The Ports of Indiana is pointing to ethanol and distillers grains shipments as the biggest reason for an increase in cargo. Together, the three ports on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan handled 8.1 million tons of cargo in 2011&mdash;the largest annual tonnage since 2006.
The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon is located in a six mile radius from two ethanol plants: 88 MMgy Abengoa Bioenergy of Indiana LLC and 110 MMgy Aventine Renewable Energy-Mount Vernon LLC. "This past year represented a diversification of cargoes moving through the port," said Phil Wilzbacher, port director at the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon. "Coal and grain remain our highest volume commodities but with Aventine's ethanol facility reaching full production, DDGs and ethanol rocketed from minimal numbers in 2010 to the port's third and fourth highest volume cargoes in 2011."
In all, ethanol shipments were five times the total for 2010 and distillers grains shipments were 10 times shipments in 2010. Because it&rsquo;s an inland port, most of the ethanol and DDGS shipped out from the Mount Vernon port goes to other U.S. ports or to Canada, according to Jody Peacock, spokesperson for the Ports of Indiana.
Along with other businesses, the Aventine ethanol plant operates at the Mount Vernon port itself. &ldquo;Aventine&rsquo;s impact extends far beyond the 45 new jobs at the facility,&rdquo; Wilzbacher said in the spring/summer issue of Portside Magazine, which is published by the Ports of Indiana. &ldquo;Ethanol and DDGS are commodities new to the port and have quickly become some of the largest volume cargoes. The corn used to produce the ethanol comes from the local area, so farmers and agricultural-related businesses will experience a positive impact as well.&rdquo;
Aventine works with Consolidated Grain and Barge (CGB), the port&rsquo;s grain operator, to purchase corn from local farmers, according to information from the port authority. That company has a 4 million bushel elevator system at the port and additional storage at other regional elevators. CGB also markets Aventine&rsquo;s DDGS to companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia. A division of CGB, Consolidated Terminals and Logistics, handles loading of ethanol and DDGS from Aventine and other ethanol plants onto barges at the port. A new facility was constructed in 2010 and is used to transload ethanol from railcars, trucks and pipeline directly to barges. &ldquo;CTLC also built flexibility into the terminal so it can handle other dry bulk and liquid materials when opportunities present themselves,&rdquo; said Rich Cooper, CEO of the Ports of Indiana.
Overall, the total ports 2011 shipments were nearly a nearly million ton higher than the five-year average. The Mount Vernon port handled 4.7 million tons in 2011, its largest annual tonnage since 1994 and the third highest in the port&rsquo;s 36-year history. Notably, coke shipments were up 188 percent over 2010. The Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville, also on the Ohio River, moved 1.4 million tons in 2011. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, located on Lake Michigan, handled 2 million tons of cargo in 2011, an increase of 10 percent compared to 2010.

Workers transload ethanol into barges at the port of Indiana-Mount Vernon. 

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The Ports of Indiana is pointing to ethanol and distillers grains shipments as the biggest reason for an increase in cargo. Together, the three ports on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan handled 8.1 million tons of cargo in 2011.

Ethanol, DDGS shipments add up to record year for port

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