Grain shipped on seaway up 27% in 2020
Nearly 38 million tonnes of cargo moved through the 3,700-kilometre-long St. Lawrence Seaway during the 2020 navigation season.
That’s close to 2019 figures, St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. president and chief executive officer Terence Bowles said in a release.
“Considering the impact of the worldwide pandemic, we are very pleased with these traffic results,” said Bowles.
He said while the economic volatility from COVID-19 impacted the marine industry, the seaway worked with carriers and shippers to maximize cargo opportunities.
The impacts of the pandemic differed by cargo type and limited total cargo volumes in 2020. “The seaway’s resiliency and agility in operating allowed it to handle numerous steel slab movements and a record grain crop in 2020.”
Final figures released by the seaway show 37,736,000 tonnes of cargo moved through the system in 2020, down 639,000 tonnes from the previous year.
Grain was the biggest mover on the seaway and had a 27.08 per cent increase over 2019, with 13,308,000 tonnes shipped. General cargo had a slight increase in 2020, with 2,264,000 tonnes moved, an increase of 3.27 per cent.
Also with a slight increase was coal shipments, up 47,000 tonnes or 1.98 per cent over the previous year.
Liquid bulk shipments took the biggest hit in 2020, down 34.43 per cent over 2019. Iron shipments saw 6,052,000 tonnes moved in 2020, down 12.42 per cent. Dry bulk cargo was down 9.45 per cent with 1,098,000 fewer tonnes shipped.
The number of vessels that moved through the system — lakes, tugs and barges, and ocean-going — was also down with 281 fewer ships making trips to pick up or drop off cargo at ports in Canada and the United States.
The last commercial transit of the 2020 navigation season through the Welland Canal was on Jan. 7.
It marked the second year of a five-year season-extension pilot project. Twenty commercial transits took place between Dec. 31 and Jan. 7, said the seaway.
With two locks on the American side of the waterway and 13 on the Canadian, including eight on the Welland Canal, the seaway supports more than 329,000 jobs on both sides of the border. It generates $59 billion in economic activity in the two nations.
Craig H. Middlebrook, deputy administrator of the U.S. Great Lakes-st. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., said the seaway’s 62nd navigation season was one of the most remarkable in history. “Despite all the challenges throughout the year, it was one of the safest and smoothest seasons on record. The final tonnage results continue to demonstrate the resilience of the binational waterway and its ability to remain competitive in the global marketplace,” said Middlebrook in the release.