Industry Education

Did you know?

Over 10.7 billion tons of cargo is imported and exported annually via ocean vessels worldwide.

Let Us Blow Your Mind!

Visualizing 10.7 billion tons equates to 1,813 Great Pyramids of Gizas

32,326 Empire State Buildings

434,959 Statues of Liberty

68,589,743 average U.S. houses

or 6,476,997,578 cars

Industry Facts

Shipping is the least environmentally damaging form of commercial transport and, compared with land-based industry, is a comparatively minor contributor to marine pollution from human activities.
Barge Transportation of goods is the single most efficient, economic and environmental choice for transporting freight.
One gallon of fuel can move one ton of cargo 616 miles by barge.
One barge can move 1,500 tons while a rail car moves 125 tons and a Tractor Trailer moves 40 tons. It is 4.1x more fuel-efficient than trucks!

Over 3 billion tons are imported or exported via ocean vessels from or to U.S. ports annually. 500 million tons are imported or exported annually out of the Mississippi River. More than 60 percent of the nation’s grain and 20 percent of petroleum and energy commodities are handled by Louisiana ports each year.
The world’s largest container ships can carry a staggering amount of goods. Carrying over 21,000 TEU, modern container ships can hold up to 745 million bananas. To put that into perspective, that’s roughly one banana for every person in Europe and North America.
Although many people may not realize it, there are many maritime expressions that have found their way into everyday language. Sayings such as “learning the ropes”, “at close quarters”, and “high and dry” all have nautical origins.
On average, a container ship travels a distance equivalent to 75% of the way to the moon and back in a single year.