St. Lawrence Seaway hits post-recession highs

Throughput for the Seaway reached 40 million tons in 2014.    Cargo volumes for the St. Lawrence Seaway in the 2014 navigation season, which opened March 28 due to a week-long weather delay and lasted 280 days, hit 40 million tons.
   The 40 million ton of cargo in 2014 represents a 7 percent increase over the 2013 result. The increase was due mostly to strong growth in grain shipments as well as iron and steel products and shipments of road salt.
   According to a release from the Seaway, it experienced an influx of ocean vessels that was “unprecedented in recent history,” as there were over 50 ocean vessels within the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System On more than one occasions in 2014.
   The Seaway added that the 2014 cargo volumes represent “a full recovery from the 2009 global financial crisis and its ensuing aftermath.”
   President and CEO of the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation Terence Bowles said, “There can be little question that the Seaway proved its value as a vital transportation artery in 2014. Carriers moved over 12 million tons of grain through our locks, the highest volume since the turn of the century some 14 years ago. We are also pleased with our various marketing initiatives and toll incentives, to which we attribute about 2.5 million tons of new business during 2014.”