National Waterways Foundation Profiles 17 States

The National Waterways Foundation (NWF) announced August 11 that it has commissioned and released waterways profiles for the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

NWF worked with Cambridge Systematics Inc. on the state waterways profiles using the National IMPLAN economic model to estimate the economic impacts of each state’s inland waterways system. The analysis included an evaluation of current economic and commodity flow information, inland waterways and waterways-dependent industries, top commodities, and the industries that most benefit from the inland waterways in each state.

The profiles also include high-level, national benefits of and statistics for the inland waterways. CSI’s data-driven methodology and process leveraged analysis from reports and research published by the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Agriculture, NWF, state agencies, Federal Highway Administration and Bureau of Labor Statistics, among other sources.

The profiles show the number of inland waterways-supported jobs, associated state and local tax revenue, the volume of freight moving on the state’s inland waterways and how that equates to numbers of trucks, top inland commodities by weight and value, key industries in the state supported by the inland waterways, and how many miles of navigable inland waterways traverse the state. 

“These new waterways profiles will offer an even deeper dive into the critical value of the inland waterways to states,” said NWF Chairman Rick Calhoun. “This will be a great additional resource of information and the National Waterways Foundation is proud to have commissioned this important project.” 

The new state inland waterways profiles and data methodology used can be found  here.