Chicago Port (port code: USCHI) is the leading port on the Great Lakes for general cargo. It is located on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan.
Six of major railroads and five federal highways of US meet in the port, making it a major transportation hub for all modes of travel. It links the inland river system and the Great Lakes to the global market and moves more than 26 million tons of goods and natural resources that are produced in central and Midwest America to the global market. The port’s central location on the North American continent made it a key distribution point for many different types of cargo. Among the cargoes most frequently handled there are steel, grain, scrap metals, graphite, zinc, silicon, stone, coke, lead, ore, cement, sugar, and vegetable oils.
The type of vessels regularly calling at this port is passenger vessels, accounting for about 84%. The maximum length of the vessels recorded to having entered this port is 74 meters. The maximum draught is 2.6 meters.