[April 15, 2017] INDIANAPOLIS – The Ports of Indiana handled nearly 3.1 million tons of cargo during the first quarter of 2017, the highest first quarter shipment total in the organization’s 56-year history. The total surpassed the previous first quarter record, set in 2015, by more than 276,000 tons. Ohio River coal shipments at the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon nearly doubled over the first quarter of 2016, primarily due to the development of new export markets for coal mined in southern Indiana and Illinois. Other major cargoes handled by the Ports of Indiana’s three ports in the first quarter included grain, which was up nearly 16 percent YTD, as well as steel, soy products and fertilizer.