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Missouri Ports Primed For Growth With New Partnership

  • April 25, 2018

The St. Louis Regional Freightway and four ports in the St. Louis region have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Plaquemines Port Harbor & Terminal District located in the State of Louisiana, with the goal of generating new business by promoting international and inland trade routes at strategic locations along the Mississippi River. The agreement represents a five-year commitment, and calls for joint marketing initiatives and an exchange of data to further those goals.

“The Freightway is committed to serving the greater St. Louis region by helping to support efforts to attract shippers and carriers, and we believe the proposed container transport vessel route would benefit the entire region and other ports along the Mississippi River Basin,” said Mary Lamie, Executive Director of St. Louis Regional Freightway. “Today’s signing represents bi-state support and recognition by all four public ports in the area of the potential growth that could arise from this MOU, and it stands as another outstanding example of regionalism at its best.”

The MOU offers parties opportunities to share information on improvements and modernization efforts and technological capabilities and programs and recognizes that growth at the ports at the mouth of Mississippi River, and future growth around freight movement through the various ports in the St. Louis region, are intrinsically and historically connected. Initial discussions have focused on loading operations at a centralized location in Jefferson County, Missouri, with feeder services by rail, barge and truck resulting in low costs and efficient transportation.

“Given the 40 percent growth projected in freight volume over the next 30 years, we believe collaborations like these will have far-reaching positive impact for the St. Louis region and the entire nation,” said John M. Nations, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bi-State Development. “We want shippers to have as many options as possible to move some of that freight through our ports along the stretch of the Mississippi that continues to gain recognition as the Ag Coast of America.”

Located in the heartland of America, the Ag Coast region delivers the highest level of grain barge handling capacity anywhere along the “mighty” Mississippi. The Show-Me state is home to the confluence of the two largest rivers in North America, the Missouri and Mississippi, and is home to the most northern ice free port on the Mississippi with unrestricted access to the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, Missouri waterways move $4.1 billion in cargo each year.

For more information on Missouri’s logistics strengths check out our webpage, or contact Steve Johnson, CEO of Missouri Partnership, at 314.725.2688 or via our contact form, with any questions you might have, and learn how Missouri Partnership can help with your business investment needs.

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