New Orleans port guide

New Orleans Location

New Orleans is at about 29 degrees 57 minutes north, 90 degrees 4 minutes west, in southeastern Louisiana, about 100 miles upriver from the Mississippi mouth. The river bends north here, so east and west banks reverse from habit; locally terminals are described as "upper" or "lower" river rather than east or west.

• State: Louisiana, US Gulf Coast; west to Texas, north to Arkansas and Mississippi, east to Mississippi.
• Port area: both banks of the lower Mississippi; container facilities on the east bank upper-river near river mile 99.5; break-bulk at upper, lower and inner harbor.
• Waterway: via the Mississippi and inland system to over 30 major inland hubs; over 14,000 miles of waterway.
• Main highways: I-10 east-west along the Gulf; I-55 north to Jackson and Memphis; I-59 northeast to Birmingham and Atlanta; US-90 along the river.
• Rail: the port-owned New Orleans Public Belt Railroad (NOPB) handles in-port switching and links all six North American Class I railroads.
• Airport: Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (MSY), small cargo, mainly high-time cargo.
• Metro: New Orleans metro about 1.2 million; industries center on port logistics, oil and gas services, chemicals, food processing and tourism.

New Orleans Seaport Overview

New Orleans is a seaport in the US customs system, code 2002, with the supervising field office located locally as the New Orleans Field Office. Office hours are weekdays 08:00 to 16:00, like most seaports. The port has many branch windows by business type, and some windows need separate attention.

The field office is local, a convenience for importers needing origin determination, Section 301 scope, seizure and protest work: papers need not cross states. Other Louisiana seaports share this field office, so multi-port state business can be handled in one place. General rules on commodity admission and duty rates follow the US customs import and export policy and the US customs import and export tariff.

New Orleans Container Terminals

Container work centers on the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal complex, run by two terminal operators with different roles: one mainly public-user container and break-bulk, the other also reefer and freight station.

The three terminals sit some distance apart along the riverbank, so confirm the gate and route by terminal when picking up or delivering. Almost all container cargo lands at Napoleon Avenue; Milan Street mainly serves as its freight station and break-bulk; Nashville Avenue takes heavy lift and project cargo. For break-bulk or oversize, the landing is Nashville Avenue or Milan Street, not the container terminal.

New Orleans Berths and Depth

Two special points on berth depth: depth varies widely between terminals in the same river reach, and available depth changes with the Mississippi stage through the year.

The stage-dependent depth affects vessel deployment and stowage. When the river stage falls below 3 feet, Napoleon Avenue's available depth drops from 50 to 47 feet, and carriers adjust draft and stowage. Mississippi stage swings clearly through the year, low water often late summer to autumn, when the Panama Canal may also restrict, raising delivery uncertainty when both line up. At booking, confirm the carrier's current draft limit at that terminal.

New Orleans Break-Bulk and Project Cargo

Beyond containers, New Orleans has sizable break-bulk and project business, with six dedicated break-bulk piers along the river and direct ship-to-barge capability, outstanding among Gulf ports.

• Break-bulk wharf: six dedicated piers, over 13,500 feet combined.
• Transit shed area: 1.6 million square feet.
• Operators: include Ports America and QSL.
• Main cargo: steel, non-ferrous metal, rubber, lumber and paper.
• Method: direct ship-to-barge, split to inland via the Mississippi and inland channels.
• Heavy lift and project: Nashville Avenue, three mobile harbor cranes (max 150 tons) and a floating crane (25 metric tons).
• Ro-ro: two positions at Nashville Avenue.

Ship-to-barge matters for oversize and overweight cargo. The usual path discharges to the terminal yard then transfers by truck or rail; ship-to-barge transfers without landing, saving one lift and one storage. For New Orleans, with the inland waterway system, large equipment can go straight to riverbank sites inland.

New Orleans Container Throughput

New Orleans is a mid-size container port but with full intermodal conditions on the Gulf. Recent growth comes mainly from the intermodal rail direction.

New Orleans cargo flow differs from a pure import port. Exports have steady frozen poultry, grain and pet feed; imports center on coffee, plastics and consumer goods, fairly balanced. The practical meaning for importers: empty availability is usually better than at import-led ports, because exports themselves need many empties, so carrier empty turnover pressure locally is lower.

New Orleans Liner Services

New Orleans liner network covers Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Mediterranean. Against other Gulf ports, this port is more complete on inland intermodal and reefer.

For China exporters, New Orleans suits three businesses: receivers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee or East Texas; cargo needing rail distribution to the US interior and Canada; and cargo involving reefer or project types. If the receiver is on the US West Coast or Northeast, entry via a US West or East port is usually more direct. Note the bridge-clearance limit caps the container ship size that can call, so some Asia capacity may transship via another Gulf or East port.

