The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Shipping supports jobs, growth
Port board hears figures of $31.7M economic impact on area economy and 129 jobs
Shipping cargo through the Port of Lorain supports 129 jobs and generated revenues of $31.7 million, according to a report.
However, the city harbor may have room for more freighters to carry goods into and out of Lorain.
In July, the report “Economic Impacts of Maritime Shipping in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region” was published by Martin Associates of Lancaster, Pa.
The port authority discussed the report Oct. 9 in a presentation by economic development specialist Tiffany McClelland.
The findings are valuable to remind people about the economic and maritime effects of the Lorain Port Authority, said Executive Director Tom Brown.
The port of Lorain supports jobs with wages of $3.1 million annually, according to the study.
Lorain was one of 19 American ports and 21 Canadian ports analyzed in the study, which logged effects on business revenue, employment, personal earnings, taxes and economics.
Overall, freighters in 2017 moved 254.6 million tons of cargo, valued at $77.4 billion, through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system, according to the study.
Lorain may have room to grow as a shipping inlet and outlet.
Brown acknowledged freight through Lorain generally has decreased due to lack of steel production.
Federal figures confirm a decline.
A total of 978,733 tons of material passed through the Port of Lorain in 2015, according to numbers published by the Navigation Data Center of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Lorain ranked 144th among 150 American ports listed in those figures.
It also was the lowest among Ohio cities shipping materials in and out via water.
For 2016, Lorain did not rank among the top 100 port cities of the United States, according to the report “The U.S. Waterway System 2016 Transportation Facts & Information,” published by the Corps.
In the top 100, Cleveland ranked 45; Toledo, 58; Conneaut, 75; Sandusky, 93; Ashtabula, 95; and Marblehead, 96.
Even so, in 2017, the Port posted a 100 percent increase in international traffic floating through Lorain.
The 100 percent increase was attributed to the Port of Lorain not having any international traffic the prior season.
It was enough for the Lorain Port Authority to score one of six Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Awards from the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
In June, Craig H. Middlebrook, deputy administrator for the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., presented the award to Brown, Chairman of the Board Brad Mullins and the entire board of directors.
“You are in a distinguished group of only one of six U.S. ports that earned this award,” Middlebrook said. “I think that’s a testament to your willingness, and Tom’s hustle, that Lorain is here to look for opportunities, to maximize opportunities, and to turn opportunities around where they present themselves.”
Established in 1992, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. Pacesetter Award recognizes U.S. ports that have registered increases in international cargo tonnage shipped through their ports and through the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Over the past 25 years, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. has distributed more than 140 Pacesetter Awards to 14 different Great Lakes/Seaway ports, according to the corporation.
“We established this award because we wanted to raise awareness among the general public about how important ports are in generating economic income and benefits and jobs for the local community,” Middlebrook said.
It was enough for the Lorain Port Authority to score one of six Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Awards from the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation.