WASHINGTON: The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor is having another strong year. “Total tonnage for the first nine months of this year is nearly 1.8 million tons, down slightly from the 1.9 million tons we handled January through September of last year, the second highest full-year volume in over two decades,” Port Director Rick Heimann said. Last year, the deepwater port on Lake Michigan handled the most cargo since 1994.
Grain shipments are up 40 percent through the first nine months of 2016, as compared to the same period in 2015. International ships often arrive at Great Lakes ports with products like steel, wind turbines and aluminum, and leave with American grain. The USDA has forecast record corn and soybean crops this year, so grain shipments should remain strong. “While our port stevedores discharged over seventeen thousand tons of wheat from two vessels last month, they also received the first shipment of road salt for the coming winter season,” Heimann said. “Nearly 3,000 tons of recycled rubber also passed through our port on its way to Midwest paper mills.”
Overall international shipments through the St. Lawrence Seaway into the Great Lakes total 21.2 million metric tons year-to-date. U.S. grain cargoes have risen 5 percent to 1.4 million metric tons. “While overall tonnage is about 5 percent behind last year, the resurgence in shipping activity that started in August continued last month,” said Raymond Johnston, President of the Chamber of Marine Commerce. “U.S. grain exports are up and we’re seeing a resumption of iron ore exports from ports in the Upper Great Lakes such as Duluth-Superior due to improved world pricing.”
