Cargo & Commodities

Each year, millions of tons of materials are shipped efficiently through the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System. This section covers the various bulk cargo, from iron ore and petroleum to stone and cement, being transported along the system.

$200 Million Lantic Sugar Expansion Plan at Port of Montreal

Lantic Sugar, which has a plant on Notre-Dame Street East on Port of Montreal territory, has announced a vast expansion and modernization project. The $200 million overhaul will make it... Read More

Iron Ore Trade Up, Limestone Down in June

Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 5.8 million tons in June, an increase of 47.8 percent from 2022. Shipments were 12.7 percent above the month’s 5-year average.... Read More

65th Opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway

The 2023 navigation season on the St. Lawrence Seaway is now underway. On Wednesday, March 22, 2023, Terence Bowles, president and CEO of the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC),... Read More

More Than 36 Million Metric Tons Transited System in 2022

More than 36 million metric tons (mmt) of cargo transited the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System during the 2022 navigation season, according to the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC)... Read More

Three Great Lakes Ports Seek to Grow Container Trade

Historically, seaports have dominated the container scene, with boxes moved in and out of coastal ports on containerships and distributed inland by truck or rail. For the region surrounding the... Read More

Great Lakes Limestone Up 10.7 Percent in October

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.9 million tons in October, an increase of 10.7 percent compared to a year ago.  Limestone cargos were also above the month’s... Read More

Potential Railroad Strike Threatens 30% of US Cargo Shipments

Story updated 12:00PM, 9/15/2022 Unions and management reached a tentative deal early Thursday, averting a freight railroad strike that had threatened to further disrupt U.S. supply chains and drive prices... Read More

Farming-Related Exports Drive Great Lakes-Seaway Shipping Activity in June

Exports buoyed shipping activity through the St. Lawrence Seaway in June, with U.S. coke and Canadian potash heading to overseas destinations for the season reaching a 20-year record high.  Canadian... Read More

Great Lakes Iron Ore Trade Down 32.6 Percent in June

Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 3.9 million tons in June, a decrease of 32.6 percent from 2021.  Shipments were 29.5 percent below the month’s 5-year average.... Read More

Great-Lakes Seaway Cargo Rose by 7% in 2021

A new system-wide report from the Chamber of Marine Commerce shows that Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway ships carried an estimated 149 million metric tons of cargo to and from domestic ports, and... Read More