As the amount of cocoa moving through Philadelphia, Hershey Pennsylvania is the headquarters of Hershey's company and there are several large chocolate manufacturers that operate near Harrisburg Pennsylvania
But Hershey barely has any cocoa in their chocolates 😬. Like meeting the already low FDA requirement of 10%. Maybe the volume they sell still amounts to something.
Minnesota is such a cool state. In terms of water transportation routes, it's essentially the center of North America. Headwaters of the Mississippi River which flows to the Gulf of Mexico, headwaters of the Red River which flows to Hudson Bay, and the huge inland port of Duluth where you can see ships from all over the world that have traveled through the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes. And Duluth/Superior is just sooooo far inland for such a large port.
Being so far inland makes it closer to the products of the Upper Midwest. Products like agriculture and iron ore. Rail lines bring the products to the port. Ships take the product to other countries.
@@mg222. Oceangoing vessels in Duluth cannot exceed 740 feet, because of size limits on the Welland Canal. Some other ports that are far inland are Iquitos, Peru (Amazon River), Ust-Kut, Russia (Lena River), and Oskemen, Kazakhstan (Ob-Irtysh rivers). I'm not sure about size limits, and the latter two have limited shipping seasons because the rivers are frozen part of the year.
Your comment about San Francisco not really having a major port reminds me of a documentary I saw back in the late '70s. It was about the container revolution. Most people under the age of 50 probably only think of shipping as involving containers, but in the past ships were loaded with loose boxes on pallets, lifted by a small crane. I worked on such a loading dock long ago, and we would actually get down in the hold of the ships and pull boxes off of the pallets and stack them in the hold. The documentary I'm talking about was comparing the decline of the Port of San Francisco to the rise of the Port of Oakland, and it all came down to SF's failure to build the infrastructure for containers.
To be fair, Oakland is a better location for a modern port as San Francisco is more likely to have rail/highway backups due to being a peninsula. Also San Francisco needs more space for housing.
@@jonathanbowers8964 "To be fair, Oakland is a better location for a modern port as San Francisco is more likely to have rail/highway backups due to being a peninsula. " An excellent point, Jonathan. And this may well have been the thinking of the SF city leaders, but I don't recall it being mentioned in the documentary.
I live in Long Beach, California, and if you drive near the port, you can see stacks and stacks of shipping containers, with the big cranes constantly busy. Part of the reason Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are so busy is that they were among the first to modernize and be able to handle shipping containers. They have also, in the last several decades, made great efforts to reduce pollution generated from port and shipping operations. They were the first ports in the world to offer shore power to ships.
I remember as a teen reading the World Book encyclopedia about 50 years ago that Chicago was listed as the 10th largest seaport in the world, which was notable because it was inland. This was made possible by the then-recent opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. But this was also before the age of container shipping, and I have to assume that container ships can't make that passage and so now Chicago is probably not even in the top 100. Looking forward to this video!
I love seeing videos like this that illustrate how urban and rural areas are connected in ways most people don't think about and how they both depend on one another for jobs and economic viability.
My guess as to why Philadelphia is so important for cocoa imports is Hershey, Pennsylvania being a few hours west (Hershey Chocolates), Hackettstown, New Jersey is several hours north and that is where Mars, Inc. is headquartered. Campbells Foods is right across the Delaware River in Camden, New Jersey and they make way more than just soup. They own the Pepperidge Farm brand, who of course uses plenty chocolate for their cookies.
Philly has a lot of room and infrastructure for reefer containers(more than other ports) and is a top destination for perishables because of it serving 30% of us market in one days drive. And less congested than NY/NJ
Great video. With Kyle showing all of the U.S. ports on the Great Lakes it makes me want to see a Canadian version of this list... with comparisons to the U.S. ports that are close by.
I didn't realize until a few years ago that ships can go from the Great Lakes out through Mobile, Alabama, as an alternative to the Mississippi river thanks to the Illinois River, Tennessee River and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and locks. With some long distance boaters it's popular to do a "great loop" using the Mississippi River or this route, along the Intracoastal Waterway of the east coast, and then the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes to complete the loop.
Having lived in Portland I’m not surprised by the profusion of big inland ports. Never realized Kalama ranked, but there are huge grain elevators there, as in Portland. A little surprised you didn’t mention wood products and logs for Longview.
As a -usually not- proud Marylander, I noticed that Baltimore didn't make any of your lists. In the wake of the Key Bridge collapse could you do a short additional video to this one? Thank you for what you do, your videos are very interesting and informative.
I grew up in Long Beach, California and the port(s) had all kinds of interesting things, import cars were driven off ships and parked in huge parking lots, a naval shipyard, even a prison! (Terminal Island) Long Beach's motto was the International City, and I grew up exposed to many different cultures, which was really nice.
Great video Kyle! The relationship between ports/shipping and freight trains is huge. Logistics Park and Global IV in the southwest Chicago suburbs are perhaps the largest inland “railports”, as much of the shipping containers loaded onto trains in LA/LB ends up there heading to the east coast and back. Would be worth a mention or a video!
Many of the trains get loaded directly from the container ship at the Port Of LA. The trains then can take the Alameda Corridor to the switching yards east of Downtown LA. Most of the Alameda Corridor is in a trench so it doesn't interfere with street traffic. The Port Of LA and the Port of Long Beach are 20+ miles from Downtown LA. I'm sure a lot of the containers moved by rail go to Chicago, as well as all points East.
