Plastic resin exports from Louisiana continue to boom.
Statistics from IHS Markit indicate the volume of plastic resin exports shipped through New Orleans, as measured in TEUs, was up 31.3% in the first six months of 2019, compared to the first half of 2018.
Port of New Orleans President and CEO Brandy Christian says container-on-barge volumes have grown 87% from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal 2019 and are expected to reach 30,000 TEUs this year.
SCF Marine Inc.’s SEACOR America’s Marine Highway unit service, which moves containerized imports and exports through New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, and feeds empty containers to exporters who need equipment to move plastic resin, has seen its container-on-barge business grow rapidly, American Shipper reports. Here’s a look at its rates to and from New Orleans and Port Allen.
“Waterborne container cargo provides shippers with one of the safest and most fuel-efficient forms of transportation today,” said SCF President and CEO Tim Power tells American Shipper. “It reduces roadway damage, highway congestion, bottlenecks at port gate structures and daytime traffic at terminals.”
SEACOR AMH began its Mississippi River container-on-barge service in June 2016. In 2018, it moved approximately 50,000 TEUs, an increase of more than 40% over 2017. With rising customer demand and mounting concerns over environmental pollution, the company has seen further growth this year.
SEACOR AMH has a terminal in Port Allen, Louisiana, which is across the river from downtown Baton Rouge.
