Seaway administrator reflects on increased shipping numbers

Dec. 1—MASSENA — The shipping season is winding down for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, and Administrator Adam M. Tindall-Schlicht says the numbers have been improving over the years.

The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System opened its 66th navigation season on March 22, and the shipping channel's St. Lawrence River section will close on Jan. 5.

Seaway officials said they saw an increase in cargo shipments in 2023, with nearly 38 million tons transiting the system, representing an overall increase of more than 3.4%. Compared to 2022, that included an increase of nearly 5% in grain, 5% in dry bulk, and 3.4% in liquid bulk.

Earlier this month, Seaway officials announced October performance figures, with cargo shipments reaching 28 million metric tons since the start of the navigation season. They said, although that was a slight decrease compared to the same period last year, October saw a "positive uptick" over September's results.

Tindall-Schlicht said this week things were looking positive for shipping numbers.

"One of the key target markets that we've identified, which is notable, especially at the end of the shipping season in October, November and December, is agricultural exports," he said. 'For decades, the sort of traditional story of trade via the St. Lawrence Seaway has been imported specialty steels and exported agricultural products from the heartland of North America in both the U.S. and Canada. That agricultural export has been a true target of ours and we're seeing it pay dividends, especially in recent months as the harvest is fully realized through the Great Lakes region in both countries."

He said the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act have also been a "key element of why we're seeing robust trade, especially in the agricultural export market."

"We at the U.S. Department of Transportation have been able to invest over the last three years in terminals and port facilities across the Great Lakes, including recently at the Port of Ogdensburg and the Port of Oswego," Tindall-Schlicht said.

He said the facility improvements are looking at ways to increase port efficiency and help decarbonize the maritime supply chain.

"As part of the story of the last four years, certainly in the Biden-Harris administration, reinvestment in Great Lakes ports is going to again help sustain and grow trade through these locks over time," he said.

Tindall-Schlicht said that work is continuing.

"After a grant award is announced, then it befalls the port to work with another part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Maritime Administration, to complete the grant agreement between it and DOT, and then the project moves into construction quite readily," he said.