Kyle, would love to see a video on the St Lawrence seaway. The route from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic is far from trivial. One thing to address is the size of the locks in Montreal.
We just spent the weekend in Duluth. Watching the ships come in during -8F morning with steam rising off the lake was nothing short of magical. I recommend a visit summer or winter. So crazy that we have that port here in the middle of the country.
To get to the ports in Portland, Longview, Kalama, and Vancouver an oceangoing vessel must cross one of the most dangerous areas in the world at the mouth of the Columbia River. Countless ships litter the ocean floor at this spot.
@@trossk I've seen one but I don't remember where. Astoria, OR is a very interesting place to visit because container ships both incoming and outgoing have to wait for one of the Bar Pilots to guide them through the mouth of the Columbia River.
Loved the video! I've seen the Port of Lake Charles; what stands out most is that it has the highest interstate bridge I have ever driven on, ostensibly due to the need to give ships clearance. It's a terrifying bridge if you're scared of heights. And we need to see a global edition of this, Kyle! I alluded to a list of ports that I had read 50+ years ago, and back then Rotterdam was #1 in the world. Would love to see an update.
Yes, global, please. I remember being on a hillside in Singapore looking out over the sea of shipping containers in the port. It’s gotta be a contender!
The list for inland ports was for tonnage only, so the ones that specialize in iron ore, oil, and automobiles tend to move more weight. The Illinois ports are several that all count as one commission so the numbers are higher. I think by volume St Louis would be higher but the most recent Bureau of Transportation official data on volume are pre-covid and I didn't want to include that older data. But I do plan on discussing busiest waterways by traffic, which would be different than shipping weight/volume.
The list does not include Port Statistical Areas, apart from Illinois apparently. I downloaded the US Corp of Engineers's reports and upon examination, they are listed separately from 2021 onwards- I suspect that the Bureau of Transportation simply didn't do their due diligence when updating their information (as the Illinois ports are a statistical area yet are included in the list). St Louis is listed as a Port Statistical Area for some reason despite being a singular city, hence its exclusion. These statistical area ports are generally larger than Duluth, for context (although Duluth has overtaken STL in tonnage post-2020).
Excellent topic and summary. YES to a global version. Also YES to a part 2 of American waterways in general. We'd like to hear your nerdy perspective on America's Great Loop, Intracoastal waterways, most inland ports (Tulsa OK, Knoxville TN, Deepwater WV, and Lewiston ID, among others), and anything else you feel like covering.
Other interesting port is the one in Lewiston, Idaho. Just that it exists in the first place is what I find fascinating, just be virtue of it being in an interior mountain state, but it turns out the Columbia and Snake Rivers are calm enough all the way to the Idaho state line to make a port feasible. Northern Idaho as a whole also has a surprising about of naval history
I live in Kennewick, Washington, near the junction of the Snake River with the Columbia. Barge traffic on both rivers passes through reservoirs behind dams with locks to accommodate passage to and from the downriver shipping ports that Kyle noted. Downstream cargo is largely wheat, with lesser amounts of other agricultural commodities. Upriver cargo is primarily fuel and agricultural chemicals, though many barges go back upriver empty.
Idaho has a lot of conmection to the sea for a mountain state. Naval reactor research takes place at Idaho National Lab, a submarine test base in the north and an inland port on the Washington border.
Being from Baltimore and sailing recreationally in the Chesapeake, I always have my head on a swivel for container ships heading in or out. Surprised of no Baltimore mention.
Inland ports are some of the most fascinating things to read about. As amazing as it is to see places far from the ocean being international shipping ports, the are some even FURTHER away. The Port of Catoosa, in OAKLAHOLMA is an international seaport, located as far as one can expect from the ocean!
An interesting result of the Southern California LA/OC port being one of the busiest in the world is that we also have to deal with an immense number of 18wheeler trucks on top of our already terrible traffic. Constantly driving next to lines of 18wheelers on the freeway is not something every state deals with.
Great video, but I wish you had done a shout out to the furthest inland ocean going port in the country, the Port of Catoosa, located just north of Tulsa, Oklahoma. With two ocean going ports, (Catoosa and Muskogee) there actually are Coast Guard stations in Oklahoma.
I think a video that shows why certain cities are located where they are would be interesting. Certainly access to rivers, coasts and shipping played an important role in many city locations. I'm sure there are lots of geographic variables that go into the precise locations rather than just river access. The influence of geography on urban design is interesting to me.
Yeah! Could do a series of vids to cover the geographic origins of the top 100 cities (or metro areas) in the USA, with each covering, say, 10 of them. Or, could cluster them regionally/ sub-regionally.
The Port of Greater Baton Rouge owes its size in part to the US 190 bridge over the Mississippi River north of downtown BR. It was built to a height that prevents deep-water vessels from passing under it to travel further upriver (allegedly on purpose, though that may simply be a piece of the Huey P. Long mythos that has been passed around the area through the decades). As a result, river traffic north of the city consists largely of barges, while between the "Old Bridge" and the "New Bridge" (Interstate 10) and down the winding way to New Orleans, cargo ships are a common sight.
