The Port of Caddo-Bossier recently marked its accomplishments of 2017 at its annual Port Night held at the Regional Commerce Center.
Last year brought a new customer to the Port. In 2017, one of the largest steel producers in the country, Nucor, began using the Port as a transfer site.
Nucor is using the Red River to ship its products to the Port where they are transferred onto trucks and delivered to their east Texas production facilities. Because of Nucor’s regular barge traffic, the company has been able to partner with other Port tenants to combine shipments, lowering transportation costs.
Other achievements from last year include:
- 313 barges stopped at the Port of Caddo Bossier in 2017, carrying 512,000 tons of products.
- Rail volume at the Port saw a 25 percent increase.
- More than 5,800 rail cars carried just over 582,000 tons of products through the Port last year.
At Port Night, current Port Commission President Rick Prescott paid a special honor to former, two-term President Sam Gregorio. Gregorio was presented with a special plaque for his service to the Port.
During his terms as president, Caddo and Bossier voters approved the renewal of a property millage for port expansion. Other highlights of Gregorio’s term are:
- 1) Revenues for the Port came in well above projections, despite two years of flooding rains;
- Since the Port was almost out of land (and totally out of certain sizes of land), pursued a land acquisition project with a land expansion committee as outlined to the Caddo and Bossier Parish voters, which land will allow the Port to continue to bring jobs, plants and opportunities for another 30 years;
- Established three reserve funds for economic development and infrastructure so that money will be available locally and immediately, allowing the Port to better control its own destiny;
- The Port’s existing tenants continued to expand, bringing increased employment and opportunities;
- Passed without qualification both external and internal audits;
- Expanded the capability of the dock and its equipment, and designed an increase in crane lifting capacity;
- Enhanced the slack water harbor facilities;
- Added warehouse space;
- Increased inbound and outbound steel products traveling the river to and from the Port, combined with increased outbound steel products by truck;
- Expanded the infrastructure of the Port property;
- Continued certification with the Federal Railroad Administration for the railroad line owned and operated by the Port.
The Port of Caddo Bossier has now moved on 2018. Improvements to its rail system and infrastructure continue, so it can attract new customers and tenants, creating more job growth for the community.
The 2,300 acre Port of Caddo-Bossier is located at the head of navigation on the Red River Waterway in northwest Louisiana. An inland multi-modal transportation and distribution center, The Port works hand in hand with the port system of Louisiana to link customers throughout the Ark-La-Tex region to domestic and international markets via the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.