New logistics agreement to support economic growth on the Mississippi River introduced

The St. Louis Regional Freightway, Plaquemines Port Harbor & Terminal District located in the State of Louisiana and four ports in the St. Louis region have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish and grow an alliance to generate new business by promoting international and inland trade routes at strategic locations along the Mississippi River.

The agreement, which represents a five-year commitment, calls for joint marketing initiatives and exchange of data to further those goals.

The agreement embodies the St. Louis region’s strong support for the efforts underway by marine transportation services leader American Patriot Holdings, LLC, and the Port of Plaquemines to develop a hub-and-spoke transportation system for container transport vessel shipments from Plaquemines, at the mouth of the Mississippi River just south of New Orleans, to the St. Louis region.

Initial discussions have focused on loading operations at a centralized location in Jefferson County, Missouri, with feeder services by rail, barge and truck throughout the bi-state region and the Mississippi River Basin resulting in what spokesmen describe as “low costs and efficient” transportation.

“The Freightway is committed to serving the greater St. Louis region by helping to support efforts to attract shippers and carriers, and we believe the proposed container transport vessel route would benefit the entire region and other ports along the Mississippi River Basin,” said Mary Lamie, Executive Director of St. Louis Regional Freightway.

She added that  signing represents bi-state support and recognition by all four public ports in the area of the potential growth that could arise from this MOU, and represents another outstanding example of “regionalism.”

In an interview with Logistics Management, Lamie said for the last three years the region had experienced a surge in large scale industrial real estate activity based on freight assets.

“A proposed container on vessel route would attract shippers and carriers that would support existing manufacturing sectors like food,  chemical, metal and automotive manufacturing,” she said.  “Growth opportunities in pharmaceutical and soap manufacturing could also benefit. We also anticipate an opportunity to elevate food manufacturing based on the volume of refrigerated containers that could be introduced to our market.”

Lamie told LM that it’s a bit too early to talk about regional direct investment, however.

“The initial focus will be on educating users of a new transportation route utilizing the inland waterway, maximizing the upper Mississippi basin supply chain and leveraging the reduced transportation costs,” she said.