Excellent topic, Mr. Kyle. Great for us to see what we produce and consume and their ports or import / export! If possible, I would like a video on container volume by origins / destinations. For example, I recall a statistic that about 40 percent of container arrivals at LA / LB were destined to Southern California while about 60% move as loads out of California, by rail and truck for destinations like Chicago. On the export side, many of those containers are re-loaded for export from locations in the Midwest and Southeast with agricultural products. Gracias!
The issue of cruise ship ports (as opposed to industrial ports) is becoming contentious all over the world. This would be worth a video. Check out Melbourne, Australia
Several of your inland ports, I don't call inland. You listed Baton Rouge as costal, but Lake Charles inland, and it's closer to the coast. All those around Portland, OR area ports are coastal... large waterway direct to the Pacific just as close to the ocean as Baton Rouge. So I'm curious how you came up with the distinction between coastal and inland?
I've been down to the Port of Corpus Christi numerous times. Never saw less than eight bulk carriers in the canal on any given day, usually they have at least 12-14 ships docked or moving in the canal.
I would like to see a global ports video. This is right up my alley as I process Sea Waybills and am familiar with all the port UN/LOCODEs you showed here. 👍
Point of Information for clarity. Oil and other bulk cargo are not carried in containers. The TEU measurement is strictly for containerized cargo. Therefore, the tonnage and TEU numbers are not fully connected. Meaning, containerized cargo weight is included in tonnage, but oil and other bulk cargo are not included in TEU numbers.
Lived in south Louisiana most of my life and much to my dismay, I had never heard of the Port of South Louisiana. Quite surprising given that it moves more cargo than New Orleans or Baton Rouge.
I have pretty bad meglaphobia (fear of large objects) and standing on river street in Savannah watching those huge ships come in from ground level is straight up terrifying
Something interesting I noticed by taking a look at the source and comparing it the listing on Wikipedia (citing the US Corp of Engineers' 2020 report), Several of the largest inland ports according to the 2020 report are not listed on the 2022 BTS list: Mid-Ohio Valley Port, Ports of Cincinnati-N KY, Ports of St Louis-E STL, and Port Huntington Tri-State- all of which were above Duluth in 2020. I wonder if this demonstrates a stark shift in trade (decline in Coal) or a shift in transportation (Barges->Rail). I suppose this may also be a partial list as you had stated sometimes the data reporting can be irregular. EDIT: upon examination of the USACE's 2021 report, the ports I listed from Wikipedia are now considered "Port Statistical Areas" and are listed separately. For some reason, the Illinois port system- despite being a statistical area- is still included. Very odd and I suspect this is just a clerical error on the part of the Bureau.
I never really understood why the port of Los Angeles, and the port of Long Beach are different entities. They are literally touching each other. Added together, they make a much larger port, maybe even the largest in the US.
Fascinating. Houston was founded on Buffaio Bayou, a winfing shallow route to get cotton to the Gul and the port of Galveston. Early in tge last century the city dredged the bayou to create the Port of Houston. Lined with petrochemical plants plus container facilities... The Corps of Engineers helps: an expansion is underway to deal with bigger ships using the expanded Panama Canal...
Interestingly, Winston Salem NC was legally declared a port back in the height of the tobacco industry so it could import tobacco from Turkey and rolling papers from France. At one point in time it was a top ten port in the USA despite being a small to mid-sized city that isn’t on a navigable body of water
I’d like to see a similar video of ports in Canada and Mexico. Given free trade agreement with USA they could compete with or be considered within the same market.
I learned a bit about international shipping about a year ago when I tried to help of customer track his shipments from my company in Virginia to his, located in New Zealand. One shipment went down to the Port of Charleston, went up and down the Atlantic a couple of times before going through the Panama Canal, then went back and forth between different ports in Australia and New Zealand before arriving at his port. The other shipment went by rail to the Port at Long Beach but got delayed half way across the country and missed its ship. It stayed in Long Beach for a couple of days before getting a new spot on a different boat. If I remember right, that one reached his port in NZ fairly quickly after that. It was interesting looking at the various maps showing all the commercial shipping which even let you click on individual ships and learn a little about them.
Here in Oklahoma, I've always heard the Tulsa Port of Catoosa promoted as the furthest inland port. Not sure how "furthest inland" is defined in this case, but I thought it was interesting none the less.
The list I used was for tonnage only, so the ports that move iron ore, oil, and autos rank higher. I know that St Louis by volume ranks high, but the only official data I have are pre-covid 2019 numbers, so I didn't want to include those numbers with how much has changed since then.
Oh alright, well thanks for responding. Have you ever looked into the Jones Act much? I have heard it severely hampers inland waterway trade in the U.S. I would be curious to hear your take on this topic. :]@@GeographyKing
Howdy Kyle! Interesting and well made video. I suggest that you make one video about European ports, one about Asian ports and one about the rest of the World. The whole World is too big for just one video.
collectively besides port of philadelphia the delaware river also has port of wilmington, port of salem nj, port of paulsboro nj, port of chester pa, port of gloucester city and port of camden nj
Hey Kyle. How about a video about the volcanic hotspot zones. Stretching halfway around the globe but considered one hotspot of Volcanic activity. I live in the PNW area of the Cascades and it's interesting to think that Indonesia is on the same artery. Interesting stuff! I'd bet you get a lot of hits on that one.
