When Hurricane Ida hit the Gulf Coast late last month it packed a powerful punch especially for the barge industry, with news reports of 22 barges breaking loose at one point on the Mississippi River and delayed grain and petroleum shipments.
But those circumstances didn’t faze Del Wilkins, a resident of Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood who last May was elected chairman of The American Waterway Operators, a trade organization based in Arlington, Virginia. Instead, he chose to emphasize the positive. With disruptive weather seemingly on the rise, Wilkins said his industry is part of the solution.
“Climate change is calling our attention with storms coming in greater frequency and fires,” he said. “Few people realize, barges have the smallest carbon footprint among all freight transportation modes.”
Barges emit one-tenth of the carbon dioxide of trucks and 30% less carbon dioxide than rail shipping, according to the Texas Transportation Institute.
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Wilkins has been known to sport a red lapel pin bearing the numerals 576 — the number of miles one ton of cargo can be moved by barge per gallon of diesel fuel. He also likes to remind people that a standard 15-barge tow moves the equivalent of 216 rail cars or 1,050 trucks, according to the National Waterway Foundation.
“Thirty-five to 45-million tons of commerce already come into our region annually by barge,” he said. “If those tons were not coming by barge, can you imagine the traffic congestion?”
Wilkins is president of Illinois Marine Towing, Inc. in Joliet, as well as vice president of northern operations for Canal Barge Company, Inc., Illinois Marine Towing’s parent company, which is based in New Orleans.
As Hurricane Ida approached in September, Wilkins coordinated emergencies protocols with other Canal Barge executives. Though he would not share details about specific challenges the company encountered, he did share an observation about the aftermath. “The levee system that was invested in and fortified after Katrina worked and kept New Orleans dry,” he said. “It did its job.”
That affirmed a crusade Wilkins has been leading for years, to convince leaders that investing in America’s waterways and shipping infrastructure equates to reinforcing crucial supply chains, controlling carbon emissions and providing high-paying jobs.
“The old guard would look at roads, rails and rivers as competing modes of transportation, and to some degree that’s still true,” he said. “However, to operate efficiently, it takes a network, where barges, railcars and trucks work together. That interconnectivity exists right here.”
Which is true. The Chicago region boasts water terminals serving the Great Lakes and Illinois Waterway, Class I railroads, interstate highways and O’Hare International Airport. Working in concert, these move commerce throughout the nation as well as to and from places overseas.
“Many people want to boost the local economy by promoting tourism, but they overlook our ability to support manufacturing and move commerce,” Wilkins said while seated in a conference room at Illinois Marine Towing.
The company provides towing, fleeting and shipyard services along the Illinois Waterway from Chicago to Alton. It’s also strategically located on the Des Plaines River near Union Pacific’s Global IV Intermodal Terminal in Joliet, which Wilkins describes as, “the largest inland intermodal terminal in the country.”
Nearby in Channahon is a thriving state-of-the art liquid bulk terminal. In 2012, Wilkins was chosen to establish the operation now owned by Canal Barge.
“Maintaining the waterways is really about ensuring that our nation remains competitive,” Wilkins said. “China is singularly focused on trying to duplicate what we have. They don’t have the interconnecting network of roads, rails and rivers, not at the level that we have. Neither does South America. No country on the planet can move commerce like we do.”
Before joining Canal Barge Company, Wilkins, served in executive roles at American Commercial Lines LLC and National Marine Inc. A graduate of University of Pittsburgh, he began his career at Dravo Corporation, a shipbuilding company in Pittsburgh eventually purchased by another company.
While at American Commercial Lines, Wilkins spent 14 years in South America focusing on project startup and infrastructure development in Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina.
“Those countries are moving ahead, but their intermodal transportation networks still pale in comparison to ours,” he said.
America’s interconnecting system of inland waterways saves up to $9 billion annually in freight transportation for grains and agricultural products alone, according to a 2019 U.S. Department of Agriculture study. The study also suggested an urgent need for major infrastructure repairs and improvements.
Barges also move chemicals, salt for roads, petroleum, and other materials. Though coal still travels by barge en route to other countries and to remaining coal-fired plants, Wilkins said, he sees opportunities for handling other commodities as wind and solar replace coal-fired power plants.
In 2019, Wilkins received a lifetime achievement award from the Illinois River Association for pursuing opportunities for growth, for offering an industry perspective on the Asian carp, and for advocating for river improvements.
Last February, Wilkins testified before the House subcommittee on Coast Guard and maritime transportation to urge infrastructure dollars be used to repair and enhance waterway facilities, and to maintain buoy markers which help direct tugboat, towboat and barge operators to navigable waters and out of harm’s way.
He also made the case for barge workers to be considered essential so they could be given priority for obtaining COVID-19 vaccinations.
Despite gaining essential worker status, the barge industry, like many others, has not achieved a fully vaccinated workforce, Wilkins said.
Also, like other industries, it is struggling to attract workers, despite paid apprenticeships and the potential for a six-figure income starting with only a high school degree.
Illinois Marine Towing is down 35 employees. “If you multiply that industrywide, it’s a significant amount,” Wilkins said.
As the first African American chairman of The American Waterways Operators, Wilkins is pushing to diversify the workforce for Illinois Marine Towing, Canal Barge and the wider industry. One key effort has been to make local government officials aware of career opportunities, including for high school students of color.
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“There are plenty of great opportunities,” he said, noting expectations for steady job growth in the industry until 2045.
Wilkins also mentioned locks and dams built in the 1930s on the Mississippi River, which have outlasted their 50-year design. “Modernizing these would provide plenty of construction jobs too,” he said.
One hopeful sign regarding the future of America’s inland waterways and for Illinois, Wilkins said, is that just last year, the state designated $40 million for the construction of a riverport at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers at Cairo, Ill.
Susan DeGrane is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.