China-to-New Orleans Routing and Transit

The basic China-to-New Orleans move is all-water via the Panama Canal to the Gulf, or mini-landbridge after discharge at a US West port. The time and cost trade-off matches other Gulf ports.

The ranges above are the overlap of several forwarders' public transit tables; they exclude cut-off, clearance and inland delivery and are not a commitment. New Orleans-specific variables: one, Mississippi stage, low water cuts available depth and forces carriers to lighten, indirectly hitting capacity and sailing schedule; two, the Crescent City Connection clearance caps calling container ships at about 9,000 to 9,400 TEU, so large ships usually discharge elsewhere then smaller ships or other arrangements serve New Orleans; also Panama low-water restrictions and the June-to-November hurricane season cause delays.

New Orleans Gate and Pickup

Two pickup requirements differ from other ports: entering the terminal needs appointment, RFID tag and vehicle number (UTN) together; and container and break-bulk terminals are in separate places, so confirm the pickup point first.

1. Vessel discharges at Napoleon Avenue berth; containers enter the 48-acre yard per stacking plan.
2. Broker completes import entry and gets release, or arranges onward by bond.
3. Settle ocean, terminal handling, storage and surcharges, then get the pickup order.
4. Get a time slot via the terminal gate appointment system; confirm RFID tag and vehicle number (UTN) registered.
5. Truck enters via the Clarence Henry Truckway / Tchoupitoulas corridor, shows papers, picks up and exits.
6. Cargo for inland rail transfers at the Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal (MRIT) in port, departing on NOPB.
7. Return empties to the carrier-designated location; reefers need power confirmed and plug records.

Common delays: appointment mismatched with terminal window, rebook after late; no RFID or unregistered UTN, truck blocked at gate; non-compliant driver ID or escort; and pickup point not matching the storage terminal. The fourth needs special care here: container, break-bulk and heavy-lift terminals are in three places, so confirm the box's actual storage location before dispatching.

New Orleans Rail Distribution

Rail is New Orleans's most distinctive feature. The port-owned NOPB handles all in-port switching and links all six Class I railroads, so containers load straight onto line trains at the terminal.

Linking all six Class I through its own short line is, per the port, rare among US deepwater ports. The practical value is line choice: to Chicago, CN gives direct intermodal; to Dallas-Fort Worth, CPKC. For receivers in the US interior or Canada, quote the rail leg at booking, usually cheaper than finding trucks after arrival. The in-port terminal sits in the terminal area, so containers go ship-to-rail without a dray or extra lift.

New Orleans Inland and Barge Channels

New Orleans is itself a river port; barge is a main channel, not a supplement. The port connects directly to the Mississippi and inland system, over 14,000 miles of waterway.

• Main waterways: Mississippi River, Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, Harvey Canal and Algiers Canal.
• Waterway reach: over 30 major inland hubs in the US interior.
• Container barge: weekly container barge service calling at the container terminal.
• Break-bulk barge: six dedicated break-bulk piers with ship-to-barge, 1.6 million square feet of transit sheds.
• Industrial land: inner-harbor park over 1,000 acres leased short or long term, most with water and rail access.
• Plan: the 2020 Inner Harbor Economic Revitalization (PIER) Plan covers the inner-harbor industrial corridor.

Barge matters for two businesses: bulk and break-bulk, where ship-to-barge saves a storage; and large equipment to riverbank factories inland. For container-led importers, the weekly container barge is a third distribution channel beyond rail and road, an alternative when rail schedules tighten.

New Orleans Reefer and Cold Chain

Cold chain is another complete suite at New Orleans. Two terminal-side cold stores plus port-wide reefer plugs give the port reefer and frozen handling, tied to the steady frozen-poultry export.

Cold chain fits importers in two cases: reefer or frozen cargo needing short stay or transload at the port; and temperature-controlled cargo needing local distribution and repack. Note terminal-side reefer plugs tighten in peak; confirm reefer space and plug at booking, not after arrival. For blast or re-freeze, confirm capacity and booking with the cold-store operator ahead.

New Orleans Bridge Clearance and Vessel Size

Bridge clearance is the limit to know beforehand. The container terminal is upstream of the Crescent City Connection; calling vessels must pass under it, so clearance directly sets the calling ship size.

The clearance limit means a ship-size cap. Mainline container ships commonly exceed 14,000 TEU and cannot pass the Crescent City Connection, so they do not call New Orleans's current terminals. Calling ships cap at about 9,000 to 9,400 TEU. For importers: capacity here is mid-size ships, lower total space and frequency than clearance-free ports; and some Asia cargo transships via another Gulf or East port. The planned Louisiana International Terminal, downstream of the bridge, aims to remove this limit.