Interesting that you're referring only to the sea (water) ports. I worked for USDA APHIS - walked at both ports of Miami and San Francisco/Oakland. Miami was on your list at 10 I think. And you mention agriculture. I don't know the tonnage of the ag imports and if has been some years since I moved away. But, combing the sea and airports it was our biggest operation of agriculture inspection. for Food imports ofcourse LA (combined LA ports) was maybe comparable or close. But, non-food agriculture like plants, animals, bugs, etc. specifically, Miami was busier than all the other US ports combined. Clearly agriculture is not our largest import. And, air planes don't have as much cargo as ships. But, relatively, Miami hasa lok of cargo flights, and a lot agricultural imports. Oh, BTW, ag inspection actually does mean at least some level of inspection and clearance of some non-agriculture imports and the vessels (boats and planes) themselves. Like I said, I don't have data on it. But. I was surprised Miami was number 10.
So where are St. Louis, Kansas City and Memphis since they also claim to be some of the largest inland ports or are these inland river ports? I know there are many ways to classify them, so I'm interested to see how others classify these port cities.
I was using the tonnage numbers, so the ports that move a lot of iron ore, oil, and autos tend to rank higher. I know the big river ports move a lot of container cargo volume but the official data available for volume are pre-covid so didn't want to use that older data. The tonnage data are from 2022.
Yes. I liked this. we are going to the Pacific North West this summer for vacation. and would like a map of old growth forest there. Have you seen such a thing?
I'm a longtime Pacific Northwest resident who treasures old growth forests. I suggest you check out the website of photographer Lucas Cometto. You will find many great photos with info on locations and trails throughout the region. It's an excellent resource for anyone interested in Pacific Northwest old growth at its best.
@@MrDcwithrow I've lived.and hiked in the Pacific Northwest for 45 years. There are large tracts of old growth forest within the National Parks and Wilderness areas of Washington, some of which are fairly easily accessible. An internet search will reveal many other places in addition to those you noted.
I live in northeastern NC where tons of grains and soybeans are harvested, and there are always Port of Virginia trucks all over the place coming or going to crop silos to take grain and soybean up to the port.
My take on the Mississippi is that it is mostly barge traffic and that is for agricultural products. I gather that the river goes through dry spells where levels drop.
Largest ports I. The world would be interesting. Also you could do the largest rail yards or intermodal facilities if you want to give some inland areas more love
Global one would be cool. US has famously incredible natural port potential to go along with barrier islands and most of worlds navigable river milage. Curious how our ports rank on global list.
As the amount of cocoa moving through Philadelphia, Hershey Pennsylvania is the headquarters of Hershey's company and there are several large chocolate manufacturers that operate near Harrisburg Pennsylvania
But Hershey is on a different river than Philadelphia
But Hershey barely has any cocoa in their chocolates 😬. Like meeting the already low FDA requirement of 10%. Maybe the volume they sell still amounts to something.
@jonathanbowers8964 it’s probably more economical to sail cocoa to Philly and put it on a train to Hershey than sail that deep up the Susquehanna
Came here to say that lol
@@jonathanbowers8964The Susquehanna isn’t navigable up through Harrisburg.
Minnesota is such a cool state. In terms of water transportation routes, it's essentially the center of North America. Headwaters of the Mississippi River which flows to the Gulf of Mexico, headwaters of the Red River which flows to Hudson Bay, and the huge inland port of Duluth where you can see ships from all over the world that have traveled through the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes. And Duluth/Superior is just sooooo far inland for such a large port.
Watching the Queen of the Lakes sale underneath the lift bridge is one of the coolest things I get to see, but any ship coming in is a sight to behold
Couldn't have said it better! 😎✌️
Duluth is the world's furthest inland port accessible to oceangoing vessels, at least according to wikipedia.
Being so far inland makes it closer to the products of the Upper Midwest. Products like agriculture and iron ore.
Rail lines bring the products to the port. Ships take the product to other countries.
@@mg222. Oceangoing vessels in Duluth cannot exceed 740 feet, because of size limits on the Welland Canal.
Some other ports that are far inland are Iquitos, Peru (Amazon River), Ust-Kut, Russia (Lena River), and Oskemen, Kazakhstan (Ob-Irtysh rivers). I'm not sure about size limits, and the latter two have limited shipping seasons because the rivers are frozen part of the year.
It's a striking accident of geography that the US's 2nd-largest inland port of Duluth is over 1.700 miles (2,700 kilometers) from the open ocean.
it is in the very nature of inland ports, that they are more or less far away from the nearest sea
@@rncmv Duh. My point is that there aren't many in the world that are 2,700+ kilometers from the ocean.
Your comment about San Francisco not really having a major port reminds me of a documentary I saw back in the late '70s. It was about the container revolution. Most people under the age of 50 probably only think of shipping as involving containers, but in the past ships were loaded with loose boxes on pallets, lifted by a small crane. I worked on such a loading dock long ago, and we would actually get down in the hold of the ships and pull boxes off of the pallets and stack them in the hold. The documentary I'm talking about was comparing the decline of the Port of San Francisco to the rise of the Port of Oakland, and it all came down to SF's failure to build the infrastructure for containers.
Thank you for this information - it’s very interesting!
To be fair, Oakland is a better location for a modern port as San Francisco is more likely to have rail/highway backups due to being a peninsula. Also San Francisco needs more space for housing.
