# Indiana Harbor (US ECH)

**UN/LOCODE:** US ECH  
**Country:** United States  
**Water Body:** Lake Michigan; Great Lakes  
**Harbor Size:** Medium  
**Harbor Type:** Coastal (Breakwater)  
**GPS:** 41.6667, -87.4333

Iron ore in, steel out — Indiana Harbor (US ECH) is the captive harbour of the East Chicago steel complex on Lake Michigan, not a container port. At roughly 12–13 million tonnes a year it ranks first in tonnage among Lake Michigan harbours and second across all the Great Lakes. Taconite pellets from the Lake Superior ranges and limestone feed the adjacent mills, while outbound traffic adds steel, coke, gypsum, cement and petroleum products. Classic Great Lakes bulk freighters work the port, and navigation pauses each winter when ice closes the lake routes. Iron ore movements softened through 2024, and by May 2025 Great Lakes ore trade ran about 18% below the prior year, tracking steel demand. Road and rail tie the port into the heavy-industrial belt of northwest Indiana and the Chicago area; for containerised or international sea cargo, Burns Harbor or the coastal and Gulf ports are the alternatives.

## Transit Times & Routes

- [Los Angeles → Shanghai](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-shanghai)
- [Los Angeles → Shenzhen](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-shenzhen)
- [Los Angeles → Guangzhou](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-guangzhou)
- [Los Angeles → Hong Kong](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-hong-kong)
- [Los Angeles → Tokyo](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-tokyo)
- [Los Angeles → Busan](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-busan)

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*Freight Academy — Seaport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/indiana-port-us-ech](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/indiana-port-us-ech)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/seaports/en/indiana-port-us-ech](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/seaports/en/indiana-port-us-ech)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/seaports/indiana-port-us-ech/llm-summary?lang=en*