Port of Lake Charles cracks nation’s top 10 for cargo

Major gains in cargo have made the Port of Lake Charles one of the top 10 busiest ports in the nation.

The new ranking is by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers waterborne commerce statistics for 2022.

Here is the latest top-10 list:

1. Houston

2. South Louisiana

3. Corpus Christi

4. New York/New Jersey

5. Long Beach, California

6. New Orleans

7. Beaumont

8. Baton Rouge

9. Virginia

10. Lake Charles

The new ranking is because Lake Charles handled 64.2 million short tons of cargo, a 32.7 percent increase over the previous year.

Here is the breakdown, and the year-over-year gains:

• Domestic cargo: 29.3 million short tons, up 34 percent.

• Foreign cargo: 34.8 million short tons, up 31.5 percent.

Lake Charles edged out the Port of Los Angeles to crack the top 10. It is one of four Louisiana ports on the list.

The Port of Lake Charles — officially, the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District — is a deepwater seaport that was established in 1926. It manages the Calcasieu Ship Channel, which runs inland 36 miles and extends out into the Gulf of Mexico another 32 miles.

The port district encompasses 203 square miles. It's the port of choice for bulk, breakbulk, specialty and project cargo, ranging from international lumber shipments to global industrial needs. It's also "America's Energy Corridor," serving as the No. 1 LNG export area of the world.

Marine cargo activity along the Ship Channel supports $39 billion of total economic value to the U.S. economy — $29.9 billion of it in Louisiana, according to a 2021 economic study. About $12 billion of that value is in Calcasieu and Cameron parishes, representing 67 percent of the region’s GDP.