@@jonathanbowers8964 "To be fair, Oakland is a better location for a modern port as San Francisco is more likely to have rail/highway backups due to being a peninsula. " An excellent point, Jonathan. And this may well have been the thinking of the SF city leaders, but I don't recall it being mentioned in the documentary.
Based on my experience San Francisco is too busy loading pallets of poop off the streets..
@@anderander5662 the last time i was there was for two days in 2009. Oh my, how things have changed - for the worse!
“I have to report that the port of Portland is important”
Brilliant!
I live in Long Beach, California, and if you drive near the port, you can see stacks and stacks of shipping containers, with the big cranes constantly busy. Part of the reason Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are so busy is that they were among the first to modernize and be able to handle shipping containers.
They have also, in the last several decades, made great efforts to reduce pollution generated from port and shipping operations. They were the first ports in the world to offer shore power to ships.
LA port and the long beach number 1
I remember as a teen reading the World Book encyclopedia about 50 years ago that Chicago was listed as the 10th largest seaport in the world, which was notable because it was inland. This was made possible by the then-recent opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. But this was also before the age of container shipping, and I have to assume that container ships can't make that passage and so now Chicago is probably not even in the top 100. Looking forward to this video!
I love seeing videos like this that illustrate how urban and rural areas are connected in ways most people don't think about and how they both depend on one another for jobs and economic viability.
My guess as to why Philadelphia is so important for cocoa imports is Hershey, Pennsylvania being a few hours west (Hershey Chocolates), Hackettstown, New Jersey is several hours north and that is where Mars, Inc. is headquartered. Campbells Foods is right across the Delaware River in Camden, New Jersey and they make way more than just soup. They own the Pepperidge Farm brand, who of course uses plenty chocolate for their cookies.
great information
Also immediately thought of Hershey when cocoa and Pennsylvania were mentioned together
Philly has a lot of room and infrastructure for reefer containers(more than other ports) and is a top destination for perishables because of it serving 30% of us market in one days drive. And less congested than NY/NJ
Also a lot of lesser known but relatively large food producers in the Philly area (including the large industrial areas of S. Jersey)
Duluth is such a cool port city, very underrated!
dont tell anyone please
Check out Duluth Harbor Cam.
You should do a more in depth geography video of each of the Great Lakes
They say Lake Superior never gives up her dead...
@@kleverichyes
Great video. With Kyle showing all of the U.S. ports on the Great Lakes it makes me want to see a Canadian version of this list... with comparisons to the U.S. ports that are close by.
I didn't realize until a few years ago that ships can go from the Great Lakes out through Mobile, Alabama, as an alternative to the Mississippi river thanks to the Illinois River, Tennessee River and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and locks. With some long distance boaters it's popular to do a "great loop" using the Mississippi River or this route, along the Intracoastal Waterway of the east coast, and then the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes to complete the loop.
I drive a towboat and travel the Tenn-Tom all the time. I think it would be cool to have a channel like this interview people that work on the river.
Having lived in Portland I’m not surprised by the profusion of big inland ports. Never realized Kalama ranked, but there are huge grain elevators there, as in Portland. A little surprised you didn’t mention wood products and logs for Longview.
As a -usually not- proud Marylander, I noticed that Baltimore didn't make any of your lists. In the wake of the Key Bridge collapse could you do a short additional video to this one? Thank you for what you do, your videos are very interesting and informative.
I grew up in Long Beach, California and the port(s) had all kinds of interesting things, import cars were driven off ships and parked in huge parking lots, a naval shipyard, even a prison! (Terminal Island) Long Beach's motto was the International City, and I grew up exposed to many different cultures, which was really nice.
I'm working as a hatch clerk on Al Riffa in Garden City Terminal (port of Savannah) while i watch this!
Oh yes please do a worldwide or maybe even continent focused. Thanks for all the awesome and educative video's you make
Great video Kyle! The relationship between ports/shipping and freight trains is huge. Logistics Park and Global IV in the southwest Chicago suburbs are perhaps the largest inland “railports”, as much of the shipping containers loaded onto trains in LA/LB ends up there heading to the east coast and back. Would be worth a mention or a video!
Many of the trains get loaded directly from the container ship at the Port Of LA. The trains then can take the Alameda Corridor to the switching yards east of Downtown LA. Most of the Alameda Corridor is in a trench so it doesn't interfere with street traffic. The Port Of LA and the Port of Long Beach are 20+ miles from Downtown LA.
I'm sure a lot of the containers moved by rail go to Chicago, as well as all points East.
Kyle, would love to see a video on the St Lawrence seaway. The route from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic is far from trivial. One thing to address is the size of the locks in Montreal.
We just spent the weekend in Duluth. Watching the ships come in during -8F morning with steam rising off the lake was nothing short of magical. I recommend a visit summer or winter. So crazy that we have that port here in the middle of the country.
To get to the ports in Portland, Longview, Kalama, and Vancouver an oceangoing vessel must cross one of the most dangerous areas in the world at the mouth of the Columbia River. Countless ships litter the ocean floor at this spot.
The Columbia River Bar is scary
Someone needs to do a good documentary on the Graveyard of the Pacific. both in olden days, and modern times
@@trossk I've seen one but I don't remember where. Astoria, OR is a very interesting place to visit because container ships both incoming and outgoing have to wait for one of the Bar Pilots to guide them through the mouth of the Columbia River.
