Port of Duluth-Superior sees 11.3% decline in 2015 volumes

A total of 32.3 million tons of waterborne cargo passed through the Port of Duluth-Superior in 2015, an 11.3 percent year-over-year decrease.    The Port of Duluth-Superior handled 32.3 million tons of waterborne cargo in 2015, an 11.3 percent decrease from 2014, according to the Duluth Seaway Port Authority’s most recent tonnage report.
   Throughout 2015, the port shipped 22.7 million tons of domestic waterborne cargo and received 3.5 million tons, a year-over-year drop of 3.8 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively.
   Waterborne cargo exports to Canada tumbled 23.4 percent from 2014 to 4.2 million tons, while imports rose 5.3 percent to 487,782 tons.
   While the port’s waterborne cargo exports overseas dropped 55.5 percent year-over-year in 2015 to 1.2 million tons, imports skyrocketed 134.8 percent to 92,937 tons.
   Looking ahead, the port will have seven freighters for winter layup this year. The two vessels that already arrived include the 1,000-foot Indiana Harbor, which laid up in November; and the 690-foot Herbert C. Jackson, which arrived in December for a major repowering project at Fraser Shipyards.
   In addition, the 767-foot Kaye E. Barker, the 1,004-foot Edwin H. Gott, the 767-foot Philip R. Clarke, the 1,000-foot American Century and the 1,013-foot Paul R. Tregurtha are scheduled to arrive.
   “While ships’ crews will take the next few, well-deserved weeks off, there is no real ‘down time’ on the waterfront,” The Duluth Seaway Port Authority said. “Hundreds of workers – engineers, welders, pipefitters, mechanics, electricians and others – will spend the next eight weeks doing heavy-duty maintenance and repair work so these vessels are ready to sail when the Soo Locks reopen on March 25 and the 2016 Great Lakes-Seaway shipping season gets underway.”
   The Port of Duluth-Superior is also referred to as the “Twin Ports,” with docks in both Duluth, Minn. and Superior, Wis. The port accommodates maritime transportation needs for a variety of industries including agriculture, forestry, mining, manufacturing, construction, power generation, and passenger cruising.