Ports Of Indiana Achieve Second-Highest Cargo Volume In History

Ports of Indiana recorded 13 million tons of cargo shipments in 2024, marking the second-highest annual volume in the port authority’s 60-year history. This represents a 3% increase from 2023, continuing a four-year growth trend. The record remains 14.8 million tons in 2018.

Economic Growth and Key Commodities

CEO Jody Peacock highlighted that agriculture products, coal, and steel-related shipments made up 85% of total cargo, underscoring the ports’ importance to manufacturing, energy, and agriculture.

The largest-volume commodities included:

• Coal: 3.7 million tons
• Steel: 2.9 million tons
• Grain, soy products, fertilizer, minerals, ethanol, road salt, and DDGs (dried distillers grains)

Significant increases in cargo included:

• Steel: +246,000 tons (+14% at Mount Vernon)
• Coal: +140,000 tons
• Road salt: +80,000 tons (+48% at Mount Vernon, +44% at Burns Harbor, +17% at Jeffersonville)
• DDGs at Jeffersonville: +1,773% (due to a new high-speed bulk terminal by Consolidated Grain & Barge)

Investments and Infrastructure Development

Public and private investments in Indiana’s three ports exceeded $200 million in 2024, funding:

• Four company expansions
• Three new companies joining the ports
• Six federal grant projects for critical infrastructure
• Launch of Indiana River & Rail Terminals, the largest general cargo operation on the Ohio River

This contributed to a 48% increase in cargo shipments at Mount Vernon terminals and 12% at Jeffersonville.

Performance of Indiana’s Ports

1. Mount Vernon: 6.6 million tons (2% lower than 2023, but 32% above the past four-year average)
2. Jeffersonville: 3.6 million tons (up 10% from 2023)
3. Burns Harbor: 2.8 million tons (up 5% from 2023)

Economic Impact

A 2023 economic study by Martin Associates found that Ports of Indiana supports:

• 49,000 jobs
• $8.7 billion annual economic impact
• $3.5 billion in annual wages
• $536 million in state and local taxes

With continued investments and record cargo growth, Ports of Indiana remains a critical economic driver for the state, enhancing its manufacturing, agriculture, and energy sectors while expanding logistics and infrastructure to support future growth.