LOUISIANA
The State of Louisiana gets its name from
famed French explorer Sieur de La Salle who
called the region La Louisiana “Land of Louis”
after Louis XIV, the King of France from 1643 to
1715. Most of Louisiana was obtained by the
United States from France in 1803 as
part of the “Louisiana Purchase”. One of the
Corps of Engineers first missions occurred in
Louisiana under the auspices of the General
Survey Act of 1824. The General Survey Act
directed the Corps of Engineers to provide
safe and efficient transportation on the Ohio
and Mississippi River systems. Clearing and snagging log jams in the Baton Rouge area was one of the first
projects undertaken. This early waterway improvement was recognition of Louisiana’s ports strategic
location for transporting goods throughout the United States. Early on, farmers west of the Alleghenies
relied on these ports to reach eastern markets with their produce and receive manufactured goods from
the east and Europe. During the Civil War the Mississippi River was a strategic route for bringing muskets
and goods to the western battlegrounds and during World War II the GIWW provided Gulf Coast maritime
routes secure from German submarines.
The State of Louisiana has over 4.5 million residents. Its major population centers at Baton Rouge and
New Orleans are located on the Mississippi River. Baton Rouge, LA is the state capital with a population
of 229,493 residents. New Orleans, LA is the largest city in the state with 343,829 residents. With a
population of 1,167,764 residents, New Orleans‐Metairie‐Kenner metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is
the largest MSA in Louisiana.
Louisiana’s largest employment sector is trade, transportation and utilities followed by manufacturing. In
2010, Louisiana ranked third among the States in total energy consumption per capita, primarily due to
heavy use in the industrial sector, which includes many refineries and petrochemical plants. Louisiana is
the leading importer of foreign crude oil. Louisiana imported more that 33 million tons of
foreign crude oil in 2013. It receives petroleum at several ports, including the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port
(LOOP). The (LOOP) is the only offshore port in the United States capable of offloading deep draft tankers.
It provides offloading for some of the largest tankers in the world. The LOOP began receiving foreign crude
oil in 1981 and can import up to 1.2 million barrels per day. Through a network of crude oil pipelines, the
LOOP is connected to much of the refining capacity in the United States1. With 19 refineries, 18 of them
1
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Louisiana: Analysis. Accessed on 1‐10‐2014 at:
http://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.cfm?sid=LA
operating, Louisiana was second only to Texas in 2010 in both total and operating refinery capacity.
Louisiana's 19 oil refineries account for nearly one‐fifth of the nation's refining capacity.
In 2013, over 503.5 million tons of commodities (mostly petroleum products and grains) moved to, from,
and within Louisiana on the Mississippi River, Lake Charles Waterway, and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
(GIWW). Three major ports – the Port of South Louisiana, the Port of New Orleans, and the Port of
Baton Rouge – handle the vast majority of this traffic.
Table 1
Louisiana 2013
Commodities Moved To, From and Within the State
(tons in thousands)
Shipped
Received
Within
Total
TOTAL
220,077.8
229,246.0
54,211.8
503,535.6
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterborne Commerce Statistics
COMMODITY TRAFFIC
Commodity traffic is categorized here into inland traffic and coastal traffic. Inland traffic contains all the
traffic in the deep draft ports, coastal waterways and inland rivers which draft less than 14 feet. Similarly,
coastal traffic contains all traffic in the deep draft ports, coastal waterways and inland rivers moving in
vessels drafting deeper than 14 feet.
Inland Traffic
With almost 240 million tons, Louisiana’s inland rivers move the greatest amount of shallow draft tonnage
of any state in the Nation. The leading commodities moving on Louisiana’s river systems in shallow draft
vessels are grains (24.1%), petroleum products (22.9%), coal (12.2%) and chemicals (13%). Of the
Louisiana cargo, grains dominate Mississippi River traffic. Several states’ grains make their way to
Louisiana to be milled and/or shipped to foreign destinations. Smaller amounts of petroleum products
and chemicals traversed Louisiana’s river system; however, these two commodities still amounted to
almost 86 million tons, mostly traversing the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Overall 54.8 tons of
petroleum products were shipped, received or moved within the state by barge on Louisiana’s river
waterways in 2013.
