PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) – Officials say increased shipments of grain and steel are leading to the busiest year in more than a decade at Indiana's main Lake Michigan port.

The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor surpassed its previous five-year average of total annual shipments by the end of September.

Port director Rick Heimann tells The Times of Munster (http://bit.ly/1tl1WxY) that much of its increased traffic involved manufacturers in northwestern Indiana and Chicago, along with metal processors who've expanded operations at the port complex.

Officials expect the amount of cargo handled at the port should be up 25 percent this year over 2013.