New Orleans is one of America's leading general cargo ports. If you
consider the port facilities in just Orleans you have the "Port of New
Orleans." If you add the other ports included in the metropolitan area
you add the Port of South Louisiana, Port of St Bernard, Port
of Plaquemines, and the Port of Jefferson (JEDCO).
Combined these ports moved 357,000,000 tons of cargo in 2004 making
them the #1 port world wide in tonnage. That's more than Singapore,
Rotterdam, Shanghai, or Hong Kong. It is far more than Houston, New
York or LA.
Unfortunately tonnage isn't the whole story for a port. New Orleans ports tend to move low value bulk commodities like grain,
coffee, and steel. New Orleans lagged behind other ports in creating
a containerized facility suitable for the high value manufactured
goods. Container handling was only available in the Inner Harbor
Navigation Channel (Industrial Canal) until the new highly automated
Napoleon Avenue container facility was opened in 2003. Now almost every
wharf services steel, breakbulk, palletized & containerized
cargoes. In dollar terms, New Orleans is far down the list of
ports in the US
and pretty much off the charts worldwide.
New Orleans ports also do a large percentage of domestic business. Barges rather than ships move half of the tonnage.
Its not much of a stretch to consider the offshore oil and LNG ports to
be part of the overall complex as well. 13% of US oil imports, 1.2 million barrels per
day, flow through Port Fourchon and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Platform
- LOOP
Carnival, NCL and Royal Carribean use New Orleans as a Cruise Port. In
2004 750,000 passengers used the cruise port. The Julia Street Cruise
Facility is being expanded to the Erato St. Wharf. Cruise ships were
used to house police, fire and other essential personnel for about six
months after Katrina.
A
productive and efficient private maritime industry has helped produce
impressive results, including the USA's top market share for import
steel, natural rubber, plywood and coffee. Port facilities serve deep
water vessels, barges, grain elevators, trucks and railroads and the
only rail crossing of the Mississippi River south of what?
NOAA Brownfields Report
Port of New Orleans website
Port of South Louisiana website 284 million tons
In their
spring 2006 Port Record the Port of New Orleans reports that
their volume has reached record 2004 levels and is continuing to climb.