Figure 2
This region of the Gulf is known for its petroleum and chemical production as evidenced by the tonnages
of these commodities originating in Louisiana. Docks in the state shipped approximately 61.7 million
tons of cargo on the inland river system in shallow draft vessels, with chemicals’ 20.3 million tons
representing 33% of this total. Chemical fertilizers destined for agricultural states along the rivers in the
Ohio, Illinois, and Upper Mississippi river basins are an important market for Louisiana producers and
distributors. Petroleum products ranked second in tonnage shipped, with almost 14.5 million tons or
23% of shipped cargo in 2013 and were the dominant commodity shipped within the state of Louisiana
with over 26 million tons moving to and from docks in Louisiana.
Table 2
Louisiana 2013 River Traffic
Commodities Moved To, From and Within the State
(tons in thousands; values in millions of dollars)
Commodity
Shipped Received
Within
Total
Value
Coal
633.4
26,230.3
2,352.6
29,216.3
$1,841
Petroleum
14,492.4 14,315.1
26,071.0 54,878.5
$51,802
Crude Petroleum
1,930.9
16,734.6
4,939.8
23,605.3
$14,419
Aggregates
734.2
8,230.9
2,545.9
11,511.0
$95
Grains
605.3
53,945.2
3,159.2
57,709.7
$19,667
Chemicals
20,337.2 3,806.5
6,941.5
31,085.2
$23,695
Ores/Minerals
8,927.9
712.6
2,017.6
11,658.1
$3,962
Iron/Steel
8,853.6
837.6
399.5
10,090.7
$4,073
Others
5,203.2
4,155.2
687.4
10,045.8
$13,957
TOTAL
61,718.0 128,968.1 49,114.4 239,800.5 $133,511
**Insufficient barge operators to release this tonnage.
Commodity values are not calculated for foreign movements.
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterborne Commerce Statistics, 2012 NDSU
Commodity Valuation Analysis
Louisiana’s ports are of critical importance to farmers and coal miners in the heart of the Nation. Grains
at almost 54 million tons and coal at over 26.2 million tons are received by Louisiana terminals. The great
majority of this tonnage is transloaded to deep draft vessels for movement to foreign destinations or, in
the case of coal, also to electric utilities located in other Gulf Coast states. Petroleum products
and crude petroleum received by shallow draft vessel at Louisiana docks account for 24% of total river
receipts, while aggregate receipts from upstream states supply this aggregate poor region.
Coastal Traffic
Louisiana coastal traffic is dominated by petroleum products, grains and crude petroleum. The largest
tonnage coastal commodity is petroleum products consisting of 31% of total cargo traffic. Receipts and
shipments of grains account for 23% of total cargo and crude petroleum accounts for 16% of total cargo.
The commodity mix of much of Louisiana’s coastal traffic resembles that of the river traffic. Louisiana is
a major international exporter of coal and grains produced in the heartland of the United States. New
Orleans, Baton Rouge and the South Port of Louisiana handle nearly 70% of the nation’s grain exports.
Along with grain and coal coastal shipments in deep draft vessels, Louisiana ships large quantities of
petroleum products, some of which is produced in Louisiana. Exact tonnage of received and shipped
grain cargo is not disclosed in order to protect confidential business information.
Figure 3
Crude petroleum received at Louisiana terminals is largely an import. Refined petroleum products,
including gasoline, distillate fuels, jet fuel, and residual fuels, is also received in large volumes. Primary
consumers of these products are the transportation and residential home heating sectors. A wide
variety of other commodities move into and out of Louisiana by water (Table 3).
