Aug 3 2006
The American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) kicked off its event in New Orleans last week with the announcement that steel, the leading commodity in the Port of New Orleans, has returned to pre-Katrina tonnage levels.
From January to August of 2005, New Orleans averaged 271,468 short tons per month of imported steel products. Cargo figures released today show that within four months of the storm, steel bounced back to its pre-Katrina average. In December, the Port handled 269,881 short tons of steel and in January it handled 326,917 short tons.
The number of ships arriving in the Port of New Orleans returned to normal levels of about 20 to 22 ship calls per week by the end of February. This week, 28 ships are scheduled to arrive in the Port of New Orleans.
Gary LaGrange, President and CEO of the Port, says that the quick recovery can be attributed not only to the hard work and cooperation of the Port industry, but also to the loyalty and upward trend in the steel industry.
"We worked hard to get the first ship in the Port of New Orleans within two weeks, which demonstrated to the world that we are still a great transportation hub," LaGrange said. "We were also very lucky that steel was on the up tick. We sincerely appreciate the loyalty that steel shippers have shown to New Orleans. Their business has played a very important role in the recovery of the Port and the entire New Orleans region."
Steel is one of the commodities that are imported to New Orleans for distribution to manufacturing plants all over the country, particularly in states that are connected to New Orleans through the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
"We are very pleased to be here for this important event and pleased to see the efforts the Port of New Orleans has made to get the steel trade back to normal," said AIIS President Dave Phelps.
A study completed by Martin Associates shows that more than 380,000 total jobs in the United States were related to the annual cargo activity at the Port of New Orleans marine terminals, and these jobholders received $16.9 billion of personal income.
http://www.aiis.org