Ceres Barge Line

What Ceres Barge Line does

Ceres Barge Line is a US-headquartered marine transportation and logistics specialist operating as a division of Ceres Consulting, LLC, which is privately held and based in East St. Louis, Illinois. The company provides over-dimensional project cargo transportation, bulk commodity barge freight, contract stevedoring, and equipment rental/charter services across the inland river system, intracoastal waterways, and selected offshore routes in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. It owns and operates an asset base that includes 200' x 35' hopper barges with a proprietary 14-foot hull (taller than the industry standard 12-foot hull), inland deck barges, ABS-certified deck barges (Endeavor, JMC 253), ABS-certified power spud barges (BIG 903, Gulfmaster 1), and a towboat fleet ranging from 1,200 to 6,000 horsepower, executing more than 5,000 loads per year.

The company's underlying technology is the fleet itself rather than a software platform: cargo-maximizing hull design, ABS load-line certification, advanced hydraulic winch systems on spud barges, and engineering conformance with Noble Denton guidelines for blue water transport (load spreading, lashing, stability calculations, and third-party trip-in-tow surveys). It maintains an additional revenue line managing hopper and deck barges on behalf of barge investors.

Ceres monetizes services through quote-based pricing across four streams: barge freight management and transportation (transaction fees on hopper and deck barge moves plus consulting for bulk and project cargo clients); agent/professional services for barge investors (asset management fees); equipment rental and charter (per-project hardware rental revenue for marine construction); and contract stevedoring in Texas, Louisiana, and Ohio (loading, unloading, terminal delivery, and mid-stream operations). Customer segments are enterprise and government, horizontally diversified across industrial/manufacturing, renewable energy, power generation, military and defense, automotive, aerospace, construction, petrochemical, infrastructure, and bulk commodities (grain, coal, steel, fertilizers, gypsum, cement). Distribution is enterprise field sales with 24/7/365 availability, direct quotes, and project-gallery-driven brand presence; pricing is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Ceres Barge Line

Legal name

Ceres Consulting, LLC

Website

https://ceresbarge.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ceres Barge Line is a US-based marine transportation and logistics company, operating as a division of Ceres Consulting, LLC, that provides over-dimensional project cargo, bulk commodity barge transport, contract stevedoring, and equipment rental services across inland rivers, intracoastal waterways, and selected offshore routes in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

East Saint Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Barge Freight Management and Transportation: Ceres provides barge freight management, logistic services and consulting to bulk and project cargo importers and exporters. Owns and manages hopper and deck barges. Primary movements between Midwestern states and New Orleans via Illinois, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers.
2. Agent Services for Barge Investors: Acts as an agent to investors in barges, providing management services for barge assets.
3. Equipment Rental and Charter: Provides high-quality barges and marine construction services for both inland and offshore projects through rental and charter opportunities. Fleet includes spud barges, deck barges, and material barges.
4. Stevedoring Services: Contract Stevedoring division provides bulk unload operations with services in Texas, Louisiana and Ohio. Also provides loading/unloading to barges, delivering to terminals, and servicing mid-stream operations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ceres Barge Line, a division of Ceres Consulting, LLC, provides barge freight management, marine transportation, and logistics services for bulk and project cargo importers and exporters. The company owns and operates hopper barges, deck barges, spud barges, ABS-certified barges, and towboats, offering tramp and dedicated towing, equipment rental/charter, off-shore and inland river transport, and contract stevedoring across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Operations primarily serve Midwest to New Orleans corridors on the Illinois, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers, with over-dimensional project cargo capabilities backed by Noble Denton-compliant engineering.

