Ports of Indiana seeking new operator of international agricultural shipping terminal
Ports of Indiana has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) to identify potential operators of the international agricultural shipping terminal at Ports of Indiana–Burns Harbor, located at the south end of Lake Michigan, close to Chicago. The 7m-bushel terminal has transload capabilities for ocean ships, lake vessels, river barges, unit trains and trucks. This is the first time in 44 years that the terminal is available for a new operator.
The facility has been operated by Cargill since 1979, but the company announced it is changing its business model in the region and will relinquish the facility to the port as of June 1. Ports of Indiana will assume possession of the facility and is looking for a long-term partner to help grow shipments at the port.
The terminal can handle ocean vessels transiting the Great Lakes, 1,000-foot lake vessels, year-round barge traffic via the inland river system and unit trains from nearly all Class I railroads. The grain elevator terminal includes 7.2m bushels of storage facilities and high-speed loading capacities that can load 90,000 bushels per hour into an ocean vessel and unload 30,000 bushels per hour from a unit train.
Since the terminal began operations in 1979, it has exported more than 500m bushels of corn and soybeans to world markets.
The RFQ seeks qualifications from companies interested in operating the terminal. Responses are due April 21. Ports of Indiana will issue a formal request for proposals in May to all pre-qualified companies.
“We have received multiple inquiries from companies interested in expanding the facility,” said Ryan McCoy, port director for Ports of Indiana–Burns Harbor, in a statement. “This is a unique deep-water terminal with tremendous capabilities for shipping grain, DDGs and many bulk cargoes to and from ocean vessels at the heartland of America. It’s not every day that this type of facility becomes available.”
The Burns Harbor port is home to more than 30 companies and handles approximately 3m tons of cargo a year. A planned $32m expansion includes construction of two rail yards, new bulk and general cargo terminals, a bulk warehouse, and a truck marshalling yard.
