Henderson County Riverport Authority

What Henderson County Riverport Authority does

Henderson County Riverport Authority (HCRA) is a governmental unit owned by Henderson County, Kentucky, operating a single multimodal inland riverport on the Ohio River at Mile Marker 808 since 1981. The facility integrates three transportation modes — Ohio River barge access (via six established tow boat operators), CSX rail service (switching four times weekly at milepost 00H313 with 12,800 feet of on-site track and four spurs), and highway connections to I-64, I-69, U.S. 60, and U.S. 41 — and is supported by 95,000 square feet of warehousing, 42,000 square feet of primary dock, 33,000 tons of dry fertilizer dome storage, and 134-barge Army Corps-permitted fleeting. Core offerings include bulk and break-bulk cargo handling (coal, coke, gravel, sand, lime, fertilizers, grains, steel pipe, aluminum, zinc), heavy lift transloading (up to 125 tons with partner cranes to 500 tons), warehousing and yard storage, Foreign Trade Zone operations (FTZ Zone 29 Site 7, 9,500 sq ft), self-operated bonded storage (designated December 2025), and industrial site leasing in the 40-acre Henderson Riverport Industrial Park.

HCRA earns revenue through a diversified mix of usage-based cargo handling fees, transaction-based transloading and heavy lift project fees, managed-service warehousing, FTZ and bonded storage charges, and long-term industrial site leases; pricing is quote-based per shipment or project and is not publicly disclosed. The authority differentiates via flood-resilient elevation (380.1 ft vs. 342 ft normal pool), a $2.03 million Sennebogen 865E electric material handler (commissioned January 2026) enabling simultaneous two-barge unloading, and access to Kentucky state riverport grants (KPRCM, KRI) and Delta Regional Authority funding unavailable to private operators. Customers include ADM Grain, Boardwalk Pipelines, Pratt Paper, and an unnamed Franklin, Kentucky manufacturer, alongside a long tail of bulk commodity shippers served across domestic and international markets.

Go-to-market is sales-led via direct phone contact with the Business Office, Shipping/Receiving, Operations Manager, and Office Manager, complemented by earned media in trade publications (The Waterways Journal), active Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn presence, and policy engagement with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. With 11–50 employees and no private shareholders or institutional investors, HCRA is governed by a board under Henderson County oversight and led by Executive Director Ben Weithman; the entity has secured over $2.26 million in state and federal grants between 2023 and 2026 to fund equipment and bulk dock expansion.

Name

Henderson County Riverport Authority

Legal name

Henderson County Riverport Authority

Website

https://hendersonport.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Henderson County Riverport Authority is a Kentucky governmental unit operating a multimodal inland port on the Ohio River at Mile Marker 808, providing bulk and break-bulk cargo handling, warehousing, Foreign Trade Zone and bonded storage, heavy lift transloading, and industrial site leasing to commodity shippers and manufacturers since 1981.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Henderson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Cargo Handling Fees: Per-ton/per-load fees for bulk cargo (coal, coke, gravel, sand, lime, fertilizers, grains) and packed products (steel pipe, steel wire rod, aluminum, zinc, finished manufactured goods). Pricing quoted per customer requirement.
2. Warehousing and Inside Storage: 50,000 sq. ft. of inside warehousing retained for customers needing storage without leasing/staffing, plus three additional leasable warehouses for longer-term needs, supported by full-service staffing (equipment operators and clerical support) as a turnkey solution.
3. Outside Yard Storage: Outside yards adjacent to the cargo dock for storing numerous commodities alongside warehouse space.
4. Foreign Trade Zone Warehousing: 9,500 sq. ft. secure FTZ warehouse (FTZ Zone 29 Site 7) allowing importers to defer duties until customs admission; managed-service revenue stream.
5. Bonded Storage Services: Self-operated bonded storage (designated December 2025) for international cargo, allowing customers to securely store goods while deferring duties; facility owned and operated directly by HCRA.
6. Industrial Site Leasing: Long-term site leasing in the Henderson Riverport Industrial Park including a 20-acre site with 1,600 contiguous feet of river frontage, a 10-acre site with rail access and rail/truck scales, and two 5-acre sites with rail access. All sites have paved roads, natural gas, water, sewer, and electrical utilities.
7. Transloading and Specialized Project Fees: Per-project fees for specialized rail-to-truck, barge-to-truck, and multi-modal transloads (e.g., 20 miles of 20-inch coated pipe, 105-ton boiler evaporator for Pratt Paper, three oversized industrial machinery pieces for a Franklin, KY facility).
8. Domestic and International Logistics Facilitation: Facilitation fees for foreign procurement, inventory management, and reporting to third-party foreign investment firms and banks as part of Building Partnerships Here and Abroad service offering.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Henderson County Riverport Authority operates a multimodal inland port on the Ohio River at Mile Marker 808 in Henderson, Kentucky, providing cargo handling, transloading, warehousing, Foreign Trade Zone storage, bonded storage, dry and liquid fertilizer handling, heavy lift services, and industrial site leasing to bulk and break-bulk shippers. Services converge river, rail, and road freight through dedicated primary and secondary docks, 95,000 sq ft of warehouse space, 33,000 tons of fertilizer storage, 12,800 feet of rail track, and 134-barge fleeting capacity.

