Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Announces Pacesetter Award Winners for 2015 Navigation Season

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) today announced that six U.S. ports in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System received its Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award for registering increases in international cargo tonnage shipped through their ports during the 2015 navigation season compared to the previous year.

“Maritime transportation is often the most fuel-efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly way to move goods,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.  “The impressive performance of these ports highlights the importance of marine transportation to their local economies, the Great Lakes region, and the nation.”

The six winners of the Pacesetter Award for 2015 are: the Port of Green Bay (Wis.), the Port of Oswego Authority (N.Y.), the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority (Ohio), the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority (Mich.), the Port of Monroe (Mich.), and the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority (N.Y.).

“The Great Lakes region, North America’s ‘Opportunity Belt,’ is a thriving and influential destination, and the Seaway System connects this region to the world,” said SLSDC’s Administrator Betty Sutton.  “Businesses are choosing to move their cargo through the Seaway System because of the economic benefits, safety, and reliability of our waterway, and its direct access to the heartland of North America.”

In 2015, U.S. ports in the Great Lakes Seaway System recorded increased international shipments of high-value cargoes including windmill components, refinery equipment, generators, machinery, and containerized goods.