September tonnage at 38,000 for LR port

The Port of Little Rock worked 26 barges and handled 38,000 tons of cargo in September.

The figures were similar to the ones the port reported in August, but continue to be down slightly from barges and cargo tonnage from a year ago and dramatically off from the 2019 totals, before the coronavirus pandemic.

In September 2020, the port worked 29 barges and handled 44,000 tons of cargo, 10.3% and 13.6% lower, respectively, than last month’s totals.

Last month marked the two-year anniversary of the best September recorded in port history when it worked 60 barges and handled 90,000 tons.

A factor in last month’s low numbers was the closing of the David D. Terry lock for maintenance, which halted barge traffic into the second week of September.

For the year, barge activity is down 7% and cargo tonnage is off 9% compared with the same period in 2020. The port has worked a total of 265 barges and worked 395,000 tons of cargo in the first nine months of 2021. In the same period a year ago, the port worked 286 barges and handled 435,000 tons of cargo.