Table 3
Louisiana 2013 Coastal Traffic
Commodities Moved To, From and Within the State
(tons in thousands)
Commodity
Shipped
Received
Within
Total
Coa l
23,034.6
181.4
0.0 23,216.0
Petrol eum
59,148.1
20,452.9
2,171.5
81,772.5
Crude Petrol eum 1,564.3
37,836.1
2,848.0
42,248.4
Aggrega tes
**
**
** 7,740.3
Gra i ns
** 134.9
** 61,772.4
Chemi ca l s
7,316.7
12,806.2
0.0 20,122.9
Ores /Mi nera l s
349.2
**
** 8,583.3
I ron/Steel
936.4
**
** 9,275.7
Others
4,370.0
4,555.8
77.9
9,003.7
TOTAL
158,359.8
100,277.9
5,097.4
263,735.1
**Insufficient barge operators to release this tonnage
Commodity Values not calculated for Coastal movements.
Includes Foreign movements.
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterborne Commerce Statistics
STATE TO STATE TRADING PARTNERS
There were 876 manufacturing facilities, terminals, and docks in Louisiana that shipped and received
tonnage in 2013. Louisiana docks shipped commodities to 22 other states and received commodities from
29 other states. The states of Illinois, Mississippi, Indiana, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and
Tennessee all ranked high on shipments of grains to Louisiana (see respective state summaries). Almost
54 million tons of grains were received in 2013 by Louisiana docks. Grains made up 42% of all received
cargo by barge in the state of Louisiana. With only a few coal‐fired power plants in Louisiana, most of the
26.2 million tons of coal received in Louisiana via inland waterways enters the international market for
coal. Louisiana shipped 19.4 million tons of coal to foreign markets in 2013 (see table 8). In addition to
foreign market exports, Louisiana also ships coal to Florida across the Gulf and petroleum products to
Florida and Texas via the GIWW.
The leading state shipped to was Florida, receiving more than 21.4 million tons of goods, mostly
petroleum product (82%). Docks in the state of Texas also received large quantities of petroleum
product in 2013. Over 17 million tons of cargo was shipped to Texas, 71% of which was petroleum
products. The leading state shipping to Louisiana was Illinois, which shipped by barge over 35.1 million
tons, mostly grains (48%). Crude petroleum, petroleum products and chemicals moved between
Louisiana and Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida by way of the Gulf of Mexico and GIWW.
Table 4
Louisiana 2013 Commodities
Shipped to and from Other States & Trading Partners
Shipments
Tons
Top Commodity
Shipments
To
(in thousands)
(% of Total)
From
Forei gn
130,659.8
Gra i ns (47%)
Forei gn
Fl ori da
21,426.8
Petrol eum (82%)
I l l i noi s
Texa s
17,015.5
Petrol eum (71%)
Texa s
I llinoi s
7,804.1
Chemi ca l s (45%)
Mi s s ouri
Kentucky
4,800.0
Ores /Mi nera l s (39%)
Kentucky
"Foreign" includes all overseas foregin countries, excluding Canada
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterborne Commerce Statistics
Tons
(in thousands)
90,841.6
35,146.1
21,477.0
18,528.3
16,670.2
Top Commodity
(% of Total)
Crude Petrol eum (37%)
Gra i ns (48%)
Crude Petrol eum (52%)
Coa l (36%)
Coa l (40%)
MAJOR PORTS
The major ports shown below are not necessarily point specific port locations, but are generally an
agglomeration of docks within a single municipality or collection of municipalities recognized by a state or
states for the purpose of being designated as a port. The tonnages below represent the section of that
port’s designation that resides within the State of Louisiana.
South Port of Louisiana, LA – The Port of South Louisiana is west and downstream of the city of New
Orleans and stretches 54 miles along the Mississippi River. The port is located in St. Charles, St. John the
Baptist and St. James parishes in Louisiana. The Port of South Louisiana is the largest tonnage port in the
United States and largest port by tonnage in the western hemisphere. The Port of Louisiana handled
over 238 million tons of cargo in 2013.
