2012 Pacesetter Winners Announced

The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) announced that eight Great Lakes Seaway System ports are receiving the prestigious Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award for registering increases in international cargo tonnage shipped through their ports during the 2012 navigation season compared to the previous year.

“The continued increases in the amount of cargo moving through U.S ports is another strong indicator of our growing economy,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. “In his first State of the Union address, President Obama called on us to double our exports by 2015, and our nation’s ports will play a large role in meeting that goal. As today’s award winners demonstrate, we’re making good progress.”

The eight ports that have won the Pacesetter Award for 2012 are the Port of Green Bay, the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, the Port of Milwaukee, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, the Port of Oswego and the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority.

The Port of Green Bay achieved the largest increase in international tonnage of all the U.S. Great Lakes Seaway System ports with a 35% uptick over the 2011 shipping season, attributable to the export of ethanol and the import of pig iron used to make steel.

In addition to steel and iron ore, a wide variety of commodities passed through the Seaway ports, including wind energy components, grain and aluminum.

“The resurgence of manufacturing in North America is fueling demand for both traditional and new Seaway cargoes, with positive implications for Great Lakes shipping,” said SLSDC Acting Administrator Craig Middlebrook. “We are pleased to recognize the exceptional performance of these ports, all of which have been Pacesetter Award winners in previous years.”

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