b'18American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(GULFcontinued from(connectingtoFCCM/FIT, page 16) FXE,KCSM,andTFVM). operatesapproximatelyonePort-to-Porttransittimefor million square feet of indus- the rail-ferry service is three trialwarehousinginMobile,days.Houston, Baytown, and Free-port.Withtheacquisition,p oRt ofp aSCagoula , MSEnstructure will operate twentyThe Jackson County Port terminalsalongtheGulfAuthority,whichmanages Coast, East Coast, and InlandthePortofPascagoula,has RiverSystemwithoverfiveappointed a new Port Direc-million square feet of indus- tor.Withtheretirementof trial warehouse capacity. MarkMcAndrewsonJune Besidesthecontainerter- 30,2023,after22yearsas minal the Port of Mobile boaststhe Port Director, the Jackson auniquerailconnectiontoCounty Port Authority Board Mexico.CGRailway,LLCofCommissionersselected (CGR), was established overBo Ethridge as the Port Direc-20yearsagoasaClassIIItoreffectiveMay1,2023. railroad to provide a rail routeEthridge previously held the Aerial view of Gulfports, MS West Pier Terminalbetween the US, Canada, andpositionsoftheDirectorof Central&SouthernMexicoBusinessDevelopment&max-sized vessels. The facilityState Port Authority, the oper- tionalten-yeartermsavail-and now operates as a jointForeign Trade Zone No. 2 forincludes two wood pellet stor- ating authority for the Port ofable to Ports America.venture of Genesee & Wyo- the Port of New Orleans andage domes with a total storageGulfports, has entered into aOne major feature of the mingInc.(GWRail)andthe Port Director of the Han- capacity of 90,000 metric tons.long-term lease and operatingdeal is a $43 million invest-SEACOR Holdings Inc. Thecock County Port and HarborEnvivaplanstoexportwoodagreement with Ports Americament from Ports America to CGR operates a unique con- Commission. pellets, from the Port of Pas-Ports America acting as adevelop the ports vacant Ter-nectionofMobiletoCoat- LastNovembertheportcagoula terminal to power andlicensed stevedore at Gulfportminal 4 into a cargo-handling zacoalcos,Mexicorail-ferrycelebratedtheopeningofutilitycustomersacrossAsia,since 2006. terminal.Thisincludesa services to Central America.EnvivaInc,marineexportEurope,andtheCaribbeanInSeptemberof2022,new ship-to-shore crane and CGRdeploystwodouble- terminal.Enviva,thelargestwithamajorityofthetermi- thePortofGulfportandsurfaceimprovements.This deck 590-foot ro/ro rail fer- producerofwoodybiomassnals future shipments slated forPortsAmericaenteredintoinvestmentisinadditionto ries,eachwithacapacity(largelywoodpellets),hasJapan. Enviva plans to doubleaLetterofIntentoutliningPorts Americas recent acqui-of 135 railcars on the route.invested heavily in the region.its production capacity over thetheirmutualintenttoworksition of new cargo-handling Direct interchange in the U.S.Since2019,thePortnextfourtofiveyears,fromtogethertoincreasecom- equipmentfromMississippi railroadswithAGR,ALE,AuthorityandEnvivahave6.2 million metric tons per yearmerceatthePortofGulf- based manufacturers.CN,CSXT,NSandTASDinvestedover$90millionto(MTPY)toapproximately13port. Based on that Letter ofPortsAmericasinvest-(connectingtoBNSF,KCS,build the terminal at the Port ofmillion MTPY.Intent, the resulting lease andment in the infrastructure and MSE,UPandanarrayofPascagoula which can receiveoperatingagreementwhichdevelopmentofthePortof other Class 1 and shortlines)productbyrail,barge,andg ulfpoRt , MS includesatwenty-yearterm(GULFcontinued on andinMexicowithFSRRtruck as well as support Pana- In March, The Mississippiwith the option for two addi- page 20)'