Tulsa Port of Catoosa sees increased barge traffic

The Tulsa Port of Catoosa continued to see increased barge traffic during the month of October 2016, according recent figures from the City of Tulsa-Rogers County Port Authority.

The Oklahoma river port handled 213,717 tons of cargo in 111 barges throughout October, a 30.2 percent jump from 164,171 tons in 90 barges the previous month.

The port authority noted the cargo handled by Tulsa Port of Catoosa would have equated to 8,500 extra trucks on roads and highways had it not been transported instead via the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.

Through the first 10 months of 2016, barge tonnage was up by an even more impressive 46.1 percent to nearly 1.8 million tons compared with the same 2015 period.

"Having an inland waterway in this region of the country sets Oklahoma and the Tulsa area apart. We have quality waterway options that are not found elsewhere,” Oklahoma Department of Transportation Waterways Branch Manager Deirdre Smith said in a statement. “A 12-barge tow holds the equivalent of 720 semi-trucks or 180 railcars,” adding that this makes inland waterway the most energy efficient, cost effective, and environmentally sound mode of freight transportation.

“The benefits of an active, useful inland waterway are cost effective to businesses,” said Smith. “Fuel use and CO2 emissions are reduced by 40 percent compared to rail and 270 percent by truck. More than 468,000 additional semis would have driven through the I-40 corridor between Oklahoma and Arkansas if the MKARNS were not available for transporting freight last year alone.”

Source: American Shipper