Louisiana International Terminal

The Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) is the most watched project in the New Orleans port area. Sited downstream of the Crescent City Connection in St. Bernard Parish, its aim is to remove the current terminals' clearance limit.

The project's meaning for importers is the long-term ship-size and capacity shift. Once built, New Orleans sheds the bridge limit and can handle mainline large ships, raising total space and frequency. Until it opens, cargo to this port is estimated on current terminals, i.e. the about 9,000 to 9,400 TEU cap. Importers with long-term supply agreements can fold this opening into their chain planning.

New Orleans Customs Exams and Release

Exams are decided by CBP, tied to filing compliance, history and commodity. New Orleans has many branch windows, and the deferred exam window's open time needs special care.

• Exam types: document review, non-intrusive scan, physical exam, and commodity-specific checks.
• Common specific checks: food and meat, seafood, coffee and agricultural, chemicals, IPR goods.
• Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE): ten industry CEE email centers covering machinery, pharma and health, chemicals, agriculture and processed products, automotive and aviation, base metals, apparel and textiles, consumer goods and big-box, industrial and manufacturing materials, oil and gas minerals, and electronics.
• Time impact: document review one to two days; physical exam three to seven business days, longer with sampling.
• Fee structure: exam service, lift and handling, devanning and reloading labor, storage during exam, borne by importer regardless of result.
• Lower probability: declared name matches goods, price in normal range, no under-declaration or mixed loading, continuous import record, document info matches marks and labels.

New Orleans exam features tie to cargo mix. Agricultural, food and meat exams are higher-rate, mostly reefer, so plug and temperature cost during exam adds in. The CEE centers split by category, so professional classification and admission questions go straight to the matching window without general routing. Lowering exam odds is like other ports: declared content must match the goods.

New Orleans Foreign-Trade Zone 2

New Orleans duty arrangement is Foreign-Trade Zone 2, one of the earlier US zones, authorized in 1946 and reorganized under the Alternative Site Framework in 2010, with many sites.

New Orleans FTZ ties closely to chemicals, agricultural processing and logistics storage. Benefits are duty deferral and re-export; when component duty exceeds finished duty, inland sale can use the finished rate, i.e. inverted tariff, needing prior authorization. Many sites across parishes let firms pick by distance to terminal, rail and road. Details follow US customs information.

New Orleans Operating Hours and Holidays

New Orleans port and terminal hours differ. Port office is weekdays 08:00 to 16:00; terminal gate and yard run per operator posting, not fully aligned.

Avoid federal holidays, Mardi Gras and year-end holidays. The US has eleven federal holidays, listed in the US holiday overview. Mardi Gras is a New Orleans-specific variable, its date set by Easter; during it city traffic control and some business and terminal work pause, so if delivery falls in this window, confirm with receiver and carrier ahead. Hurricane season is common to Gulf ports: the port closes on warning per plan, and storage during closure follows port authority notice.

New Orleans Peak and Off-Peak Seasons

New Orleans volume rides three lines: Asia retail and e-commerce stocking, agricultural export season, and Mississippi stage seasonality. Stage is unique to this port.

Local variables to predict: Mississippi stage, late-summer-to-autumn low water drops Napoleon Avenue from 50 to 47 feet, carriers adjust stowage; June-to-November hurricane season may close the port; and Mardi Gras city traffic and work. Book peak sailings two to three weeks early, with one to two weeks buffer. China-to-US shipping options cover ocean and air.

Port Advantages

Combining the above, New Orleans as a Gulf entry port centers on four points.

• Own short line linking all six Class I railroads: the port-owned NOPB handles all in-port switching and links BNSF, CN, CPKC, CSX, NS and UP, rare among US deepwater ports per the port. The in-port MRIT lets containers go ship-to-line-train directly.
• Complete reefer suite: two terminal-side cold stores, over 900 plugs port-wide, Napoleon Avenue 304 40-foot plugs; terminal-side blast freeze to 0 degrees Fahrenheit in 24 hours. Steady frozen-poultry exports make local empty turnover better than at import-led ports.
• Inland and barge straight to hinterland: direct to the Mississippi and inland system, over 14,000 miles of waterway, plus weekly container barge. Break-bulk piers do ship-to-barge, suiting oversize and overweight, saving a storage.
• Complete break-bulk and project: six dedicated break-bulk piers, over 13,500 feet of wharf, three mobile cranes (max 150 tons) and a floating crane, two ro-ro positions. One importer with mixed container and project business can plan in one port area.

Points to watch: the Crescent City Connection clearance caps calling container ships at about 9,000 to 9,400 TEU, so mainline large ships do not call directly; Mississippi stage swings depth, low water from 50 to 47 feet, adjusting stowage and capacity; and container, break-bulk and heavy-lift terminals are in three places, so confirm the box's actual storage location before dispatch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Port of New Orleans?

