New $1.8B Louisiana Port Terminal Approved to Handle 2M Containers

S. 8-billion greenfield container facility at the Port of New Orleans designed to accommodate ultra-large container vessels and expand regional gateway capacity to 2 million containers annually at full build-out. Developed by Port NOLA in partnership with Mediterranean Shipping Co. and Ports America—with over $800 million in private investment and $300 million in federal grants—the facility addresses a critical infrastructure bottleneck: existing New Orleans terminals cannot accommodate vessels carrying more than 16,000 TEUs due to bridge clearance constraints upriver. By locating farther downriver at a 55-foot depth, the Louisiana International Terminal enables direct calls from mega-vessels while preserving river proximity to Gulf shipping lanes, positioning New Orleans to compete more effectively against Houston, Mobile, and Tampa for growing containerized trade volumes. S.

port infrastructure and supply chain resilience. The terminal is expected to open in 2028 with initial capacity of 180,000-280,000 TEUs and scale over 25 years to its full 2-million-container target. The facility's multimodal connectivity—direct access to interstate highways and all six North American Class I railroads—transforms it into a strategic inland distribution hub serving over 30 states. S. transatlantic and transpacific routes, potentially reducing per-TEU shipping costs and improving service consistency for shippers concentrated in the American interior and Southeast. S.

strategy to modernize port infrastructure and reduce supply chain vulnerability to single-gateway dependencies. 97-million-TEU market share. For importers and exporters, this translates to improved scheduling flexibility, reduced port congestion, and potential modal shifts from truck to rail as intermodal connectivity improves. However, the 25-year development timeline and phased capacity growth require shippers to manage expectations around immediate capacity relief while positioning long-term supply chain networks to leverage the facility's competitive advantages.