Port of New Orleans, LA – The Port of New Orleans is located in the city of New Orleans proper. The
Port of New Orleans is the top importer for steel and natural rubber. The Port of New Orleans shipped
and received more than 77 million tons in 2013, ranking 3rd among river/coastal ports in the Nation.
Port of Baton Rouge, LA – The Port of Baton Rouge or the Port of Greater Baton Rouge is located where
the Mississippi River officially meets the GIWW along both banks of the Mississippi River near Baton
Rouge, LA. The Port of Baton Rouge is the 4th largest U.S. inland port by tonnage with almost 64 million
tons.
Louisiana 2013 ‐ Top 3 Ports
(tons in thousands)
Type
Port Tons
Port
Port Type
Rank
Within State
Total Port Tons
South Louisiana, LA, Port of
Coastal
1
238,585.6
238,585.6
New Orleans, LA
River/Coastal
3
77,159.1
77,159.1
Baton Rouge, LA
River/Coastal
4
63,875.4
63,875.4
Tonnages represent only tons shipped or received in the state and port, and not necessarily the total
port tonnage.
Source: USACE Waterborne Commerce Statistics
LOCKS AND DAMS
There are 18 navigation locks and 3 control structures on
Louisiana waterways – commercial traffic passes through all
18 locks and 2 of the control structures. These projects are
located on the GIWW2 system, the Red River,
Ouachita and Black, Old River, Fresh Bayou and Atchafalaya
waterways. Most of the locks are on or support the GIWW
system, which runs 1,300 miles from Brownsville, TX to Port
St. Joe, FL. Port Allen and Bayou Sorrel Locks are on the Port
Allen cutoff, which provides a shorter route for traffic
moving between points north and points west of New
Orleans. The Inner Harbor Lock is a deep draft lock on the
Inner Harbor Canal that connects the Mississippi River and
the GIWW‐West with the GIWW‐East. Calcasieu, Leland
Bowman, Bayou Boeuf, and Harvey Locks are on the
mainstem of the GIWW‐West
and Algiers Lock is on the Algiers Canal that provides a more southerly path between the Mississippi
River and the GIWW‐West3. All other GIWW locks in Louisiana are on other rivers or streams, but are
considered an extension of the GIWW (see Table 6). While the GIWW system locks carry the greatest
tonnages of Louisiana locks, significant traffic is processed at Red River locks and at the Old River Lock.
Upbound and downbound tonnages on Louisiana’s waterways are relatively balanced. There are no
locks on the Mississippi River segment that moves through Louisiana.
2
USACE, Mississippi Valley New Orleans
http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Portals/56/docs/PAO/Brochures/GIWWBrochure.pdf
3
USACE, Mississippi Valley New Orleans
http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Portals/56/docs/PAO/Brochures/FinalPALBrochure.pdf
Table 6
Louisiana 2013 Lock Tonnage
(tonnage in thousands)
Lock
Waterway
Ca lca s i eu Lock
GI WW
Lel a nd Bowma n Lock
GI WW
Port All en Lock
GI WW
Ba you Sorrel Lock
GI WW
Ba you Boeuf Lock
GI WW
Inner Ha rbor Lock
GI WW
Al gi ers Lock
GI WW
Ol d Ri ver L&D
Ol d Ri ver
Ha rvey Lock
GI WW
Li ndy Cl a i borne Boggs L&D
Red
John H Overton L&D
Red
Fres hwa ter Ba you Lock
Fres hwa ter Ba you
Jones ville L&D
Oua chi ta & Bl a ck
Red Ri ver L&D 3
Red
Russ el l B Long L&D
Red
Joe D Wa ggonner L&D
Red
Columbia L&D
Oua chi ta & Bl a ck
Ca tfi s h Poi nt Control
GI WW
Schooner Ba you Control
GI WW
Berwi ck Lock
Atcha fa l a ya
Source: Lock Performance Monitoring System
Upbound
18,875.2
18,823.6
