ExiledInIllinois Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 (edited) I was digging through the statistics of what is moved via waterborne transportation in the US. I quickly pulled up the Wiki list. It is very telling where "stuff" is being moved by water throughout the country. Another thing I never realized is how far the Port of Buffalo has fallen on that list. It now sits @ #128/149 (2010)... Ouch! With the top 2 ports (S.La, Houston) doing almost 133-150 times more business. Yikes, the numbers, IMO, are staggering. BFLO seems so irrelevant considering its position in our transportation system. Also staggering is how much trade moves out of the top inland port: Huntington (TriState), West Virginia (77.5 million ton, ALL domestic??). It is outdated and from 2010... But still, has to be pretty accurate: http://en.wikipedia....e_United_States Also:. http://www.logistics...heres_the_money Edited June 29, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUFFALOKIE Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Hard to believe that Tulsas port is higher. Thats a lot of oil equipment, aircraft parts and cow poop. What are Buffalo's primary exports? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 Hard to believe that Tulsas port is higher. Thats a lot of oil equipment, aircraft parts and cow poop. What are Buffalo's primary exports? Port of Catoosa is on the rise... Intermodal... Here in Chicago we get a lot of petrol products going between Indiana Harbor/South Chicago-Lake Calumet from Tulsa-Catoosa, OK. Especially, in the winter... Southern boats will work up north where they can break ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 (edited) Oops... That Wiki list is from 2004, not 2010... I will see if I can find a newer one. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1087.pdf http://www.aapa-ports.org/Industry/content.cfm?ItemNumber=900 2011 by tonnage: http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/PDFs/2011%20U%20S%20%20PORT%20RANKINGS%20BY%20CARGO%20TONNAGE.pdf Like I said... Tulsa-Catoosa on the rise 13 spots higher. BFLO fell 9 spots lower. Just a matter of time before they fell off the Top 149. Edited June 29, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Water isn't all it's cracked up to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 Water isn't all it's cracked up to be. LoL... Sarcasm? Considering a lot is made overseas and the earth is mostly water. Still the cheapest wasy to ship. Stuff's gotta get here some way. The more things change, the more they stay the same. And it appears most of it is coming up through Houston and South Louisiana. Right up the old poop shoot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Water isn't all it's cracked up to be. Also, indicative of the fall of manufacturing in Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 (edited) Also, indicative of the fall of manufacturing in Buffalo. Not so much manufacturing when it comes to water... Most (manu) wasn't waterborne that is. Maybe rail. They tore that up too. It was the downfall of grain and bulk commodities that was the death. BFLO was first and foremost put on the planet as a break-in-bulk port. First the Welland Canal and then Seaway doomed it. We still have grain elevators in Chicago, don't need to light them up w/fancy light shows or build a non-producing canal district... You know what we use them for in Chicago? You guessed it: GRAIN! Look @ other Great Lakes ports. Are you kidding me? Drummond Island, MI... The same/little more trade than BFLO does by water? Oh my. It is all about natural resources and not being situated (or made to be situated, see above) like some kind of Radiator Springs. Edited June 29, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Not so much manufacturing when it comes to water... Most (manu) wasn't waterborne that is. Maybe rail. They tore that up too. It was the downfall of grain and bulk commodities that was the death. BFLO was first and foremost put on the planet as a break-in-bulk port. First the Welland Canal and then Seaway doomed it. We still have grain elevators in Chicago, don't need to light them up w/fancy light shows or build a non-producing canal district... You know what we use them for in Chicago? You guessed it: GRAIN! Look @ other Great Lakes ports. Are you kidding me? Drummond Island x5 the trade BFLO does? Oh my. It is all about natural resources and not being situated (or made to be situated, see above) like some kind of Radiator Springs. I get your points and would not argue them. The other tonnage on the lakes besides grain in is iron ore. This is what has Gary Ind higher than Buffalo for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 (edited) I get your points and would not argue them. The other tonnage on the lakes besides grain in is iron ore. This is what has Gary Ind higher than Buffalo for example. You caught my pre-edit post... Darn you! You really can break NW Indiana into four very close ports: Gary, Buffington, Burns, & Indiana Harbors... Put those together and you have a top 20-25 area/multi-port. NW Indiana is in the cat-bird seat... 1.6 Billion dollars/year in business is not over-lake related. It is lake linked though. A lot of it is petrol-chem. Like I said, linked to the heartland. Houston, NOLA, Batton Rouge, Tulsa. Edited June 29, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 You caught my pre-edit post... Darn you! You really can break NW Indiana into four very close ports: Gary, Buffington, Burns, & Indiana Harbors... Put those together and you have a top 20-25 area/multi-port. NW Indiana is in the cat-bird seat... 1.6 Billion dollars/year in business is not over-lake related. It is lake linked though. A lot of it is petrol-chem. Like I said, linked to the heartland. Houston, NOLA, Batton Rouge, Tulsa. BTW do you live in Chicago? I see the lock at the river from my balcony. Blo also not well,positioned for water to rail transport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Baltic Dry Index is what I use most to gauge economy. Percentage full container ship numbers are not as easily manipulated as all other financial indicators http://investmenttools.com/futures/bdi_baltic_dry_index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dayman Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Supposedly US ports need to get deeper for the next century of shipping...those that do this will gain an advantage holding newer bigger ships that come through deeper channels that will exist in the future...idk...start digging? