The International Port of Memphis is the second largest inland port on the shallow draft portion of the Mississippi River, and the 4th largest inland Port in the United States. The International Port of Memphis covers the Tennessee and Arkansas sides of the Mississippi River from river mile 725 to mile 740.Within this 15 mile reach, there are 68 water fronted facilities, 37 of which are terminal facilities moving products such as: petroleum, tar, asphalt, cement, steel, coal, salt, fertilizers, rock & gravel, and of course grains.
The International Port of Memphis is 400 river miles from St. Louis and 600 river miles from New Orleans and is ice free year round.The jurisdictional and statistical boundaries of the International Port of Memphis include the McKeller Lake/Presidents Island complex, the West Memphis Harbor, the Rivergate Harbor, the Wolf River Harbor downtown, and Fullen dock and harbor north of downtown.
Some 41 states are served by over 25,000 miles of navigable rivers and canals of which 12,000 miles are operated and maintained by the federal government as commercial waterways.
Commercial carriers pay a special user tax of 20 cents per gallon on fuel consumed while operating on these waters. These taxes are deposited in a trust fund in the U.S. Treasury to help finance future improvements.
Locks and dams are constructed on most waterways to overcome the natural fall of the river from its headwaters to its mouth. The "slack water" pools formed by these structures help ensure more dependable channel conditions.