When construction began on the new International Runway at Memphis International Airport, Fullen Dock provided delivery of 150,000 tons of construction aggregate for the two-mile long, three-foot thick, steel-reinforced concrete runway.
Press Releases & News
Fullen Dock And Warehouse Assists In Record-Breaking River Tow
MEMPHIS, Tenn.—(Aug. 16, 2005)—Fullen Dock and Warehouse, an intermodal river terminal located at Mile 740 of the Lower Mississippi, today announced that it recently helped to set a record with the largest single unit tow container movement in the history of the U.S. Inland Waterway System. The company partnered with Houston-based Osprey Line and six major steamship lines to move a 15-barge tow loaded with 375 containers of cotton from Memphis to the Gulf of Mexico. This record-breaking tow represented a total of 33,000 bales of cotton (88 bales per container).
“We were excited to have played a part in this record-breaking container shipment,” said Lanny Chalk, Fullen Dock and Warehouse terminal manager. “Through our container-on-barge partnership with Osprey, we can provide businesses with a cost-effective shipping alternative to truck or rail transportation.”
Prior to the rise of the locomotive, river transportation was the most efficient and cost-effective shipping method for most goods. As Memphis developed into a national distribution hub, the time- and cost-efficiency of highway and rail shipping increased and the use of the river for transport of products decreased. By the 1930s, less than four percent of cotton shipments were being made by river.
Today, the Mid-South cotton industry generates revenue of around $7.5 billion annually, and nearly half of that total is generated in Tennessee. Memphis-based merchants market an estimated 30 percent of the total U.S. cotton crop. Through Fullen Dock’s container-on-barge partnership with Osprey, local cotton merchants can load their crop to sealed containers and warehouse it until economic conditions become favorable.
When the historic bomber Memphis Belle needed a lift from the Millington Naval Base to its newly constructed pavillion at Mud Island in downtown Memphis, Fullen Dock got it there safe and sound.
Overview for Reporters and Editors
Fullen Dock and Warehouse is a full-service intermodal river terminal and warehousing facility located at Mile 740 of the lower Mississippi River, immediately north of Downtown Memphis. Fullen Dock clients include barge brokers, freight forwarders, and manufacturers requiring barge services, harbor and tug services, transshipment, trucking and storage within the Mid-South (Memphis, Tenn.) and to other continental U.S. regions. Fullen Stone stores, sells and transports a wide variety of aggregate products to the regional construction trade. Founded in 1979 in Memphis, "America's Distribution Center," Fullen is located near the junction of I-40 and I-55, with open rail access to CSXT, Burlington Northern, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. For more information on Fullen Dock and Warehouse or Fullen Stone, visit www.fullendock.com or call 800-467-7104.
Expert interview contacts and guest columnists
Fullen Dock provides expert interview contacts and guest columnists to trade publications and other press, as well as panelists for trade conferences. Their areas of expertise include inland waterways, doing business and working on the Mississippi River, the steel industry (distribution and logistics), intermodal logistics, homeland security (as it relates to inland waterways), and Memphis as a distribution center.
Press Contact: Brad Carmony, inferno, 901.278.3773, 980-429-0189 (cell), brad@creativeinferno.com
Photos: High-resolution versions of many of the photos on this site are available for publication, along with images of Fullen Dock and Warehouse officials.