Governed by a board of seven Commissioners, The Port of South Louisiana, which stretches 54 miles along the Mississippi River, is the largest tonnage port district (comprised of facilities in St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and St. James Parishes) in the Western Hemisphere.  It handled over 262 million tons of cargo in 2006, brought to its terminals by vessel, barge, rail, and truck.

Over 55,000 barges and 4,000 ocean-going vessels call at the Port each year, making it the top ranked in the country for export tonnage and total tonnage.

With exports of 51 million tons of cargo a year (see News & Info for more details)— more than any other port in North America — the Port accounts for 15 percent of total U.S. exports. The Port has eight first-rate Port-owned facilities, ranging from grain elevators to general cargo and bulk docks.

The Port serves primarily as landlord to eight facilities leased to operating companies such as Occidental, Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill. The exception is the Globalplex Intermodal Terminal, which the Port purchased in 1992 and is currently redeveloping into a world class complex to accommodate a variety of dry bulk and break-bulk cargo.