Loved the video! I've seen the Port of Lake Charles; what stands out most is that it has the highest interstate bridge I have ever driven on, ostensibly due to the need to give ships clearance. It's a terrifying bridge if you're scared of heights.
And we need to see a global edition of this, Kyle! I alluded to a list of ports that I had read 50+ years ago, and back then Rotterdam was #1 in the world. Would love to see an update.
Very interesting video! I'd love to see one highlighting the most used shipping routes, busiest waterways etc.
That would be very cool.
I’d love to see a video about global ports. This is one of the semi-niche geography topics that has really captured my interest recently
As you report, the Port of Portland is important. For exports or imports? What say you, purported King?
Yes, global, please. I remember being on a hillside in Singapore looking out over the sea of shipping containers in the port. It’s gotta be a contender!
Being from STL I'm surprised not one Mississippi River port made the Inland list. Especially since the Illinois and Ohio River ports were on it.
The list for inland ports was for tonnage only, so the ones that specialize in iron ore, oil, and automobiles tend to move more weight. The Illinois ports are several that all count as one commission so the numbers are higher. I think by volume St Louis would be higher but the most recent Bureau of Transportation official data on volume are pre-covid and I didn't want to include that older data. But I do plan on discussing busiest waterways by traffic, which would be different than shipping weight/volume.
The list does not include Port Statistical Areas, apart from Illinois apparently. I downloaded the US Corp of Engineers's reports and upon examination, they are listed separately from 2021 onwards- I suspect that the Bureau of Transportation simply didn't do their due diligence when updating their information (as the Illinois ports are a statistical area yet are included in the list). St Louis is listed as a Port Statistical Area for some reason despite being a singular city, hence its exclusion. These statistical area ports are generally larger than Duluth, for context (although Duluth has overtaken STL in tonnage post-2020).
Excellent topic and summary. YES to a global version. Also YES to a part 2 of American waterways in general. We'd like to hear your nerdy perspective on America's Great Loop, Intracoastal waterways, most inland ports (Tulsa OK, Knoxville TN, Deepwater WV, and Lewiston ID, among others), and anything else you feel like covering.
I rode a bicycle over the bridge at Long Beach. Was blown away by the vastness of the moored shipping containers.
Other interesting port is the one in Lewiston, Idaho. Just that it exists in the first place is what I find fascinating, just be virtue of it being in an interior mountain state, but it turns out the Columbia and Snake Rivers are calm enough all the way to the Idaho state line to make a port feasible. Northern Idaho as a whole also has a surprising about of naval history
I live in Kennewick, Washington, near the junction of the Snake River with the Columbia. Barge traffic on both rivers passes through reservoirs behind dams with locks to accommodate passage to and from the downriver shipping ports that Kyle noted. Downstream cargo is largely wheat, with lesser amounts of other agricultural commodities. Upriver cargo is primarily fuel and agricultural chemicals, though many barges go back upriver empty.
Idaho has a lot of conmection to the sea for a mountain state.
Naval reactor research takes place at Idaho National Lab, a submarine test base in the north and an inland port on the Washington border.
Fascinating stuff. You’ve done it again geography king
Interesting that the main photo for the Port of Duluth/Superior is of the oldest operating steam-powered ship on the Great Lakes, the "Apena" (1942).
Being from Baltimore and sailing recreationally in the Chesapeake, I always have my head on a swivel for container ships heading in or out. Surprised of no Baltimore mention.
Good video by the King, I like this topic. How about covering the busiest rail hubs, or major trucking routes?
Inland ports are some of the most fascinating things to read about. As amazing as it is to see places far from the ocean being international shipping ports, the are some even FURTHER away.
The Port of Catoosa, in OAKLAHOLMA is an international seaport, located as far as one can expect from the ocean!
"I have to say that the port of Portland is important" subscribed right there 😂 the dry delivery does it
An interesting result of the Southern California LA/OC port being one of the busiest in the world is that we also have to deal with an immense number of 18wheeler trucks on top of our already terrible traffic. Constantly driving next to lines of 18wheelers on the freeway is not something every state deals with.
Right, sometimes there are more big rigs than cars on sections the 710 and 91 freeways, even with the Alameda Corridor!
The way you keep coming up with the kind of topics that at one time I thought only interested me, perfection man. The king does it again
Yes please to a global episode!
7 out of 10 are now Chinese.
Great video, but I wish you had done a shout out to the furthest inland ocean going port in the country, the Port of Catoosa, located just north of Tulsa, Oklahoma. With two ocean going ports, (Catoosa and Muskogee) there actually are Coast Guard stations in Oklahoma.
"The PORT of PORTland is imPORTant" love it Kyle. Great video! One nerd to another!
I think a video that shows why certain cities are located where they are would be interesting. Certainly access to rivers, coasts and shipping played an important role in many city locations. I'm sure there are lots of geographic variables that go into the precise locations rather than just river access. The influence of geography on urban design is interesting to me.
Yeah! Could do a series of vids to cover the geographic origins of the top 100 cities (or metro areas) in the USA, with each covering, say, 10 of them. Or, could cluster them regionally/ sub-regionally.
I would like to see an episode on historical events on ports. What were the top ten ports 25, 50 and 100 years ago?
Kyle, as always, the best.
Always appreciate your knowledgeable and balanced takes.
