NEW ORLEANS – For decades, Louisiana’s five deep-water ports along the Lower Mississippi River, from Baton Rouge to the river’s mouth, have operated largely as independent entities.
“The fact that Louisiana’s five deep-water ports are among the busiest and most diverse port complexes in the world goes mostly unrecognized because the ports traditionally operated entirely independent of one another,” said Joseph Toomy, former Port of New Orleans board chairman. “That lack of coordination increasingly became a problem.”
That dynamic shifted in 2023, when Louisiana passed legislation increasing state oversight of ports and tightening accountability around state funding. The move, Toomy said, sent a clear signal that cooperation—not competition—was now the expectation.
“This view of the ports competing with one another rather than working together led directly to legislative action,” he said. “It clearly signaled an expectation that the ports align their efforts.”
From Fragmentation to Dialogue
In response, Toomy convened port directors and board chairs from the five Lower Mississippi River ports in late 2023 to initiate formal dialogue. He said the effort was driven as much by external competition as internal pressure.
“We recognized that coordination of efforts would be critical to better position Louisiana in the face of growing out-of-state competition,” Toomy said.
That dialogue quickly moved beyond discussion. The five ports jointly hired a nationally recognized maritime consulting firm to conduct a comprehensive regional cargo market analysis, sharing the cost of the study, an uncommon step in a region long defined by jurisdictional boundaries.
“All five ports stayed actively engaged,” Toomy said. “That collaboration advanced to a significant display of cooperation with a shared investment in understanding where new cargo opportunities exist and how we can realistically capture them.”
The study was designed not only to identify new cargo opportunities but to model scenarios for attracting that business, an approach used by other major U.S. port regions to underpin broader trade and infrastructure master plans.
Aligning With Statewide Strategy
The collaborative momentum aligned closely with a parallel effort at the state level. Under Gov. Jeff Landry, the Louisiana Economic Development agency launched a comprehensive statewide strategic plan aimed at pursuing large-scale economic development projects and guiding infrastructure investment decisions.
“The state’s strategic plan set a clear vision for policy and infrastructure,” Toomy said. “The new cooperative spirit among the ports was demonstrated almost immediately in the pursuit of several major economic development opportunities.”
One example, he said, was coordination between the Port of South Louisiana and the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, which worked through jurisdictional issues to support the siting of the $5.8 billion Hyundai Steel mill project.
“That process moved quickly and efficiently because the ports were already working together,” Toomy said.
Deep-Water Ports: A Unified Market Presence
The collaboration among the five ports did not stop with the regional cargo market analysis. The five ports subsequently engaged a team of consultants to develop a unified regional marketing strategy aligned with LED’s statewide plan, again sharing costs and decision-making.
“They committed to a single comprehensive marketing strategy for the Lower Mississippi River ports,” Toomy said. “That kind of alignment simply didn’t exist before.”
A unified marketing approach, he said, allows the region to promote its collective strengths: deepwater access, extensive inland connectivity, and the ability to handle a wide range of cargo types, from petroleum and bulk commodities to breakbulk, containers, and LNG.
“Putting a unified marketing plan in place to promote the region’s existing strengths and maritime assets would greatly enhance our ability to expand international trade,” Toomy said.
Looking ahead, Toomy said the continued working relationship among the ports, paired with sustained coordination with LED and ongoing attention from the governor and Legislature, positions Louisiana’s port system to compete more effectively on a global stage.
“Without question, this collaboration benefits the ports individually,” he said. “But more importantly, it’s critical to strengthening their collective posture in global markets.”
