PORTAGE, INDIANA, US — Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC), has been selected by the Ports of Indiana to reopen its Burns Harbor grain export facility on Lake Michigan at Portage, Indiana, US.
LDC is expected to begin operating the terminal in early 2026. Financial terms of the agreement, announced June 23, were not disclosed.
The Burns Harbor grain terminal enabled exports of more than 500 million bushels of corn and soybeans between opening in 1979 and closing in 2023, according to Ports of Indiana.
“LDC is excited to join forces with Ports of Indiana, whose commitment to growing the Midwestern economy is aligned with our own, longstanding growth journey in the state,” said Gordon Russell, US head of Grains & Oilseeds for LDC. “Burns Harbor is well-positioned at the southern shore of Lake Michigan, with access to multiple regional grain markets. The port will be a strategic asset for LDC to expand market access for regional farmers and serve customers in North America and abroad.”
Northern Indiana possesses the largest US port with access to the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway and US Inland River System, and it also provides multimodal connections to 16 railroads in the greater Chicago, Illinois, US, market. The port’s grain operation includes storage capacity for 7.2 million bushels of grain, 200 railcars and 20 barges.
“We’re very pleased to partner with LDC to revitalize one of the most important agricultural shipping facilities in the state,” said Jody Peacock chief executive officer of the Ports of Indiana. “Combining LDC’s extensive resources with one of the most robust grain export facilities on the Great Lakes provides critical access to global markets for regional farmers. This is one of only a few places in the Midwest where you can load 1 million bushels of corn onto an ocean vessel for export while simultaneously unloading an 85-car unit train and hundreds of semi-trucks from local farmers.”
Established in 1961, Ports of Indiana is a statewide port authority operating three ports on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan while annually contributing $8.7 billion to the state economy and supporting about 50,000 jobs.
Ryan McCoy, director, Ports of Indiana, said the global grain origination and processing network portfolio of Rotterdam, Netherlands-based LDC would support the port’s export growth and expand its reach across the agribusiness value chain.
“This terminal is one of the leading export facilities in the Midwest, with the capacity to load up to 90,000 bushels per hour into an ocean vessel or laker and unload 30,000 bushels per hour from a unit train,” McCoy said. “LDC’s investment will sharpen its competitive edge and help our region expand its multimodal capabilities and grow global trade.”