The Port of Greater Baton Rouge owes its size in part to the US 190 bridge over the Mississippi River north of downtown BR. It was built to a height that prevents deep-water vessels from passing under it to travel further upriver (allegedly on purpose, though that may simply be a piece of the Huey P. Long mythos that has been passed around the area through the decades). As a result, river traffic north of the city consists largely of barges, while between the "Old Bridge" and the "New Bridge" (Interstate 10) and down the winding way to New Orleans, cargo ships are a common sight.
"I have to report the Port of Portland is important." Well played.
I find it very interesting that there are no ports further up the Mississippi that made it to the list.
Excellent topic, Mr. Kyle. Great for us to see what we produce and consume and their ports or import / export!
If possible, I would like a video on container volume by origins / destinations. For example, I recall a statistic that about 40 percent of container arrivals at LA / LB were destined to Southern California while about 60% move as loads out of California, by rail and truck for destinations like Chicago. On the export side, many of those containers are re-loaded for export from locations in the Midwest and Southeast with agricultural products. Gracias!
The issue of cruise ship ports (as opposed to industrial ports) is becoming contentious all over the world. This would be worth a video. Check out Melbourne, Australia
Several of your inland ports, I don't call inland. You listed Baton Rouge as costal, but Lake Charles inland, and it's closer to the coast. All those around Portland, OR area ports are coastal... large waterway direct to the Pacific just as close to the ocean as Baton Rouge. So I'm curious how you came up with the distinction between coastal and inland?
Most interesting video I’ve seen on RUclips in a very long time. Well done.
As a retired trucker, I can tell you which ports are easy to access & get out loaded & GONE! I also see you've been picking my vinyl again!
I've been down to the Port of Corpus Christi numerous times. Never saw less than eight bulk carriers in the canal on any given day, usually they have at least 12-14 ships docked or moving in the canal.
I would like to see a global ports video. This is right up my alley as I process Sea Waybills and am familiar with all the port UN/LOCODEs you showed here. 👍
Love the album in the background!
Surprised to know that major cities along the Mississippi river like St. Louis is not on the top inland ports list.
Point of Information for clarity. Oil and other bulk cargo are not carried in containers. The TEU measurement is strictly for containerized cargo. Therefore, the tonnage and TEU numbers are not fully connected. Meaning, containerized cargo weight is included in tonnage, but oil and other bulk cargo are not included in TEU numbers.
Thank you for the clarification
Yup. You’re correct
Was a little surprised that the port of Seattle and the port of Tacoma weren't as busy as Kalama, Longview and Vancouver
cool, informative video as always!
(P.S. Coloring Book's a classic, you're a man of taste)
Lived in south Louisiana most of my life and much to my dismay, I had never heard of the Port of South Louisiana. Quite surprising given that it moves more cargo than New Orleans or Baton Rouge.
they like it that way, they think of themselves as our masters
I live near Norfolk. One of the really huge exports from that port is coal from the Appalachian mines. Coal from Norfolk even goes to Chins.
I have pretty bad meglaphobia (fear of large objects) and standing on river street in Savannah watching those huge ships come in from ground level is straight up terrifying
Something interesting I noticed by taking a look at the source and comparing it the listing on Wikipedia (citing the US Corp of Engineers' 2020 report), Several of the largest inland ports according to the 2020 report are not listed on the 2022 BTS list: Mid-Ohio Valley Port, Ports of Cincinnati-N KY, Ports of St Louis-E STL, and Port Huntington Tri-State- all of which were above Duluth in 2020.
I wonder if this demonstrates a stark shift in trade (decline in Coal) or a shift in transportation (Barges->Rail). I suppose this may also be a partial list as you had stated sometimes the data reporting can be irregular.
EDIT: upon examination of the USACE's 2021 report, the ports I listed from Wikipedia are now considered "Port Statistical Areas" and are listed separately. For some reason, the Illinois port system- despite being a statistical area- is still included. Very odd and I suspect this is just a clerical error on the part of the Bureau.
I never really understood why the port of Los Angeles, and the port of Long Beach are different entities. They are literally touching each other. Added together, they make a much larger port, maybe even the largest in the US.
Great video, as always Kyle!! Would love to see a global comparison!!
Fascinating. Houston was founded on Buffaio Bayou, a winfing shallow route to get cotton to the Gul and the port of Galveston.
Early in tge last century the city dredged the bayou to create the Port of Houston. Lined with petrochemical plants plus container facilities...
The Corps of Engineers helps: an expansion is underway to deal with bigger ships using the expanded Panama Canal...
Informative and interesting!
Interestingly, Winston Salem NC was legally declared a port back in the height of the tobacco industry so it could import tobacco from Turkey and rolling papers from France. At one point in time it was a top ten port in the USA despite being a small to mid-sized city that isn’t on a navigable body of water
Fascinating trivia! Thanks.
The port of Long Beach and LA are actually just one large port, but they are just separated legally.
I’d like to see a similar video of ports in Canada and Mexico. Given free trade agreement with USA they could compete with or be considered within the same market.
I learned a bit about international shipping about a year ago when I tried to help of customer track his shipments from my company in Virginia to his, located in New Zealand. One shipment went down to the Port of Charleston, went up and down the Atlantic a couple of times before going through the Panama Canal, then went back and forth between different ports in Australia and New Zealand before arriving at his port.
