Providing transportation efficiently and inexpensively

Photography by Matthew Wood

When people think of transportation, three R’s come to mind: roadways, runways and railways. But there is another “R” that most tend to overlook, and it’s one of the most cost-effective in today’s economy: our riverways.

“Our ports are important because they are the most effective form of transportation there is,” says Wayne Mansfield, director of the Warren County Port Commission, which oversees the port at Vicksburg. “And it’s a greener form of transportation because you eliminate the needs for trucks on the highway.”

The port at Vicksburg is one of 16 ports in Mississippi, and one of six along the Mississippi River. It’s the 11th most active inland port in the U.S. Not only is Vicksburg served by a class-1 rail service, but they are also a designated foreign trade zone as well.

“This is a huge economic advantage to the companies who are importing goods because they pay no duties on these goods,” Mansfield says.

As far as rail goes, the Vicksburg port features the only railway that crosses over the Mississippi River between Memphis and Baton Rouge, and that’s significant when it comes to moving goods.

Many of the Delta’s ports, including the ones at Greenville and Rosedale, were established primarily as a means to access transportation for agricultural products, but through the years have become more “formal,” according to Tommy Hart, port director for the Port of Greenville.

“They’ve become more economically structured,” Hart says.

The Port of Rosedale in Bolivar County is “hugely important,” says Robert Maxwell, port director. “Our port saves farmers and brokers a lot of time and money. And we have a lot of employment directly related to the port, about 600 jobs.”

The Port of Greenville was originally located in the downtown area, but in the early 1980’s, a new port was constructed south of the downtown area.

“We have bigger warehouses, improved dock areas, and we can handle a larger number of barges,” Hart says. The port can now handle five to six barges at one time; in its previous location, only one barge at a time was feasible.

Hart noted that over time, the goods that flow in and out of the port have changed.  Of the total annual tonnage at the Greenville port, about 50 percent is food components, including grains. About 29 percent is made up of petroleum and fuel products, and 10 percent each of chemicals, fertilizers and ag-related products, scrap metal and sand, gravel, rock and limestone.

According to Hart, in 2009, the port moved away from cotton and more into grain imports and exports. But he says this year, they are seeing more cotton, which does not usually ship via water.

“Grain is easy to move,” Hart says. “And shipments are spread more throughout the year than just at peak harvest because there is more on-farm storage than there used to be.”

Vicksburg’s port also sees the most activity via grain traffic. Steel and aluminum is their number two commodity.

While both Greenville and Vicksburg are public ports, there is also a component that allows for private companies to have facilities at these ports as well.

Vicksburg’s port is home to companies such as Ergon and Petcoke, which are petroleum-based. They also house Mississippi Lime, Gavalon and Anderson-Tully, which specializes in wood products.

Greenville’s port hosts companies such as APAC, Greenville Gravel, Terrel River Service, Scott Petroleum and Delta Terminal. They are also home to Producers Rice and Farmers Grain Marketing Terminal.

Rosedale is home to many ag-related companies, including Jimmy Sanders, Helena Chemical Company, Debruce Grain, Bunge Grain and more.  And, the Rosedale port is the closest Mississippi River port that connects directly to the Arkansas River.

When comparing the cost of barge transportation to other modes of transportation, statistics easily prove that moving goods via the river is smart economics.

A single barge can move enough gasoline to fuel 2,500 automobiles for one year. A single grain barge can move 1,500 tons of wheat. That’s enough to produce two-and-a-half million loaves of bread.

But ports are not without their challenges, especially when the river rises.

“The 2011 flood certainly had a major impact on us here in Greenville,” Hart says. “It shut down our transloading capabilities for 15 to 20 days, and our public terminal was closed for 60 days.”

The public terminal in Vicksburg was also closed for about seven weeks. In both areas, the public ports are right on the water, whereas most of the privately-owned companies are further back and a lot higher off the water.

“Being able to bring fuel into the region was critical during the flood,” Hart says. “And we were still able to do that. But the shipment of ag chemicals and steel was completely stopped.”

Mansfield says that after Hurricane Katrina, state and federal officials learned a lot about disaster management, so good plans were in place to be able to handle the challenges of the flood in an efficient manner.

The future role of ports is expected to grow, especially with the tough economy. “We operate in large volumes,” Mansfield says. “And that adds up quick.” DBJ