On the lower Mississippi in southeastern Louisiana; container facilities on the east bank upper river near river mile 99.5; 40 berths, about 20 million square feet of cargo yard and over 3.1 million square feet of covered storage; break-bulk at upper, lower and inner harbor.

What is New Orleans's customs port code?

Seaport code 2002, 423 Canal Street, Room 260, New Orleans, LA 70130, phone +1 504-670-2391, Port Director Terri L. Edwards, hours Monday to Friday 08:00 to 16:00 Central. The field office is local.

How many container terminals does New Orleans have?

Container work centers on Napoleon Avenue, run by Ports America and New Orleans Terminal, 50-foot depth, 2,000-foot berth, 6 cranes, 840,000 TEU annual capacity. Two related terminals: Milan Street as its container freight station and break-bulk; Nashville Avenue for heavy lift and project.

What is the channel depth?

Napoleon Avenue 50 feet (15.24 m), 47 feet (14.32 m) when river stage below 3 feet. Nashville Avenue segments A/B/C 35/40/50 feet; Milan Street 35 feet. Mississippi stage directly changes available depth at the same berth.

How long from China to New Orleans by sea?

All-water via the Panama Canal: Shanghai and Ningbo about 25 to 33 days, Shenzhen Yantian about 26 to 34, Xiamen about 27 to 35, Qingdao about 28 to 36; transship adds five to ten days. US West mini-landbridge total about 22 to 30 days. Ranges exclude cut-off, clearance and inland delivery.

What is New Orleans throughput?

About 430,000 TEU in the latest fiscal year. FY2024 third quarter was 133,845 TEU, up 19% year over year, a record quarter. January to May 2024 intermodal rail was up over 15%; rail is about 33% of combined port and NOPB revenue.

Which railroads serve New Orleans?

The port-owned NOPB (Class III short line, port-acquired in 2018) handles all in-port switching and links all six Class I: BNSF, CN, CPKC, CSX, NS and UP. The in-port MRIT has 12 acres, 2 electric RTGs, 6,000 feet of track; CN serves Memphis, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto and Montreal; CPKC serves Dallas-Fort Worth.

What to note for pickup?

Four points: each truck must book ahead and have an RFID tag and registered UTN (at least 3-inch markings both sides); valid federal TWIC card, break-bulk trucks may enter with an approved escort; container, break-bulk and heavy-lift terminals are in three places, confirm the box's storage by number; truck access via Clarence Henry Truckway / Tchoupitoulas. Gate hours per operator posting.

What are local customs office hours?

Port office Monday to Friday 08:00 to 16:00 Central, closed weekends. Branch windows: entry and broker (504) 670-2384; import specialist (504) 670-2429; marine (504) 670-2230; trade compliance (504) 670-2178; agriculture (504) 670-2106; anti-terrorism (504) 670-2260; seizure (504) 670-2390. Deferred exam (504) 303-7663 only Tuesday to Thursday 09:00 to 11:00.

What if cargo is examined?

Exams are done at the terminal yard or designated warehouse. General line is port main (504) 670-2391; trade compliance (504) 670-2178; agriculture (504) 670-2106. Ten CEE centers route by category. Exam service, lift, devanning and storage fees are borne by the importer regardless of result; reefer power cost adds during exam.

Can cargo be returned to China?

Yes, if not yet consumed or delivered in the US and still under CBP custody. Return needs a US export declaration and China import entry; original-condition return for quality or spec issues can apply duty-free within the set period. Cargo entered at New Orleans can reload locally, but confirm the carrier accepts original-box return and note the bridge-clearance limit on calling ship size.

Is there a local foreign-trade zone?

Yes. FTZ 2 authorized 1946-07-16, reorganized under ASF in 2010, grantee the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans. Service area Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard parishes, approved to extend to St. Tammany; over 30 usage-driven sites. Benefits duty deferral, re-export and inverted tariff. Contact ftz@portnola.com, (504) 528-3588. See US customs information.

How does bridge clearance affect ship size?

The container terminal is upstream of the Crescent City Connection; vessels pass under on entry. NOAA electronic chart gives 166 feet, actual clearance minus the then-current Mississippi stage. The practical cap is container ships about 9,000 to 9,400 TEU; mainline large ships do not call the current terminals. The planned LIT, downstream of the bridge, removes this limit, with the port targeting first vessel in 2028.

What are New Orleans reefer conditions?

Two terminal-side cold stores, Henry Clay Avenue and Jourdan Road, by New Orleans Cold Storage (later Lineage Logistics); terminal-side blast freeze to 0 degrees Fahrenheit in 24 hours. Over 900 plugs port-wide, Napoleon Avenue 304 40-foot plugs and 450 powered slots. Jourdan Road expanded from 160,000 to 304,000 square feet from 2021.