During the 2006
Great Lakes shipping
season, the Port of Detroit exceeded its 2005 international cargo tonnage
volume by more than sixty percent.
Because of the upswing in international cargo volume, the
Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority (DWCPA) and its stevedoring company,
Nicholson Terminal & Dock Company, will receive the St. Lawrence Seaway
Development Corporation's Robert Lewis Port Pacesetter Award. SLSDC
Administrator Collister Johnson, Jr. will present the award Friday, during
National Transportation Week, highlighting the maritime industry's
significant role in moving the nation's cargo.
Steel slabs and general cargo that moved through the Seaway from
foreign shores comprised all of the freight handled at the Port of Detroit.
As the center of domestic automobile production, Detroit depends on
imported, as well as American-made steel to compete in an increasingly
integrated marketplace. DWCPA Executive Director, Curtis Hertel, praised
the combined efforts of port and terminal employees and management staff
which led to the award.