Expansions Lead U.S. to $18 Billion in Capital Cargo Port Projects

U.S. cargo ports are crucial to a strong domestic supply chain, as they enable the flow of goods and commodities set for export, as well as distribution across the country. Industrial Info is tracking $18 billion worth of active and planned projects at cargo ports in the U.S., with about half of the investment attributed to expansions.

One of the highest-valued projects under construction is the roughly $1 billion Phase 3 of site operator U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) $3.2 billion effort to improve navigation at the Soo Locks shipping channel, located along St. Mary's River in Sault Saint Marie, Michigan. Phase 3, which is estimated to wrap up in the summer of 2030, entails adding a 1,200-foot ship lock and installing mechanical and electrical systems, among other work. Subscribers to Industrial Info’s Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here to read the project report.

Ship locks work to raise ships to higher or lower elevations, and this particular system enables ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes by allowing vessels to be raised or lowered 21 feet.

Only one of the channel’s locks--the Poe Lock--has the necessary dimensions to serve all of the vessels that pass through.

According to the USACE, almost all of the country’s iron ore passes through the Soo Locks. The iron ore mined in Minnesota and Michigan's Upper Peninsula is used to make nearly all domestically produced, advanced, high-strength steel--which then is used to manufacture automobiles and appliances.

But the project comes at a time when the president’s tariffs could affect cargo activity across the country.

Speaking on the tariffs’ effect on the Soo Locks, Daniel Rust, associate professor of transportation and logistics management at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and director of its School of Business and Economics, told Wisconsin Public Radio in late March that the tariffs “definitely could have an impact … probably already has.”

“With the threat of tariffs and the slowdown of auto manufacturing, demand for steel has declined. As they anticipate continued lower demand, the supply needed will be less, which also then translates into less being transported on the Great Lakes and lower need for vessels moving those tonnages.”

Looking south, capital port project activity is scattered across ports in Texas, buoyed by nine projects worth $480 million at the Port of Houston--most of which is attributed to expansions. The port expects a component of its multi-phase Project 11, a major expansion of the Houston Ship Channel, will kick off in July. The channel is the busiest waterway in the nation, according to the port authority, which cites the USACE.

Project 11’s Expansion 3 involves widening the existing channel at the Barbours Cut Terminal from 300 feet to approximately 455 feet and modifying the channel entrance, among other work. This phase is expected to wrap up around the end of 2026. Subscribers can click here to read the project report.

The port already is in the process of expanding container space at the Seabrook Bayport Terminal by constructing a new 40-acre container yard, among other work, which will increase port operations. Subscribers can click here to read the project report.

To the west, projects under development at the Port of Los Angeles, the largest cargo port in the U.S., include the expansion and modernization of the Fenix Marine Services Facility. The project is designed to boost the terminal’s on-dock rail capacity by adding five new tracks totaling 12,000 linear feet. Construction is expected to begin in early 2026 and wrap up around the end of the year. Subscribers can click here to read more project information.

Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said recently he expected cargo container activity at the port to decline in the second half of the year by at least 10% compared to 2024 as tariffs continue to affect global shipping.

For more information on the tariffs’ effects on the shipping industry, see April 21, 2025, article - Trump Trade Policies Impact Supply Chains, U.S. Cargo Port Activity.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active and planned projects at U.S. cargo ports.