Building Big. Thinking Smart

By Beth Branch, President and CEO, Port of New Orleans

For port leaders, a federal permit is never just a piece of paper. It represents years of engineering, environmental analysis, public engagement, and partnership. And it’s the moment when vision can become execution.

On August 17, 2026, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted the federal permit authorizing construction of the Louisiana International Terminal (LIT), the Port of New Orleans’ (Port NOLA) new container terminal that will expand the region’s capacity for international cargo shipping. This milestone clears the way for the nation’s only new greenfield container port currently under development. For Port NOLA, it is the starting signal for one of the most consequential container terminal projects in recent history.

LIT will be built in Violet, Louisiana, on the Lower Mississippi River, where it can efficiently handle 16,000-plus-TEU vessels at opening and scaling to 24,000 TEUs+ as demand grows. Today, Port NOLA’s Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal can efficiently handle vessels carrying up to 10,000 TEUs, providing carriers and cargo owners with a proven, well-connected gateway to the heartland. LIT builds on that strength by accommodating the next generation of larger vessels and ensuring both air- and water-draft necessary for long-term growth.

The project demonstrates what strong partnerships can accomplish. Port NOLA is developing LIT with Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), MSC’s global container terminal investment and operating arm, and Ports America, the nation’s leading terminal operator. Together, we are building infrastructure designed for long-term national value.

Its significance extends far beyond Louisiana.

Through the Mississippi River system, the Port of New Orleans connects more than 30 states to global markets. And importantly, Port NOLA has the country’s most extensive multimodal network with direct access to every major Class I railroad and easy connectivity to the interstate highway system. That reach and connectivity gives farmers, manufacturers, and other exporters across the nation’s heartland a competitive advantage.

Our investment in infrastructure goes beyond steel, concrete, and wharves. We are equally focused on smart infrastructure — the data, technology, and intelligence — that makes those physical assets work harder and more efficiently. That is why Port NOLA and the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad (“NOPB”) are partnering with UTC Transoceanic to deploy AI-powered technology for oversized cargo movements. New Orleans is already a leading gateway for power transformers, turbines, generators, and other massive industrial components that arrive by ship and move inland by rail. Today, planning these complex moves can take weeks as engineers evaluate bridge clearances, track geometry, weight limits, and potential routes across multiple railroad networks. In simple terms, this new technology gives shippers a faster way to determine whether and how an oversized load can move. Customers enter the cargo’s dimensions, weight, and railcar specifications into a digital platform. The system compares that information against a continuously updated virtual model, or “digital twin,” of the NOPB network and quickly identifies viable routing options or areas requiring additional engineering review. It does not replace human expertise; it gives experts better information much earlier in the process.

That certainty matters as the nation builds new energy infrastructure, data centers, and manufacturing facilities. Ports increasingly compete not only on waterfront capabilities, but also on how predictably cargo can reach its inland destination. Pairing Port NOLA’s heavy-lift capabilities and six Class I railroad connections with smarter planning tools strengthens New Orleans as a gateway for these critical projects.

The Louisiana International Terminal and our newly launched UTC Transoceanic partnership illustrate our broader vision: build the capacity America will need and apply technology that helps cargo move through that infrastructure safely and efficiently.

LIT is expected to support more than 18,500 jobs in Louisiana at full operations and generate $10.6 billion in new federal tax revenue. It will build on Port NOLA cargo activity that already supports $101.5 billion in economic value and more than 342,000 jobs nationwide.

As AAPA members gather in New Orleans for our annual convention, I look forward to sharing what these investments mean. We are not simply building another terminal. We are creating a smarter, more connected, and more resilient gateway for the next generation of American commerce.