Great Lakes industry contributions ‘enormous’

Study shows Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Waterway plays a vital role in U.S. and Canadian economies.    The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Waterway handled 230.9 million metric tons of cargo valued at $77.4 billion in 2017, according to a study conducted by consulting firm Martin Associates.
   This includes impacts of all domestic and international cargo moving on the Great Lakes, its connecting rivers, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Lower St. Lawrence River.
   The study, “Economic Impacts of Maritime Shipping in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region,” found iron ore accounted for 80.7 million metric tons of cargo moved, followed by petroleum products at 31.2 million metric tons and stone/aggregate at 28.6 million metric tons.
   Overall, maritime commerce on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Waterway supported 328,543 U.S. and Canadian jobs in 2017 — 147,464 in the United States and 181,079 in Canada. Of the total number of jobs supported by the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Waterway last year in both the U.S. and Canada, 105,885 were considered direct jobs, 107,712 were induced jobs and 113,946 were indirect jobs.
   Direct employment includes jobs directly generated by maritime and port activity; induced employment includes jobs created when individuals spend their wages locally on goods and services, such as food, housing and clothing; and indirect employment includes jobs created due to purchases of goods and services by businesses.
   Broken down by state, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Waterway supported the most jobs (direct, induced and indirect) in Indiana at 66,158 jobs, followed by Ohio at 33,168, Michigan at 25,910, Wisconsin at 7,484, Illinois at 6,476, Minnesota at 6,161, New York at 1,349 and Pennsylvania at 757 jobs.
   Looking at the provinces, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Waterway supported a total of 70,647 jobs in Ontario and 110,433 jobs in Quebec.
   “The study reflects the enormous contributions the maritime industry provides to the more than 100 ports in each of the Great Lakes states and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec,” said Steven A. Fisher, executive director of the American Great Lakes Ports Association. “The jobs supported by the maritime industry include not only those located directly on the waterfront — shipyard workers, stevedores, vessel operators, terminal employees, truck drivers and marine pilots — but also grain farmers, construction works, miners and steelworkers. Many of these jobs would vanish if not for a dynamic maritime industry.”