Grains, road salts and windmill blades: new study aims to grow Ports of Indiana, Indiana products

WNIN | By Tim Jagielo

Published February 12, 2026 at 2:54 PM CST

Ports of Indiana Mount Vernon is celebrating a new partnership to maximize freight by river, and freight by train. They also link cargo to road transportation. — Ports of Indiana Mount Vernon is multi-modal, handles freight by river, and freight by train. They also link cargo to road transportation. They're part of a new study to explore ways to expand inland waterways shipping.

The Ports of Indiana, with a hub in Mount Vernon, is part of a study with other regional ports to expand cargo movements between the Great Lakes and inland waterways — the partnership is being described as ‘unprecedented’

Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock speaks at the Tuesday morning news conference. He said they've coined the term 'Mega Modal' to describe the Mount Vernon Location, following their partnership with rail and real estate company OmniTrax. "It's unlike we've anything I've seen in my history of the ports, and like anything we've seen in the history, the 60 year history of ports of Indiana," he said, referring to the increased capacity and additional acreage for leasing to other companies who can use freight services. — Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock speaks at an April 2025 news conference, celebrating an expansion of rail freight services at the Ports of Indiana, Mount Vernon.

The Ports of Indiana along with partners, recently announced the initiation a new study.

Described as a "comprehensive market analysis," it is examining ways to increase waterborne transportation using the connections between inland waterway and Great Lakes.

Specifically, this partnership is between the Ports of Indiana, the Illinois International Port District, the Port Milwaukee and others — all members of the American Great Lakes Ports Association.

The Ports of Indiana operates two ports on the Ohio River and one on Lake Michigan, handling river, rail, road and even ocean freight.

Inland waterways ports, including Ports of Indiana move 600 million tons of goods throughout the US, and Great Lakes ports move 200 million tons.

This is according to Jody Peacock, Ports of Indiana CEO.

“These are two of the busiest shipping channels in the world,” he said. “We've got ports on Lake Michigan and on the Ohio River. So this study will explore something that's near and dear to our heart, because it connects the two port districts in a way that will really help grow our regional economy.”

And ship more Indiana products internationally.

He said early opportunities might include expanding existing freight like grains, ethanol and road salts and large project cargo.

“I think windmill blades have been something that have moved on the Great Lakes and ships for years, but have not always moved on barges. And I think we're going to see some of that coming in the near future.”

Peacock said the study timeline is short.

"So it'll be a little bit of, 'let's explore the opportunities that are out there,' and kind of a SWAT test — what are our strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats."

Peacock said they we need to explore the major challenges.

"I think there we're going to run into some issues where we see height restrictions," he said. "There are certain certifications on barges that are making the transition from from river to Lake."

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