roughly 14% of all intercity freight and valued at USD134.1 billion. The national economy benefits from the cost efficiencies barge transport provides over transport by truck or rail. More than 60% of
the nation’s grain exports move by barge, helping agricultural exports stay competitive in global markets. In fact, more than 22% of domestic petroleum and petroleum products and 20% of the coal used in electricity generation transit inland waterways. All that, at the lowest cost, safest way, and lowest carbon footprint, as barge transport limits road traffic congestion. New inland ports It is therefore no surprise that the US inland ports community has welcomed three new members to their team and each of them are located right in the middle of the country. These three ports are important for many reasons, including two simple facts: the vast region which these ports serve has always had a major impact on US exports, and that region has been one of the important parts of the national economy for many decades. More than 600 miles of inland waterways in this region have been a virtual port shadow zone where no federally recognised ports have existed before. The US Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center recently approved
38 World Port Development November/December 2021
three adjacent Principal US Ports in the Tri-State (IL, MO and IA) area above Locks and Dam 26 in the Heart of the Corn Belt. The Illinois Waterway (ILWW) Ports and Terminals, the Mid-America Port Commission (MAPC), and the Mississippi River Ports of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois (MRPEIWI) port statistical areas are referred to collectively as the Corn Belt Ports. Together, the three ports include the core of the largest grainproducing and exporting region in the nation. “This approval elevated the visibility of our region as a global origin for waterborne commerce,” says Ray Lees, Planning Programme Manager at the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission based in Peoria, Illinois. These new Federally designated ports on the Illinois and Upper Mississippi Rivers will likely individually rank each year as a Top 50 Principal US Port, and collectively they will be the equivalent of the largest inland port in the nation, based on freight tonnage handled, which is anticipated to be at well over 40 million tonnes annually.
