Tulsa Ports has added 400 jobs in 2026, pushing total employment across its two industrial parks to 3,900 and closing in on pre-pandemic records.

David Yarbrough, executive director of Tulsa Ports, shared the figures Sept. 10 at the organization's annual State of the Ports event. He said the port system generates about $300 million in economic impact each year through its facilities at the Port of Catoosa and the Port of Inola.

"We lost some stuff over the (last) few years. We went through COVID-19 (and) all the things that caused employment to fall off, and finally here we are flirting with that number again," Yarbrough told the Oklahoma Eagle.

The job growth comes as several major investments take shape. Mecad USA, a precision-components and industrial-automation firm with offices in Barcelona and Tokyo, chose the Port of Catoosa for its U.S. headquarters in February. The company plans to invest $13.4 million in a 32,000-square-foot facility and expects to create nearly 300 jobs, the Journal Record reported. No state incentives were involved.

Mecad USA CEO Candido Romero cited Oklahoma's 2025 behind-the-meter energy law as a key factor in the decision. He said the legislation "significantly de-risks our energy strategy."

At Inola, tissue manufacturer Sofidel is advancing a $770 million expansion that would add a million square feet to its existing 1.8-million-square-foot building, according to the Oklahoma Eagle's coverage of the event. Rogers County and the town of Inola are also engineering a freight crossing corridor, with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) pursuing a $198 million federal grant to help cover costs. That grant has not been awarded.

The Port of Catoosa is approaching 100 million tons of cargo shipped by barge since it opened in 1971, according to KTUL's coverage of the event. A unit train facility is also planned there.

The largest project on the horizon remains the proposed $4 billion aluminum smelter at Inola. Oklahoma Primary Aluminum, a joint venture in which Emirates Global Aluminium holds 60% and Century Aluminum holds 40%, would produce up to 750,000 metric tons of aluminum per year and create about 1,000 permanent jobs, the Frontier reported.

Construction is stalled.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a lawsuit in June in Rogers County District Court seeking to halt the project, citing public nuisance concerns including risks to residents, livestock and natural resources. The defendants moved the case to federal court in July. On Sept. 3, U.S. District Judge Sara Hill ordered it back to Rogers County, ruling the defendants failed to establish federal jurisdiction, Oklahoma Voice reported. That order is final and cannot be appealed.

Drummond said in a statement that the case belongs in Oklahoma state court and should be decided under state law.

Critics have raised concerns about fluoride emissions. Oklahoma Primary Aluminum's revised permit application, filed Sept. 3, proposes a cap of 264 tons of fluoride per year, down from an initial proposal of 425 tons. The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) had not issued an air-quality construction permit as of late August.

Yarbrough said the port system competed against 33 to 35 other locations for the smelter project. New infrastructure at Inola, including industrial access roads and a wastewater treatment plant, is already under construction to support future development.

No hearing date for the lawsuit in Rogers County District Court has been announced.