Minnesota handles $1.9 billion worth of freight each year, along more than 234 miles of inland waterway. That amounts to more than 11.2 million tons of commodities being shipped to, from and within Minnesota. The states docks ship commodities by barge to 16 states and receive commodities from 16 states.
| Minnesota 2005 Commodities Moved From, to and within the State
(values in millions of dollars) |
|||||
| Commodity | Shipped | Received | Within | Total | Value |
| Coal | 126,402 | 293,929 | 0 | 420,331 | $23 |
| Petroleum | 460,172 | 45,454 | 0 | 505,626 | $141 |
| Aggregates | 0 | 62,290 | ** | 62,290 | $4 |
| Grain | 4,519,205 | 36,639 | ** | 4,555,844 | $572 |
| Chemicals | 148,430 | 1,190,454 | 0 | 1,338,884 | $673 |
| Ores/Minerals | ** | 858,284 | 0 | 858,284 | $67 |
| Iron/Steel | 188,990 | 109,385 | 0 | 298,375 | $205 |
| Other | 41,441 | 814,943 | 2,291,083 | 3,147,467 | $234 |
| TOTAL | 5,484,640 | 3,411,378 | 2,291,083 | 11,187,101 | $1,919 |
** Insufficient barge operators to release this tonnage – included in “Other Commodities”
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterborne Commerce Statistics
Shipments on Mississippi River Basin Waterways Only
| Minnesota 2005 Commodities Shipped by Barge to and from Other States
(tonnage in thousands of tons; values in millions of dollars) |
|||||||
| Shipments To | Tons | Value | Top Commodity | Shipments From | Tons | Value | Top Commodity |
| Louisiana | 4, 053 | $529 | Grain | Louisiana | 2,444 | $784 | Chemicals |
| Tennessee | 339 | $97 | Grain | Iowa | 296 | $26 | Others |
| Alabama | 268 | $54 | Grain | Illinois | 260 | $33 | Coal |
| Illinois | 192 | $54 | Petroleum | Indiana | 100 | $11 | Others |
| Wisconsin | 183 | $28 | Coal | Kentucky | 87 | $4 | Coal |
