Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor Receives $11.2 Million Federal Grant to Upgrade Cargo Handling Equipment

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 27, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced that the Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor has been awarded an $11.2 million federal grant for cargo handling modernization. The funding comes from the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) and is part of a $498 million package covering 35 port projects across 19 states. The total project cost is approximately $14 million, with the Indiana Port Commission providing $2.8 million in matching funds.

The grant covers a mobile harbor crane, bulk grab and other attachments, reach stackers, top handlers, off-road yard trucks and related equipment. The mobile harbor crane can switch between bulk grabs, general cargo spreaders and container spreaders, enabling Burns Harbor to handle international containers while maintaining its existing operations for steel, bulk cargo, building materials and project cargo. The direct goal of the equipment procurement is to support the launch of a new all-water container service on the Great Lakes.

Burns Harbor is building the first all-water container terminal in the Chicago metropolitan area, with trial operations planned to begin in late 2026. The terminal is positioned as the only all-water container gateway into the Chicago market via the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection approved it in July 2026 to establish an international marine container terminal. This equipment grant corresponds to the cargo handling capacity needed for the terminal's transition from construction to operations, rather than funding for the terminal itself.

Indiana's three ports (Burns Harbor, Jeffersonville and Mount Vernon) have a combined annual economic impact of $8.7 billion and support 49,000 jobs. Within approximately 100 miles of Burns Harbor lie Midwestern industrial and consumer markets including Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit. The port currently has 600 acres of land and 30 tenant companies, 15 of which are steel-related and 3 of which are steel mills.