A Strategic Hub for Global Commerce and Seamless Supply Chains
These assets, together with the state’s proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and central location in the southern U.S., establish Louisiana as a powerful hub for global and domestic commerce and supply chains. Offering easy and cost-effective transportation of goods, Louisiana is an ideal location for businesses involved in shipping, manufacturing, and distribution, as well as businesses relying on efficient import and export capabilities.
Ports
Combined, Louisiana’s six deep-draft ports handle the most domestic cargo in the nation. The state also features four of the top 15 ports by tonnage in the country. This scale explains why Louisiana’s ports carry 25% of all U.S. waterborne commerce, 60% of the nation’s grain and 20% of the nation’s coal.
Louisiana is connected to 17 states that are navigable by barge from the Mississippi River: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Rail
Louisiana’s six Class I railroads span over 3,000 miles, and the state’s geography offers little in the way of mountainous operations and stiff grades, saving railroads from the headache of more complex operations. New Orleans is the only place in the country where six Class I railroads converge with a deepwater seaport.
Louisiana’s Class I Rail Operators:
- BNSF Railway Company
- Canadian National
- Canadian Pacific Kansas City
- CSX Transportation
- Norfolk Southern Corp.
- Union Pacific Railroad Co.
Interstate Highways
Crisscrossing Louisiana is a well-connected network of interstates and highways that facilitate travel around the state and to its neighbors. I-10 traverses southern Louisiana from east to west, connecting New Orleans to Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles and then Texas towards Houston. In the northern part of the state, I-20 continues from Jackson and Vicksburg, Mississippi, through Monroe and Shreveport before entering Texas as it progresses towards Dallas. The state’s main north-to-south route is I-55, originating outside New Orleans.
Air Transportation
Louisiana’s seven primary airports are located in Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Lafayette, New Orleans, Monroe and Shreveport. A total of 56 public-use airports exist in Louisiana.
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is the largest and busiest airport in the state. Hosting 16 airlines and serving over 50 nonstop destinations, MSY connects all corners of the country and offers direct international flights to Canada, Honduras, Mexico and the United Kingdom. MSY has been recognized as one of the best large airports in North America.
Pipelines
Louisiana has one of the most advanced pipeline networks in the world. The fully integrated network carries some of the state’s most lucrative natural resources from the ground to refineries and process industry plants. The state’s nearly 50,000 miles of pipelines crisscross every major highway, railroad and navigable waterway in the state.
The Louisiana intrastate pipeline system can safely transport natural gas almost anywhere in the U.S. via the Henry Hub. Located outside of Lafayette, the Henry Hub is a natural gas pipeline interchange that serves as the official delivery location for New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) futures contracts.