Inbound shipping at the Port increased by nearly 30,000 tons in March, as shipments of steel and fertilizer to the Port were substantially higher than the previous month.
Overall, total barge shipping at the Port last month was 274,162 tons, higher than one year ago, March, 2011, by almost 52,000 tons. But total inbound/outbound shipping at the Port was slightly lower last month than in February.
In the first quarter of 2012, total shipping at the Port was 787,049 tons - 127,000 tons higher than the same period of time in 2011. It was also the best first quarter since the Port opened in 1971.
Outbound shipments of wheat also increased in March.
The number of barges that travelled through the Port was higher in March also -- 153, compared to 136 the previous month.
Barges hold as much as sixty semi-tractor trailers worth of cargo, or fifteen jumbo-hopper rail cars. The amount of barge cargo shipped through the Port on the waterway in March would have required an equivalent of 9,180 trucks. If these trucks had been placed bumper to bumper, they would stretch from Tulsa to Oklahoma City. The result is, of course, less congestion and therefore safer driving conditions. This also reduces wear and tear on our nation's roadways.