Port Milwaukee to get $9.3 million from U.S. Department of Transportation for upgrades

Port Milwaukee is getting a significant amount of funding from the federal government to make some upgrades.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration announced the port is getting nearly $9.3 million from the Port Infrastructure Development Program to construct two grain storage silos, make electrical upgrades and fund the purchase of additional grain and cargo handling equipment to expand the capacity of the port to handle the movement of grain commodities.

However the total cost of the project is almost $15.8 million, which means the difference would have to be made up somehow.

Milwaukee is part of a 41-port improvement project across the country in which $653 million is being spent to increase port efficiency.

What could adding two grain storage silos do?

The project could improve efficiency by expanding grain storage capacity for staging inbound and outbound grains by more than 1.3 million bushels.

The port currently handles 1.7 million bushels' worth of storage according to it's 2022 annual report.

What could adding more equipment do?

The grain handling equipment will also expedite the movement of grains, and the new facility will allow the port to handle two commodities simultaneously.

In 2022, the port handled 2.27 million tons' worth of goods, which was slightly below what it handled for the previous year, which was 2.3 million tons.

Why is Port Milwaukee getting this money?

Short answer: economic stability.

Longer answer: The project aims to address economic vitality by improving the economic advantage of the port by creating economies of scale, improving the reliability of transporting commodities by more heavily utilizing electrical power instead of diesel power, and addressing the competitive disadvantage of the port by expanding capacity and improving the efficiency of grain transportation at the port.

From 2021 to 2022, the port doubled its net income from $518,000 to $1.1 million

Why are ports getting this money?

A significant portion of domestic and international U.S. commerce by weight, more than 2.3 billion short tons, according to the Biden administration, moves by water.

The port improvement projects announced Friday will strengthen supply chain reliability, create workforce development opportunities, speed up the movement of goods, address climate change, and improve the safety, reliability and resilience of ports.