12,458.1
12,001.6
11,357.5
9,648.0
8,201.1
2,353.1
2,399.4
3,349.7
3,358.3
1,059.9
718.3
338.0
269.0
258.6
405.4
113.7
13.1
4.7
Downbound
17,964.1
17,552.3
9,375.7
8,826.5
9,224.0
6,031.3
7,054.1
5,962.1
2,477.2
436.1
424.6
1,186.6
305.0
394.4
405.3
397.3
45.4
6.4
2.5
6.5
Total
36,839.3
36,375.9
21,833.8
20,835.2
20,581.5
15,679.3
15,255.2
8,315.1
4,876.6
3,785.8
3,782.9
2,246.5
1,023.2
732.4
674.3
655.8
450.8
120.1
15.6
11.1
NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
The Mississippi‐Missouri River System, the fourth longest river in the world, flows along much of the
state’s eastern border before cutting through Louisiana around Simmesport and Lettsworth, LA on its
way to the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi River is the most heavily travelled Louisiana waterway,
moving 437.5 million tons in 2013. Lake Charles and the supporting Calcasieu Ship Channel are the
second largest waterway in terms of tonnage. The route of the GIWW follows the Mississippi River in the
vicinity of New Orleans. Tonnage moving along this stretch of the Mississippi River is reported here as
part of the Mississippi River waterway.
Table 7
Louisiana 2013 Top 5 Waterways
(tons in thousands; values in millions of dollars)
Waterway
Tons
Mi ssi ssi ppi Ri ver
437,573.1
La ke Cha rl es , LA
54,117.2
Gul f I ntracoa s tal Wa terwa y
13,839.2
Ba you La fourche & La fourche‐Jump Wa terwa y, LA 6,428.9
Atchafa l aya Ri ver
4,660.0
Commodity Values not calculated for foreign/coastal movements.
Sources: USACE Waterborne Commerce Statistics, 2012 NDSU Commodity
Value
$
$
$
$
$
231,157
43,344
7,476
11,080
3,170
Valuation Analysis
WATERBORNE DOMESTIC & FOREIGN TRAFFIC
Table 6
Louisiana’s foreign cargo is dominated by imports of crude petroleum and exports of grains. Domestic
traffic is dominated by refined petroleum products and the movement of grains and coal by barge to
New Orleans, primarily for eventual export. Due to the export of petroleum products, grains and coal,
Louisiana foreign activity is 59% exports and only 41% imports. Overall, Louisiana’s traffic is 55%
domestic and 45% foreign activity.
Table 8
Louisiana 2013
Domestic and Foreign Commodities
Foreign
Commodity
Total Tons
Domestic
Imports
Exports
Coa l
52,432.3
32,779.6
181.4
19,471.3
Petrol eum
136,651.0
77,782.0
19,246.6
39,622.4
Crude Petrol eum
65,853.7
31,555.5
33,378.9
919.3
Aggrega tes
19,251.3
12,592.3
6,655.8
3.1
Gra i ns
119,482.1
57,929.0
134.9
61,418.2
Chemi ca l s
51,208.1
33,308.2
11,527.3
6,372.7
Ores /Mi nera l s
20,241.4
11,979.5
7,912.8
349.2
I ron/Steel
19,366.3
10,152.8
8,277.2
936.4
Others
19,049.5
10,266.7
4,535.6
4,247.2
TOTAL
503,535.6
278,345.5
91,850.5
133,339.7
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterborne Commerce Statistics
SOURCE
‐
‐
‐
‐
‐
‐
‐
‐
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District: http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District:
http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation.aspx
U.S. Energy Information Administration: http://www.eia.gov/state/
Port of South Louisiana: http://www.portsl.com/transportation.htm
Port of New Orleans: http://www.portno.com/
Census information for the State of Louisiana:
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_SF
1_SF1DP1&prodType=table
The State of Louisiana: http://louisiana.gov/
Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://stats.bls.gov/eag/eag.la.htm
Table 6
1