OmniTRAX To Assist Indiana Business Center

A short line hold company will join a partnership to help develop a business park in Southern Indiana.

OmniTRAX will work with the River Ridge Development Authority on the rail infrastructure at the agency’s River Ridge Commerce Center.

The center is served by CSX and located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky.

In a news release, the agency said the center is close to three interstates highways and the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville.

The center is home to several manufacturing and distribution facilities, including those managed by Amazon, A&R Logistics, GE Appliances, Medline and Bose.

Indiana Port Seeking Operator

The Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville has issued a request for proposals for a general cargo terminal operator.

The requests seek a long-term business partner to provide stevedoring and distribution services to existing customers, grow and diversify cargoes, make investments in facility expansions and drive projects that create regional economic benefits.

CSX and the Louisville & Indiana serve the terminal, which is situated on 10 acres adjacent to the Ohio River.

The terminal has two barge docks, a 131,000-square-foot warehouse, 4 acres of dock space, outdoor storage and a covered craneway for transloading commodities between barge, rail, truck and warehouse. About 16,000 rail cars pass through the port annually.

The selected operator would take over terminal operations on Jan. 1, 2022, port officials said in a news release.

Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville Named Director

The Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville has named Jeff Miles as its director.

He previously served as chief operating officer, deputy executive director and interim chief executive officer for the North Carolina State Ports Authority.

Miles also spent 10 years as general manager of container operations at the South Carolina State Ports Authority.

Miles replaces Scott Steward, who left in early January after six years at the port.

Jeffersonville Port Handled 2.2M Tons in 2016

During 2016, the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville handled 2.2 million tons of cargo, making it the third consecutive year the port has exceeded 2 million tons of cargo.

In a news release the port said that its annual shipping total was 17 percent higher than the previous five-year average.

Major cargoes handed at the port include steel, grain and fertilizer.

Steel shipments last year in 2016 were the second highest in port history.

There are 14 companies at the port that process or handle steel, aluminum, lubricants or plastics that support the top six automakers in the United States, port officials said.

The port is served by CSX and the Louisville & Indiana Railroad.

2 Indiana Ports Set 2015 Records

Two Indiana ports reported record shipping levels in 2015, the Ports of Indiana said.

The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon handled more than 6.6 million tons, a 36 percent increase over the 2014 mark and a 30 percent increase over the previous record set in 1994.

Mount Vernon also saw the highest annual increase in total tons handled at the port.

Most of the shipments were coal, agricultural products, steel and other bulk commodities.

During 2015, 3,600 barges 37,000 rail cars and 160,000 trucks used the port.

The Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville set an annual record in 2015 with 2.8 million tons, an increase of nearly 16 percent over 2014. Much of the traffic was agriculture and steel products.

During 2015, Jeffersonville handled 1,300 barges, 17,000 rail cars and 180,000 trucks.

The Jeffersonville port will use a $10 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help fund a $17 million intermodal project.

The port last yer broke ground on a $30 million transportation corridor that will link the port to the River Ridge Commerce Center’s industrial park.

The projects will expand the port’s rail and bulk-loading capacity, said Port Director Scott Stewart.