Product overview

Henderson County Riverport Authority operates a single integrated multimodal port facility on the Ohio River at Mile Marker 808 in Henderson, Kentucky, rather than a discrete software product. Its service portfolio combines core cargo handling, multimodal transportation (River, Rail, Road), warehousing, and specialized facilities under one operational umbrella. Named offerings include the Primary Dock and Secondary Dock operations, Dry and Liquid Fertilizer Storage and Handling, On-Site Warehousing, the Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ Zone 29 Site 7), Bonded Storage, Heavy Lift / Project Cargo Service, the Henderson Riverport Industrial Park (Sites & Development), and proximity to the Henderson City-County Airport. These modules work together to deliver stevedoring, transloading, storage, and distribution for bulk and packaged goods across domestic and international markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cargo Handling Handles bulk cargo (coal, coke, gravel, sand, lime, fertilizers, grains) and packed products (steel pipe, steel wire rod, aluminum, zinc, finished manufactured goods) with prompt, competitively-priced handling and logistics management from origin to destination for enterprise shippers.
• Multimodal Transportation (River, Rail, Road) Three principal shipping modes converge at the port: river access on the Ohio River at Mile Marker 808, CSX rail service at milepost 00H313 with four weekly switches, and highway access to I-64, I-69, U.S. 60, and U.S. 41 for over-the-road and heavy/oversized loads.
• On-Site Warehousing Full-service warehousing with 50,000 sq ft of inside warehousing retained for short-term storage customers and three additional warehouses available for lease; HCRA offers 95,000 sq ft of total warehouse space including 20,000 sq ft of conditioned space, with turnkey equipment operators and clerical support.
• Dry and Liquid Fertilizer Storage and Handling Dry bulk fertilizer distribution facility with three 135-foot diameter storage domes, conveyors, a rail dump pit, and access roads, totaling 33,000 tons of storage capacity; an additional leased site receives and ships liquid fertilizer, with recent upgrades including an automated truck scale and new access road.
• Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ Zone 29 Site 7) Secure 9,500 sq ft FTZ warehouse where foreign goods may be unloaded for immediate transshipment or stored without being subject to import duties until customs clearance into the United States, delivering potential tax savings to importers.
• Bonded Storage Riverport-owned and operated bonded storage (designation received December 2025) that allows international cargo to be stored securely on the Ohio River while deferring duties until ready to move, supporting flexibility in managing imports, cash flow, and logistics; six barges had been unloaded into the facility shortly after launch.
• Henderson Riverport Industrial Park (Sites & Development) Governmental unit-owned industrial park offering available sites with paved roads, natural gas, water and sewer service, and electrical utilities; includes a 20-acre site with 1,600 contiguous feet of river frontage, a 10-acre site with rail access and rail/truck scales, two 5-acre sites with rail access, and 40 acres of property available for development.
• Heavy Lift / Project Cargo Service Specialized heavy-lift handling capability leveraging the 125-ton pedestal crane plus external lift equipment from partners such as Sterett Crane & Rigging; supports oversized industrial machinery transloads between barge, rail, and heavy-haul trucks for projects such as the 105-ton boiler evaporator for Pratt Paper.
• Bulk Dock Operations (Upgraded) Bulk dock handling operations using the new Sennebogen 865E electric material handler enabling simultaneous two-barge unloading at the liquid bulk dock, reducing seasonal bottlenecks and customer demurrage costs, alongside the existing 125-ton American Crane at the primary dock.
• Building Partnerships Here and Abroad (Domestic and International Logistics Facilitation) Beyond shipping and receiving, HCRA partners with customers to help manage logistics, inventory, and fulfillment from origin to destination locally and internationally, including facilitation of foreign procurement, inventory management, and reporting to third-party foreign investment firms and banks.

