The Alabama State Port Authority has become the 9th largest port in the nation in terms of tonnage according to numbers released by the Army Corps of Engineers Waterborne Statistics Center. The report states 67,635,501 tons of freight moved through the Port in 2008. Mobile was previously ranked 10th in the nation.

The Port of Mobile joins other Gulf Coast ports in the top ten including New Orleans, Houston, Corpus Christi and Beaumont. It ranks 10th in terms of imports and total foreign trade and 11th when it comes to exports and total domestic trade. The Port of Mobile directly employs 570 people and supports thousands more logistic and maritime jobs creating a $10 billion impact on Alabama’s economy.

“Our move up in the rankings reflects all of our work and investments in our general cargo, bulk and rail facilities prior to 2008,” said Jimmy Lyons, director and CEO of the Alabama State Port Authority. “What we hope to see happen in the next few years is added volumes through the port as we begin to see the benefits of additional investments made at Mobile Container Terminal, McDuffie Terminal and Pinto Terminal,” he added.

The public terminals handled most of the increased volumes that move the Port of Mobile up from 10th to 9th largest port. Lyons noted that increases were attributed to coal, iron and steel articles, and containerized freight.  “Our manufacturing landscape changed dramatically in the last decade that pushed demand up for automotive components, coal, and steel,” said Lyons.

Improvements still in the works at the Port of Mobile include a heavy-lift barge crane, a rain interchange yard expansion and enhancement program, and a future intermodal container transfer facility.

The Alabama State Port Authority, headquartered in Mobile, Ala., owns and operates the State of Alabama’s deepwater port facilities. The Authority’s container, general cargo, bulk, and heavy lift terminals have immediate access to two interstate systems, five Class 1 railroads, four-day rail service to Mexico and nearly 15,000 miles of inland waterway connections.