The U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) has announced that eight U.S. ports in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System are receiving the prestigious Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award.
The awards were given for registering increases in international cargo tonnage shipped through their ports during the 2014 navigation season compared to the previous year.
The eight winners of the Pacesetter Award for 2014 are: the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority; Duluth Seaway Port Authority; Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority; Illinois International Port District of Chicago; Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor; Port of Milwaukee; Port of Oswego Authority; and the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.
"The Great Lakes Seaway System realized a 7.6 percent tonnage increase from 2013 to 2014, a strong performance that reflects the increasing strength of the overall economy," said SLSDC Administrator Betty Sutton. "Marine transportation remains a catalyst for jobs and productivity for the local economies where these ports are situated and throughout the Great Lakes region."
Commodities accounting for almost all of the increases in international cargo handled by the seven Pacesetter port winners included asphalt, petroleum products, aluminum, steel, and grain. High value project cargo such as locomotive cars, electrical transformers and fermentation tanks were also handled during the 2014 navigation season.