Quantifiable outcome

• Bulk material loading capacity of 800 tons per hour
• +10 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature11 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• CSX RailroadflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProvides direct rail service to the riverport at CSX rail designation milepost 00H313, switching four times per week. The port contains ~12,000 feet of rail track with four spurs, and CSX lists Henderson County Riverport among its partner warehousing services. Rail service provides one of three principal means of shipping at the port.
• American Commercial LinescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTow boat operator that regularly works with Henderson County Riverport on Ohio River barge traffic; listed as one of six regular tow boat partners supporting the port's river shipping operations.
• Ceres Barge LinescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTow boat operator that regularly works with Henderson County Riverport on Ohio River barge traffic.
• Crounse CorporationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTow boat operator that regularly works with Henderson County Riverport on Ohio River barge traffic.
• Ingram Barge CompanycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTow boat operator that regularly works with Henderson County Riverport on Ohio River barge traffic.
• Kirby CorporationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTow boat operator that regularly works with Henderson County Riverport on Ohio River barge traffic.
• Evansville Marine ServicecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTow boat operator that regularly works with Henderson County Riverport on Ohio River barge traffic.
• Sterett Crane & RiggingflagshipImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHeavy lift execution partner; offloaded the 105-ton boiler evaporator from barge for the Pratt Paper project using a 500-ton lift capacity crane brought specifically for the job, and supported the August 2025 heavy lift operation moving three oversized industrial machinery pieces for a Franklin, Kentucky manufacturing facility. HCRA publicly thanked Sterett for 'continued partnership and commitment to excellence.'
• Henderson City-County AirportcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdjacent multimodal transport partner; 5,504-foot paved, lighted runway within sight of the riverport, supporting executive and private aircraft, light commercial craft, jet service, fixed-based operations, ample hangar space, national air taxi-freight service, and a Bell Helicopter Service facility.
• Premier ScalesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProject vendor for the automated truck scale installation at the fertilizer dome facility (broke ground October 2023).
• Kahler AutomationminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProject vendor for the automated truck scale installation at the fertilizer dome facility (broke ground October 2023).
• Galloway ElectricminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProject vendor for the automated truck scale installation at the fertilizer dome facility.
• Cornerstone Information SystemsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProject vendor for the automated truck scale installation at the fertilizer dome facility.
• Henderson County Road DepartmentminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGovernment partner acknowledged for work on the automated truck scale and access road project at the fertilizer dome facility.
• Taylor Machine Works, Inc.minorOthersAwarded the contract for two new forklifts (15,500 lb. and 12,000 lb.) funded by Kentucky Department of Transportation grants in 2025.
• Equipment DepotminorOthersAwarded the contract for a 9,000 lb. forklift funded by the Delta Regional Authority FY2024 grant.
• Boyd CATminorOthersAwarded the contract for a skid steer funded by the Delta Regional Authority FY2024 grant, expanding HCRA's skid steer fleet.
• Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering & Testing Inc.minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAwarded the contract on August 12, 2024 for the riverport master plan update to strategically plan infrastructure improvements, bulk storage capabilities, potential future dock expansions, and rail siding construction.
• First on Scene CPR (Daniel Carter)minorOthersProvided American Heart Association approved CPR training to Henderson County Riverport employees on March 27, 2023, covering medical emergency identification, first aid, CPR, and AED use.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority: Government-owned inland riverport on the Ohio River in Western Kentucky operating multimodal cargo handling, warehousing, and bulk transloading — directly comparable in geography, customer mix, and service portfolio to Henderson County Riverport.
• Louisville Riverport Authority: Kentucky-based inland riverport authority on the Ohio River offering multimodal cargo handling, warehousing, and bulk transfer services; the closest larger Kentucky peer with overlapping rail, river, and highway connectivity.
• Owensboro Riverport Authority: Kentucky inland port authority on the Ohio River providing bulk and break-bulk cargo handling with rail and highway access — directly comparable in scale, public-ownership model, and Ohio River inland-port positioning.
• Port of Huntington Tri-State: Multi-state inland riverport authority on the Ohio River in the Huntington, WV tri-state region; comparable inland-port operator offering multimodal cargo handling and industrial property within the same Ohio River freight corridor.

Regional players

• Port of Evansville (Evansville-Vanderburgh Riverport): Indiana-based inland port authority on the Ohio River offering similar bulk, break-bulk, and warehousing services across the river from Henderson; comparable as a competing Ohio River inland port with overlapping customer base in the tri-state region.
• Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority / Cumberland River Port: Inland barge terminal operations on the Cumberland River serving Middle Tennessee; comparable as a regional public-sector riverport but operating on a different inland waterway than Henderson's Ohio River.

Broad incumbents

• Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority: Larger Ohio River inland port complex serving the Cincinnati metro with multimodal cargo handling and industrial site development — a broader incumbent offering overlapping capabilities at meaningfully greater scale.
• Port of Pittsburgh Commission: One of the largest inland riverport systems in the U.S., operating across multiple facilities on the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela rivers; broadly comparable inland port authority with significantly larger scale and broader service portfolio.
• American Commercial Lines (ACL): Largest U.S. inland barge operator and a tow-boat channel partner to HCRA; comparable as an established incumbent in Ohio River freight movement though operating as a carrier rather than a port facility.
• Ingram Barge Company: Major U.S. inland marine transportation carrier and a listed HCRA tow-boat partner; comparable as an incumbent on the Ohio River inland waterway system though operating in barge transport rather than port terminal services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HendersonKYPort
• Facebookfacebook.com/100093305847447
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/henderson-county-riverport-authority

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Henderson County Riverport Authority