Duluth-Superior Posts Strong 2018 Results

Port of Duluth-Superior authorities said its facilities handled 35.9 million short tons of cargo during 2018 shipping season.

The final 1,000-footer of the season left Duluth-Superior two days before the Soo Locks closed in mid-January, due to favorable ice conditions earlier in the month. International shipping through the St. Lawrence Seaway, in and out of the Great Lakes, had its best year in more than a decade.

“Shipments of Minnesota iron ore accounted for the lion’s share of tonnage moved through the Port of Duluth-Superior – 21.5 million short tons, to be exact. Iron ore cargoes were up 9 percent year-over-year, outpacing the five-year average by 30-plus percent,” said Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.

The Port of Duluth-Superior handles the highest tonnage of any port on the Great Lakes, and acts as a multimodal hub for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system.

Photo: The Port of Duluth-Superior. Credit: DSPA