U.S. Home to $3.6 Billion in Cargo Port Projects Under Construction

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--U.S. cargo ports enable the flow of goods set for export, as well as distribution across the country, and Industrial Info is tracking $3.6 billion worth of projects under construction at cargo ports in the U.S.

The highest-valued project under construction being tracked by Industrial Info is Phase 3 of site operator U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) $3.2 billion effort to improve navigation at the Soo Locks shipping channel, located along St. Mary's River in Sault Saint Marie, Michigan, by adding a new ship lock. A ship lock works to raise ships to higher or lower elevations, and this particular system enables ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes by allowing vessels to be raised or lowered 21 feet.

The site currently consists of four locks as well as two decommissioned locks. However, only the Poe Lock has the necessary dimensions to serve all of the vessels that pass through. "Nearly all (88%) domestically produced advanced high-strength steel used to manufacture products like automobiles and appliances is made with taconite (iron ore) restricted by vessel size to the Poe Lock," the USACE said in a press release last year.

Phase 3 involves demolishing an existing lock, constructing the new lock chamber walls and floor, installing mechanical and electrical systems and constructing a new pump well; the project is estimated to wrap up in summer 2030. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can read the project report on Phase 3.

Soo Locks serves as a passageway for more than 80 million tons of commercial commodities, according to the USACE, which operates the facility. The commodities include coal used to supply electricity to major cities such as Detroit, and iron ore mined in Minnesota and Michigan's Upper Peninsula that is used to make nearly all domestically produced, advanced, high-strength steel--which then is used to manufacture automobiles and appliances.

In May, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff toured the Soo Locks to highlight the project; local news media report Jim Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers' Association, in comments to Biden and Emhoff, said, "The Soo Locks may be the most critical piece of infrastructure in North America because of the supply chain it enables ... cargo shipped through the Soo Locks are the building blocks for the U.S economy."

Other cargo port projects underway involve work at two terminals at Georgia Ports Authority's (GPA) Port of Savannah. The $200 million expansion of the Garden City Terminal entails constructing an approximately 90-acre container storage yard and approximately one mile of road connecting the yard with the terminal, as well as performing upgrades to increase the port's annual capacity to 1 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) in phases. Meanwhile, the $400 million realignment of the dock at the port's Ocean Terminal will allow the terminal to service vessels carrying more than 16,000 shipping containers. Both projects are expected to wrap up around early 2025. Subscribers can read more information on the projects at the Garden City and Ocean terminals.

According to the GPA, the top export commodity group at the Port of Savannah in 2023 was food, including fresh and frozen poultry, pet and animal feeds and peanuts, followed by wood pulp and automotive.

Also underway is Alabama State Port Authority's expansion of the Mobile Ship Channel, which has been underway since 2020. The project aims to expand the channel to accommodate larger cargo ships increasingly seen in seaborne shipping. The project, which is expected to be completed in the first half of next year, entails deepening portions of the channel from 45 feet deep to 50 or more feet in depth as well as widening the bay channel. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.

Down south, a $302 million upgrade project is underway at the Port of Brownsville, located at the southernmost tip of Texas, which moves cargo between the U.S. and Mexico. It is connected to the Gulf of Mexico by the Brazos Island Harbor ship channel, and the port is a "prominent shipper of steel, refined petroleum products, grain, aggregates, among other products supporting diverse industries located in 12 Mexican states," according to the port website. The project involves increasing the depth of the channel, by dredging it to a depth of 52 feet from the current 42 feet, among other work. Construction is expected to wrap up around the end of next year. Click here to read more information.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Click here for a full list of reports for U.S. cargo port projects that are under construction.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).