Product overview

Ceres Barge Line is a barge freight management and logistics company operating through three main divisions: Project Cargo Division (for over-dimensional cargo), Grain, Gypsum and Bulk Commodities Division (for dry bulk cargo), and Barges and Tugs Division (equipment ownership and management). The company owns and operates hopper and deck barges including BIG Hoppers (200' x 35' covered rake and box style), HD & FMTA Inland Deck Barges (195' x 35' x 10'), ABS-certified Endeavor deck barge (200' x 35' x 10'), BIG 903 power spud barge (150' x 54' x 8'), Gulfmaster 1 power spud barge (180' x 54' x 12'), and JMC 253 deck barge (250' x 72' x 16'), along with towboats ranging from 1,200 to 6,000 hp. Services include Inland River Transportation (5,000+ loads/year), Off-Shore Transportation (USA/Canada/Mexico), Tramp Towing Services (linehaul), Dedicated Towing Services (non-stop), Equipment Rental (charter), and Grain & Bulk Transport with Stevedoring.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BIG: The mark 'BIG' followed by a number or alphanumeric designator is used to identify an inland river barge as a service mark of Ceres Consulting, LLC for their barge affreightment, management and logistic services.

Products and services

• Inland River Transportation Full-service barge transportation on inland rivers and intracoastal waterways throughout the United States, moving over 5,000+ loads annually. Covers project cargo, grain, and bulk commodities with 24/7/365 availability and dedicated/tramp options for enterprise shippers.
• Off-Shore Transportation
• Tramp Towing Services
• Dedicated Towing Services
• Equipment Rental and Charter
• Grain and Bulk Transport with Stevedoring
• Project Cargo Division
• Grain, Gypsum and Bulk Commodities Division
• Barge Asset Management and Agency Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5,000 loads moved per year on inland rivers and intracoastal waterways
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gateway for Cancer ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Ceres partners with Gateway for Cancer Research, based in Chicago IL area. Gateway accelerates practice-changing discoveries in cancer care by harnessing the research community's passion and empowering patients. The partnership supports the annual Pushing Hope Marine Industry Charity Tournament. Ceres also previously partnered with Mary Crowley Cancer Research (2012-2016) which received over $2 million in donations.
• Third-Party Survey ServicesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCeres engages third-party survey services for trip-in-tow surveys on all blue water moves. The survey reviews engineering plans, surveys tug and barge equipment, and assigns weather and sea state condition parameters in conjunction with the tug master to issue a sail away certificate.
• Fleeting LocationsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCeres works hand in hand with every fleeting location on the inland river system to deliver cargo to dock locations of customers' choice.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Florida Marine Transporters: Southeast US and Gulf-based barge transportation company providing inland and intracoastal waterway services. Comparable barge operations but with regional concentration in Florida and Gulf markets.
• Crescent Towing & Salvage: Gulf of Mexico-focused tug and barge operator providing offshore towing and marine services. Comparable offshore barge operations but geographically concentrated in the Gulf rather than nationwide inland.

Direct peers

• Heartland Barge Management: Barge management and transportation company operating on US inland waterways, providing freight management and asset management services similar to Ceres' agent and consulting offerings.
• Ingram Marine Group: One of the largest US inland barge operators, providing similar barge transportation, project cargo, and bulk freight services on the Mississippi River system. Closest comparable in terms of inland waterway focus and customer mix.
• American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL): Major US inland barge carrier operating hopper and tank barges on the Mississippi River and tributaries. Directly comparable asset-based barge transportation model serving bulk and project cargo customers.
• Campbell Transportation Company: Inland marine transportation company operating towing vessels and barges on US river systems. Similar asset-based model and customer focus on bulk commodity transportation.
• Marquette Transportation Company: Inland marine transportation company operating towboats and barges on US river systems, providing both dedicated and spot transportation services. Comparable business model and inland waterway geographic focus.
• Canal Barge Company: Inland marine services company providing barge transportation and project cargo solutions along US inland waterways. Comparable diversified service offering across bulk and project cargo.

Broad incumbents

• Kirby Corporation: Largest US inland marine transportation company with a diversified fleet of tank barges, towboats, and inland barges. Broader incumbent with overlapping inland barge transportation capabilities but much larger scale and public-company resources.
• Stevedoring Services of America (SSA Marine): Largest marine terminal operator and stevedoring company in North America. Comparable to Ceres' Contract Stevedoring division but operates at vastly larger scale across multiple ports.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CeresBargeLine
• Facebookfacebook.com/ceresbarge

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Ceres Barge Line