The Shipping News: More Than $17.8 Billion in Activity Under Way at U.S. Ports

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Industrial Info is tracking $17.89 billion in active projects in the U.S. that involve ports and marine terminals. The Mid-Atlantic market region, with more than $8 billion in projects, leads the U.S. in terms of the value of port development. This is followed by the U.S. Southeast and Southwest market regions, which have $2.7 billion and $2.6 billion in port project activity, respectively.

Click on the image at right for a breakdown by region of U.S. port activity.

Ports soon may be digging deeper for the funding for some of these projects. Despite President Donald Trump's call for more infrastructure buildout, his proposed 2018 budget cuts some federal funding to ports, according to The Maritime Executive. Among the programs to face cuts is the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, which is estimated to have expenditures of $1.25 billion in fiscal 2017 and has a target of $965 million in fiscal 2018--a 23% reduction. According to JOC.com, larger ports are more confident about receiving funding, as they require expansion to accommodate the larger vessels coming through the recently enlarged Panama Canal.

Industrial Info is tracking more than $6.3 billion in port activity in South Carolina. Among the largest of these projects is the planned $4.5 billion grassroot Jasper Ocean Terminal in Hardeeville, South Carolina. The project is being planned in part to take the storage burden off of the ports in Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, which currently become congested. The project would be constructed at a 1,500-acre site and would include 10 berths to handle the largest container ships currently being built. The project is being headed up by the port authorities of Georgia and South Carolina and could begin construction in summer 2018. The large project could take up to six to seven years to complete. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Currently under way in South Carolina is the $700 million Hugh K. Leatherman, Sr. container terminal in Charleston. According to the South Carolina Ports Authority website, the facility is "the only permitted new container terminal on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts." Construction on the project began late last year and has completed preliminary demolition, site preparation and containment wall construction. The project is planned to be completed by the end of 2019 and will boost capacity at the Port of Charleston by 50%. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

In Florida, the Jacksonville Port Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are set to kick off a harbor deepening project in the third quarter of this year. The $700 million project will deepen the St. Johns River from 40 feet to 47 feet for a 13-mile stretch from where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean. The project is planned for completion by the end of 2021. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

While the Northeast is not the most bustling area for port project activity, the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority boasts a planned $450 million project in Pennsylvania. The project involves constructing a two-berth marine terminal on 119 acres at the Southport Terminal that will include a 2,128-foot marginal wharf and container yard. The terminal has a planned throughput of 1.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) per year. The project is planned to kick off in the fourth quarter of this year and be completed by the end of 2018. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

In Brownsville, Texas, the Port of Brownsville and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are performing preliminary design work for a deepening project for the deepwater port and Brazos Island Harbor Channel. The project will increase the depth of the harbor channel from 42 feet to 52 feet for a 17-mile stretch to accommodate larger cargo vessels. The project is proposed to kick off in the second quarter of 2018, taking about two years complete. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

In total, Industrial Info is tracking 163 active port and terminal projects in the U.S. Of these, 113 projects ($13.15 billion) have kickoff dates planned for 2017 or 2018.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at https://www.industrialinfo.com.