The river port at Mt. Vernon remains a busy place.
The Ports of Indiana says big jumps in coal and grain shipments helped boost the record in Mount Vernon, which is coming off a record year for any port in the system's 57-year history.
In a news release, the port authority said the facility along the Ohio River at Mt. Vernon had the highest volume ever for any Indiana port in the first three months of the year, driving the total cargo handled by all three ports to 3.2 million tons.
Mount Vernon Port Director Phil Wilzbacher called the upward trends “encouraging,” especially in coal and agricultural shipments which make up more than 90 percent of the port's cargo.
Increases in fertilizer, liquid bulk, and salt shipments helped the port in Jeffersonville see a quarterly rise of three percent, compared to the same period last year.
The shipment total at the port in Burns Harbor was down slightly.