2018 continues to outpace previous year
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Little Rock Port Authority (LRPA) continues you too see both rail and barge activity remaining elevated from the prior year. The Port is looking forward to its upcoming 60th anniversary of its creation. Work is underway on numerous special projects.
A total of 53 barges were loaded or unloaded with 82,000 tons of cargo. Both docks were busy throughout the month with 30 barges worked at the slackwater dock and 23 worked at the main river dock. Breakbulk cargo accounted for 36 barges and 55,000 tons of cargo; bulk cargos generated 23 barges with 27,000 tons. During the month the docks handled a variety of commodities including aluminum ingots and tees, nepheline syenite, potash, rock and sand, scrap, urea, wetcake, and wire rod coils.
The Port Railroad finished the third quarter of 2018 well above the projected volume of business and expects that trend to continue through the fourth quarter into 2019. LSI, the Port's stevedore partner, had a busy month with twenty-nine (29) inbound loaded rail cars and twenty-six (26) outbound rail cars loaded with commodities that were transferred from truck to rail. Miscellaneous switching accounted for another seventy-seven (77) rail cars that were added to the total number of cars handled.
“September was a busy month at the Port and continued to be well ahead of last year,” said Bryan Day, executive director of the LRPA. Day continued, “Welspun has many large projects currently underway and has begun sending shipments for the long-anticipated Keystone XL pipeline with our railroad handling 653 rail cars for Welspun in September.”
Through September the Port’s docks have worked 418 barges, up 104 barges from the same period in 2017. The 640,000 tons handled so far in 2018 is up more than 163,000 tons from the same period in 2017 and barge activity forecast remains strong in the fourth quarter of the year as well.
