Dive Brief:

• The Ports of Indiana is set to build a sea container terminal on Lake Michigan, making it the first all-water route for ocean vessels via the Great Lakes to serve the Chicago metro area, according to a July 2 press release.
• The new terminal received approval from U.S. Customs and Border Protection on July 2, clearing the way for creation of the terminal. It will serve industries such as manufacturing, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, food products, high-protein soybeans, specialty corn, and hardwoods, a spokesperson said in an email.
• The sea terminal will be located at Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor, located in northwest Indiana. While planning is underway, construction will begin in 2025 with operations slated to begin as early as 2026, the spokesperson said.

Dive Insight:

Shippers are soon to have an expanded container terminal network via the Great Lakes.

“There is not currently an all-water container shipping route between Europe and the greater Chicago metropolitan area, and this project could create a more efficient, environmentally friendly alternative than existing supply chain routes,” a spokesperson said.

Other Great Lakes-based terminals that handle container vessels are the Port of Cleveland on Lake Erie and Duluth Seaway Port Authority on Lake Superior.

“Great Lakes shipping is limited by a shorter shipping season and the use of smaller vessels, but the potential upside for handling containers is tremendous. Allowing ocean carriers to start serving this market could diversify supply chains, avoid bottlenecks and reduce the overall carbon footprint for shipping to and from the Midwest,” Ryan McCoy, port director at Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor, said in a statement.

Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor handles 25 million tons of cargo annually and is known for handling steel, agriculture and manufacturing commodities. It offers capabilities in bulk and break bulk, as well as the port’s maritime industrial park for on-site warehousing, distribution and manufacturing facilities.

Several business and trade associations have shown support for the new terminal. Supporters include McKeil, Tata Steel, Cole Hardwood Inc., Indiana Soybean Alliance/Indiana Corn Marketing Council, American Great Lakes Ports Associations and the International Longshoremen’s Association.

“Improving our infrastructure to support local containers terminals can provide Hoosier farmers with access to overseas customers,” Courtney Kingery, CEO of the Indiana Soybean Alliance and the Indiana Corn Marketing Council, said in a statement. “Indiana corn and soybean farmers produce premium, value-added products but often lack easy access to international container facilities that offer efficient shipments of identity-preserved commodities to world markets.”

The spokesperson said the port is still in the planning stages and is actively engaging with potential shipping partners to finalize memorandums of understanding for shippers and terminal partners who want to be involved in the facility planning.

Sarah Zimmerman contributed to this story.