Project cargo volumes handled via St. Lawrence Seaway ports rose 42 percent for the year-to-date, driven by strong performance at the port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Toledo and Oswego.
Despite the rise in project cargo volumes, St. Lawrence Seaway authorities reported total year-to-date cargo shipments for the period March 21 to November 30 were 30.3 million metric tons, down 5.89 percent over the same period in 2015.
“The port’s ability to handle global shipments also creates advantages for moving large-dimensional shipments by water into the heart of the Midwest. Our November cargoes included several 200-foot molds for wind turbine blades, a competitive sailing yacht for an upcoming boat show and two 10-ton freezers for an Indiana food processor,” Rick Heimann, director of the port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, said.
Although overall liquid bulk volumes were up 19 percent over 2015 many other categories showed weak performance. Authorities reported that the dry bulk category was down 13 percent, Iron ore was down almost 11 percent and coal was down18 percent.
“We thought that 2015 was a great year for aluminum and we have now exceeded those volumes by over 40 percent. The aluminum arrives from eastern Canada by water and feeds the manufacturing industry in this region. The Port of Toledo plays a critical role in this massive supply chain and we have capacity to handle even more,” Joe Cappel, Vice President of Business Development for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, said.