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 This is a very cool website. http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 I am just across from Morehead City, NC presently. It is a pretty unknown port, but being an Atlantic Port, in the outer banks t is surprising to see it at 81 Toleito has a huge port that does more then grain. Anderson's is their big grain big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 (edited) BTW do you live in Chicago? I see the lock at the river from my balcony. Blo also not well,positioned for water to rail transport. No. I live in the far south... About 18 miles from the city limits (my work) and another 18 from The Loop... Almost on the Indiana line. There are actually two locks in Chicago proper... I am south on the Calumet which is Chicago's industrial corridor. What you see is the Chicago River Lock (controlling works). That lock is under contract personnel (been under contract since it was turned over to the Corps from Water Reclamation in the early 1970's) and doesn't do that much cargo vessels. Most cargo goes through Calumet Harbor, to the International Port of Chicago @ Lake Calumet, about 7 miles down river from Lake Michigan. What it (downtown lock) lacks in tonnage through, it makes up in commercial passenger vessels (ie: Tour Boats). Now with the river walk being added... Almost all commercial cargo will stay south on the Calumet. If you ever want a tour where I am, just PM me... I may even be able to arrange something downtown too... I usuallu park there when I head to Navy Pier. This is a very cool website. http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/ Very cool site... I use that on my phone to see what is moving around while I am on the move. We (USACE) also have our own production system that uses Google Earth Pro... A bit better than Marine Traffic... But I can't access it on my phone, just in the offices. Zoom into the coast of China... Or the straits around Singapore... Puts American domestic shipping to shame! Nice thing is you can build a fleet... And have them (Marine Traffic AiS) email you when your boats are in your area... Or leaving/arriving port... I am just across from Morehead City, NC presently. It is a pretty unknown port, but being an Atlantic Port, in the outer banks t is surprising to see it at 81 Toleito has a huge port that does more then grain. Anderson's is their big grain big. Go to the site Jim posted. Most of the Great Lakes is online... You can see what is moving in the Western Basin of Lake Erie @ Toledo. Eventually everything will be tied into AiS when it comes to lock status and what not... Mariners will be able to see what is moving and be able to anticipate delays and what not... Edited June 29, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 (edited) Supposedly US ports need to get deeper for the next century of shipping...those that do this will gain an advantage holding newer bigger ships that come through deeper channels that will exist in the future...idk...start digging? Very expensive and also enviromentally controversial (what isn't). What do you do with (dispose of) contaminated spoil (dredge material)? They used to head out to mid-lake... Wallbash. I started out in hydrographic survey with The Corps, surveying BFLO District from Toledo, OH to Watertown, NY. Was even on the Presque Isle (Erie, PA) nourishment project early on. Those are those rubble walls you see (if you have ever been to Presque Isle) dotting along the shoreline. We'd take soundings (depth readings) and that would determine how much material needed to be removed (or not) from the area. Appropriated under the Rivers and Harbors Act going back to the late 19th century... And later on Harbors of Refuge (not as deep). Kinda neat, I broke in old school hand sounding and know almost every harbor from Toledo to Watertown... BFLO District used to be the center for Great Lakes Dredging until The Corps farmed out their dredges in the mid-1980's... With no in-house competition, contracts shot up 300% in following years... But, that is another story... ;-) When I moved west, @ first I was able to work most of the Upper Mississippi River from Guttenburg, IA to Keokuk, IA... Very neat seeing different areas. There were two types of people/town folk. One type thought the Corps was doing excellant work improving the river. The other type thought that we were destroying it... LoL... No happy medium! Edited June 29, 2013 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 (edited) Very cool site... I use that on my phone to see what is moving around while I am on the move. We (USACE) also have our own production system that uses Google Earth Pro... A bit better than Marine Traffic... But I can't access it on my phone, just in the offices. Zoom into the coast of China... Or the straits around Singapore... Puts American domestic shipping to shame! And the cool thing is I have a great view of the San Francisco Bay from my house and I'm above the port of Oakland. I can use that site to figure out which ships I can see from my house. It's neat watching the cargo ships go under the Bay Bridge from my place. From the angle it looks as if they'll never make it. Unfortunately I can't see the America's Cup boats from my place. The race is around the corner off North Beach. And holy **** dude, China is a !@#$ing zoo. Looks like the 405 at 5:00pm on a Friday. Edited June 29, 2013 by Chef Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 northern Europe is interesting too. I was quite impressed with Hamburg and some of the Netherlands ports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 northern Europe is interesting too. I was quite impressed with Hamburg and some of the Netherlands ports I actually sat on a jury for a civil trial with a shipping company. I don't remember the details but they were just getting into shipping in Eastern Europe. The Black Sea I think. It was a very cool trial seeing there was a lot of "you want to explore shipping there? Are you nucking futz??" And a lot of ancient shipping terms and rules that are still used/followed today. Unfortunately they settled before it went to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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