Research conducted by TVA indicates that river cargo moves at an average transportation savings of $10.67 per ton as compared to the cost of shipping by alternative modes. If your business is looking to hold down costs and maximize cargo efficiencies, your logistics solution may be the Port of Cates Landing.

Located just north of Tiptonville, the nation’s newest multimodal inland port is open for business and ready to help you connect your business to the global marketplace. Port of Cates Landing is on one of the most strategic points along the Mississippi River and it offers loading/unloading capabilities for various raw and finished products, onsite storage, and transportation of freight via barge and ground transportation.

Port Of Cates Aerial
Positioned at River Mile Marker 900 on a 9,000 linear foot slack-water harbor, the port’s 400-acre landside development is constructed above the 100-year flood plain. The port complex has the distinction of being located on the only developable Mississippi River frontage below the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers that offers natural elevation not requiring levee protection. With a draft 14 feet below the low water reference plain, a 262-foot wide load-out port berthing area, and an unimpeded inland waterway (no locks and dams south to the Gulf of Mexico), the Port of Cates Landing is well suited for year ‘round traffic of modern barge equipment.

Strategically located adjacent to the port is Lake County’s 345-acre industrial park that has earned the prestigious Select Tennessee Certified Site designation. This industrial park is above the 500-year flood plain and offers quick-turn construction solutions.

A ‘super two-lane highway,’ slated to be completed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation in August, is the gateway to the port complex from the intersections of Tennessee highways 78, 21, and 22. It is designed for heavy-duty traffic, offering 12-foot wide lanes, 12-foot wide gravel shoulders, grade separation at the rail crossing and a four-lane Right-of- Way for future expansion once traffic volumes increase. Interstates I-155, I-55, I-40, I-24, I-57 and I-69 also are in close proximity.

Plans are underway to build a 5 ½ mile rail spur, including on-dock rail facilities, that will connect the port complex to the TennKen Short Line and Canadian National Railroad. 

Additionally, the port complex is located within a federal government ‘qualified census tract’ for New Market Tax Credits opportunities, is in an air quality Attainment Area, operates in compliance with Clean Ports USA guidelines, is mid-point of the NAFTA corridor, and operates as Foreign Trade Zone #283 with authority to grant sub-zones to industries within 100 miles of the port.

Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority, the three-county public entity that developed and has oversight of the facility, utilizes the engineering and design services of Forcum-Lannom Contractors, LLC. , consulting services of Informa Economics, Inc. and terminal operator services of R.J. Corman Railroad Group. R.J. Corman’s services include over-the-dock operations, management of transit shed and lay-down areas, and marketing assistance.

For more information on how the Port of Cates Landing can help you mitigate rising fuel and trucking costs; defer, reduce or eliminate import duties; and simplify freight management, call 731-253-3338 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..