Phase 2 of a reimagined, reconfigured, and reinvigorated collective modus operandi involving the Port of South Louisiana, Port of New Orleans, St. Bernard Port, Port of Greater Baton Rouge, and Louisiana Gateway Port at Plaquemines Parish is nearing completion.
Officially ushering in a new era of collaboration with the ground-breaking comprehensive joint study titled the “Lower Mississippi River Commodity Analysis” — the factual foundation from which industry stakeholders, maritime commerce officials, economic development leaders, and local and state governments will form strategic methods used to fortify operational/procedural strengths and address weaknesses or inefficiencies, thus ensuring the region’s long-term stability and growth in an ultra-competitive global marketplace – the 5 Lower Mississippi River Deep-Draft Ports are putting the finishing touches on a “Unified Marketing Strategy.”
Developed with the assistance of a third-party consulting firm, this Unified Marketing Strategy (UMS) creates a regional marketing “framework” that correlates messaging, branding, and strategic outreach across the five ports. In doing so, this plan – which has been proven effective when implemented within other geographic port clusters domestic and abroad – should increase efficiency, eliminate (or at least reduce) duplicate efforts, and fortify south Louisiana’s foothold as a key global shipping chess piece.
“The (Cargo Analysis) Study provided a shared data foundation, identifying opportunities and gaps across the port system,” said Micah Cormier, the Chief Commercial Officer at the Port of South Louisiana. “A Unified Marketing Strategy is the logical next step because it moves from understanding the market to jointly acting on that information – aligning messaging, outreach, and target segments across all five deep-water draft ports.
“Expected benefits of a UMS include a stronger and more consistent regional identity, reduced overlap in marketing expenditures, clearer communication with industry partners, and better positioning to attract cargoes and investments,” Cormier continued. “Speaking as a unified region enhances visibility and improves industry confidence in the Lower Mississippi as a long-term shipping partner.”
In August 2025, the five ports agreed to retain the services of Polaris Analytics & Consulting to assist in the formation of the Unified Marketing Strategy. From there, port officials and the aforementioned consultants have met regularly to discuss particulars and customize the structure of the plan to fit the region’s maritime commerce specifics and nuances. Once finalized, the UMS will be released publicly.
“The recent shift toward deeper collaboration among the five deep-water draft ports is largely driven by the current global shipping climate,” Cormier said. “Carriers and shippers continue to optimize costs and efficiency, favoring regions that demonstrate cohesion, predictability, and the ability to present unified infrastructure and service offerings. Speaking collectively positions the Lower Mississippi as a more competitive gateway during a period of evolving trade patterns and heightened competition from other domestic and international ports.”
Noting the urgency involved in staying viable in such a quick-moving, rapidly-shifting, and always-evolving global maritime shipping economic ecosystem, the five Lower Mississippi ports have already acted upon principles and/or strategic courses of action that will be a part of the UMS before the ink officially dries on the document – collaborating in real-time to secure keystone industrial projects while still polishing the final details of the UMS.
For instance, in March 2025 Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry formally welcomed and introduced executives from Hyundai Motor Group as they announced plans to invest nearly $6 billon into a steel manufacturing facility in Ascension Parish – within the footprint of the Port of Greater Baton Rouge — that will be used in the construction of the company’s automobiles that are made in North America.
A secondary, but nonetheless vital, bullet point included in that announcement was that, as part of the Hyundai project, the Port of South Louisiana would construct and own deep-water dock on the facility’s westbank, hugging the river. Like the Hyundai plant itself, this dock – which will receive approximately 4 million of tons of raw iron ore annually that will be converted into 2.7 million metric tons of steel used to assemble Hyundais, Kias, and a handful of other auto models at U.S. facilities – is technically located within Baton Rouge’s port district. But, given the Port of South Louisiana’s long history of handling dock projects from conception to completion at Globalplex and other sites in its 54-mile, 3-parish footprint, a partnership with the Port of Greater Baton Rouge on this specific aspect of the Hyundai steel facility was formed, which played a role in getting this high-economic impact, high-quality-job-creator project across the finish line.
“In today’s marketplace, speaking with one voice and leveraging shared strengths is crucial because carriers and shippers increasingly evaluate regions, not individual facilities, when making long-term routing decisions,” Cormier said. “A unified approach signals stability, scalability, and strategic alignment across the Lower Mississippi, which is essential for maintaining and growing Louisiana’s maritime competitiveness.”
