Gov. Bob Riley visited the Alabama State Docks this week to tout the economic payoff of a decade of investment in the Port of Mobile, pointing to more than 67,000 jobs the state says are tied to the seaport’s growth.
Riley toured the newly built Pinto Terminal alongside U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, Alabama State Port Authority CEO Jimmy Lyons and ThyssenKrupp Steel USA President and CEO Christoph Lackinger. The group watched as 40-ton steel slabs were loaded onto barges for the short trip up the Mobile River to ThyssenKrupp’s steel-manufacturing complex in north Mobile County.
“Our investments in Alabama’s port have paid off in jobs and opportunities for families throughout the state,” Riley said during the visit. “Even though it is located in Mobile and supports a thriving maritime industry here, our port’s impact reaches literally into every corner of Alabama.”
A Decade of Growth
State officials say the Port of Mobile has climbed from the 14th- to the 9th-largest seaport in the country over the past 10 years, with a total economic impact now estimated at $7.9 billion. Much of that growth traces back to 2005, when Riley pushed through an $80 million bond package to fund a major expansion, including a new container and intermodal terminal that more than quadrupled the port’s container capacity.
Port officials credit those upgrades with helping the state land a string of major industrial employers, including ThyssenKrupp’s massive carbon and stainless steel plant, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Aker Solutions, Berg Spiral Pipe, International Shipholding, ICS Logistics and APM Terminals.
Bonner said the port’s reach extends well beyond Mobile County. “The expansion of the Port of Mobile, in particular, has reverberations that impact practically every corner of Alabama and a number of surrounding states,” he said, pointing to the state’s natural deepwater channel, workforce and logistics access as key selling points for recruiting industry.
What Comes Next
Riley, whose term as governor was nearing its end at the time of the visit, urged the incoming administration and Legislature to keep funding and marketing the port. “Such tremendous success doesn’t happen all by itself,” he said. “It takes a real understanding of what a catalyst the port is for economic development along with a commitment to making strategic investments that enhance the port and keep it competitive.”
The Alabama State Port Authority has continued to position the Port of Mobile as a hub for heavy industry along the Gulf Coast, betting that continued investment in terminal capacity will keep drawing manufacturers that rely on barge and ship access to move raw materials and finished products.