Claremore Daily Progress

Business

January 22, 2010

Port reports December and annual shipping

January 22, 2010 — CATOOSA, OKLA. – January 21, 2010 – In spite of negative global economic news heard throughout 2009, the Port of Catoosa enjoyed the best total annual shipping volumes of the past three years, with more cargo shipping through the Port in 2009 than in 2008 and 2007.

Total inbound/outbound shipping was 2,058,191 tons, nearly 8,000 tons higher than 2008 and more than 47,000 tons higher than 2007 – a year that saw stock markets worldwide soar to record levels.

While shipping levels from January to November indicated the Port might achieve two million tons in shipping for the year, which it has done every year of the past decade except 2005, it was December’s especially strong results that put the number over the top and made 2009 an exceptional year.

While total shipping on the inbound side was slightly lower than in the previous month, outbound shipments of several commonly-shipped cargos through the Port of Catoosa showed dramatic improvements and high outbound volumes in December.

Fertilizer shipments, wheat, and soy products were all well above their usual levels in outbound shipping.

“We are very pleased with the December totals, but even without those impressive numbers 2009 would still have been a good year at the Port,” said Ed Fariss, Chairman of the City of -Rogers County Port Authority.

“We are looking forward to another strong year in 2010,” Fariss said.

Since the Port of Catoosa opened in 1971, close to 64 million tons of cargo has moved through the facility on more than 39,500 barges.  That equals 2.1 million semi-truck loads of freight that traveled to the Port by water rather than on roads and highways.

More than 11.6 million tons of freight was shipped on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System in 2009. The Port of Catoosa handled 18 percent of that cargo.

Of the 3.9 million tons that passed through the Oklahoma section of the waterway, the Port of Catoosa handled 52%.

The Port of Catoosa is the head of navigation for the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. The 445-mile long waterway links Oklahoma and the surrounding five-state area with ports on the 25,000 mile long U.S. inland waterway system, and foreign and domestic ports beyond by way of New Orleans.

The 2,500-acre Port complex offers industrial sites for lease, and its Riverview Business Park, adjacent to the Port, offers property for sale.

Together they are home to more than 60 companies employing nearly 3,000 employees.

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