b'10American Journal of Transportation ajot.comSeaway heading forst. L awrence seaway & total cargo decline despite grain surge Great L akes ports 2020By Leo Ryan, AJOTThe St. Lawrence Seaway, which links North Americas industrial heartland to the Atlantic Ocean, has not failed to be impacted by the ongoing global pandemic.CurrentSeawaycargoflowsthrough Canadian and U.S. Great Lakes ports served by the waterways locks are experiencing a downward pat-tern in the high single digits, but sharp gains in grain shipments and a solid trend in wind-related project cargo are demonstrating the systems resiliency and vital trade role.After handling 41 million metric tons in 2018, throughput dropped by 6.4% in 2019 to 38.3 million tons. In the commercial navigation period between April 1 and September 1, overall shipments totaled 23.2 million tonsrepresenting an 8% decrease.g rAing rowth , s teeld ownHowever, Canadian grain shipments continued to show impressive growth, topping 6.2 million tons in the April 1 to end September commercial naviga-tion period. This represented a 20% increase from acanadian Great Lakes vessel transits the Welland canal. ( Photo Paul beesley)year earlier. U.S. grain exports via the Seaway over the same period exceeded one million tons, or a 4% spike from a year earlier.U.S. grain shipments are increasing with the newMidwestsoybeanharvestbeingshippedto Europe and North Africa, remarked Bruce Burrows, President and CEO of the Ottawa-based Chamber of Marine Commerce. We expect that will continue through the remainder of the shipping season.Andrea Gardella, a senior economist with Can-adasExportDevelopmentCorporation(EDC), underlines: We have seen global demand skyrocket with earlier lockdowns causing some challenges in accessingwheat-madeproducts,especiallyflour, and that has led to significant food insecurity and a re-building of stocks in Europe and Asia. liftcargoSAVE SAVEWhilethegrainrushhashelped totals, Great Lakes-Seaway shipping also reportedTIME & MONEYdecreases in commodities related to steel produc-tion, and the energy and construction sectors. Iron ore was down 20.6% at 4.2 million tons, dry bulk down12.6%at6.5milliontons,andliquidbulk downby27.4%.Generalcargo,whichincludes project cargo, has held pretty steady with a moder-ate drop of 2.8%.In a year of many ups and downs, were pleased to see grain exports perform remarkably well, Ter- DIRECT ACCESSTRADING INBULK, BREAK BULK,SEAMLESS SUPPLY ence Bowles, President and CEO of The St. LawrenceINTO ALL OF NORTHOVER 50 GLOBALLIQUID & CHAIN WITH A Seaway Management Corporation, said in October.AMERICA MARKETS SPECIAL CARGO CONNECTED NETWORKThe new Prairie wheat and canola crops have been arriving by rail over the past few weeks at the Port ofSIMPLE. Thunder Bay and the Ontario soybean harvest is now underway. We anticipate strong grain shipments will continue for the remainder of the year. COMPETITIVE. w inde nergyb oostst otAlsThisviewisechoedbyCraigMiddlebrook,CONNECTED.deputy administrator of the Washington-based Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, who adds that wind energy shipments are on track to remain strong enough through the end of the naviga-tion season.ThePortofThunderBayreportedthatgrain shipments up to the end of September totaled 5.97EUROPE U.S. MID-WESTmilliontons,anincreaseof23%overthesameTO SPECIAL CARGOTOperiod in 2019. Grain shipments at the port have been up everyU.S. MID-WEST ICON/BADGE NORTH AFRICAmonth this season to meet world demand for bread and pasta. All of that grain was from last years Prai-rie crops, said Tim Heney, president and CEO of Thunder Bay Port Authority. We now have more than 500,000 metric tons from the new harvest inSHIP WITH US TODAYstorage waiting to get shipped out on vessels. Rail car unloads at the port over the last weeks continue to be significantly up compared to 2019. We have a busy fall ahead of us.This fall has also given Hamilton, Canadas big-gest Great Lakes port, reasons to smile. In the first nine months of this year, grain, fertilizer, salt, coke (DECLINEcontinued on page 11)'