The other shipment went by rail to the Port at Long Beach but got delayed half way across the country and missed its ship. It stayed in Long Beach for a couple of days before getting a new spot on a different boat. If I remember right, that one reached his port in NZ fairly quickly after that.
It was interesting looking at the various maps showing all the commercial shipping which even let you click on individual ships and learn a little about them.
Duluth is also a really cool city.
Here in Oklahoma, I've always heard the Tulsa Port of Catoosa promoted as the furthest inland port. Not sure how "furthest inland" is defined in this case, but I thought it was interesting none the less.
Incredibly informative video I send a million thank yous from Québec
Very interesting stuff! I’m intrigued by the contrast of tonnage vs volume.
Maybe I missed it in the video, but can you clarify what “break bulk” is?
Did you forget to look into St. Louis..? We are definitely in the top 10 busiest inland ports.
The list I used was for tonnage only, so the ports that move iron ore, oil, and autos rank higher. I know that St Louis by volume ranks high, but the only official data I have are pre-covid 2019 numbers, so I didn't want to include those numbers with how much has changed since then.
Oh alright, well thanks for responding. Have you ever looked into the Jones Act much? I have heard it severely hampers inland waterway trade in the U.S. I would be curious to hear your take on this topic. :]@@GeographyKing
Howdy Kyle! Interesting and well made video. I suggest that you make one video about European ports, one about Asian ports and one about the rest of the World. The whole World is too big for just one video.
I would see to a video about which cites have the busiest railroad traffic.
I would love to see global ports rated this way too
collectively besides port of philadelphia the delaware river also has port of wilmington, port of salem nj, port of paulsboro nj, port of chester pa, port of gloucester city and port of camden nj
I think a video on presently operating navigable waterways would be interesting.
I could hear Gordon Lightfoot in the latter part of this video
Hey Kyle. How about a video about the volcanic hotspot zones. Stretching halfway around the globe but considered one hotspot of Volcanic activity. I live in the PNW area of the Cascades and it's interesting to think that Indonesia is on the same artery.
Interesting stuff! I'd bet you get a lot of hits on that one.
This video was great exposure for the designers of these port websites
Great video and definitely yes to see where the US ports stand compared to the rest of the world.
A look at ports on a global scale would be interesting, especially to compare against the US
I would like to see a port video for not just the world, but per region of the world, like Europe, Middle East, or Southeast Asia.
I’m new to your. Channel and enjoying all your videos. The information on ports was pretty interesting. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Interesting that you're referring only to the sea (water) ports. I worked for USDA APHIS - walked at both ports of Miami and San Francisco/Oakland.
Miami was on your list at 10 I think. And you mention agriculture. I don't know the tonnage of the ag imports and if has been some years since I moved away. But, combing the sea and airports it was our biggest operation of agriculture inspection. for Food imports ofcourse LA (combined LA ports) was maybe comparable or close. But, non-food agriculture like plants, animals, bugs, etc. specifically, Miami was busier than all the other US ports combined.
Clearly agriculture is not our largest import. And, air planes don't have as much cargo as ships. But, relatively, Miami hasa lok of cargo flights, and a lot agricultural imports.
Oh, BTW, ag inspection actually does mean at least some level of inspection and clearance of some non-agriculture imports and the vessels (boats and planes) themselves.
Like I said, I don't have data on it. But. I was surprised Miami was number 10.
So where are St. Louis, Kansas City and Memphis since they also claim to be some of the largest inland ports or are these inland river ports? I know there are many ways to classify them, so I'm interested to see how others classify these port cities.
I was using the tonnage numbers, so the ports that move a lot of iron ore, oil, and autos tend to rank higher. I know the big river ports move a lot of container cargo volume but the official data available for volume are pre-covid so didn't want to use that older data. The tonnage data are from 2022.
@@GeographyKing Thank you for responding.
Yes. I liked this. we are going to the Pacific North West this summer for vacation. and would like a map of old growth forest there. Have you seen such a thing?
I'm a longtime Pacific Northwest resident who treasures old growth forests. I suggest you check out the website of photographer Lucas Cometto. You will find many great photos with info on locations and trails throughout the region. It's an excellent resource for anyone interested in Pacific Northwest old growth at its best.
@@MrDcwithrow I've lived.and hiked in the Pacific Northwest for 45 years. There are large tracts of old growth forest within the National Parks and Wilderness areas of Washington, some of which are fairly easily accessible. An internet search will reveal many other places in addition to those you noted.
I live in northeastern NC where tons of grains and soybeans are harvested, and there are always Port of Virginia trucks all over the place coming or going to crop silos to take grain and soybean up to the port.
Perfect timing I’m researching ports right now
A surprisingly interesting topic - thanx Kyle!
How about a video on the shipping along various rivers of the US? From where, to where and how much.
I'm surprised the Mississippi River isn''t used more for shipping - have been to Duluth's port, it is incredible to see - good job
My take on the Mississippi is that it is mostly barge traffic and that is for agricultural products. I gather that the river goes through dry spells where levels drop.
Largest ports I. The world would be interesting. Also you could do the largest rail yards or intermodal facilities if you want to give some inland areas more love
Global one would be cool. US has famously incredible natural port potential to go along with barrier islands and most of worlds navigable river milage. Curious how our ports rank on global list.
Great video! Do boarder/ land ports next maybe