10 American Journal of Transportation American Journal of Transportation ajot.com Key shipping line and terminal operator cautiously optimistic about Great Lakes/ Seaway trade (OPTIMISTIC – continued on page 12) By Julie Gedeon, AJOT Concerns persist about an unlevel playing field emerging between Canadian and US shipping com- panies within the Great Lakes and Seaway as trade tensions persist between the countries. The US government and American vessel oper- ators remain in opposition to Cana- da’s ballast water regulations. They require all domestic lakers to install treatment systems to manage bal- last during loading in Canada, even if the freighters later discharge the water at a U.S. port. The Lake Car- riers’ Association contends that the multi-million-dollar systems would place an undue hardship on US oper- ators who manage invasives through voluntary practices. “We hope regulators will find a reasonable effective solution that works for both sides of the border soon that it is clear and consistent,” says Jonathan White, Canada Steam- ship Lines’ vice president, Commercial, Canada. Canadian maritime associations and ship owners remain opposed to any port fees being imposed on Chinese-built Canadian lakers. After strong opposi- tion from numerous U.S. industry representatives, the proposal was put into abeyance until this coming October, but one of its proponents has raised the idea again as part of a USTR investigation into China’s shipbuilding policies and support. “We’re closely monitoring this situation because while we’re happy to support the American shipbuild- ing industry and regularly go into US shipyards for repairs and wintering, we can’t have a robust cross-bor- der trade that relies significantly on Canadian vessels penalized in this way,” White says. The reverberations of the high American tariffs on the Canadian steel industry have already been significant on both sides of the border. “Algoma Steel closing its blast furnace and coke-making operations in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, last January has had a ripple effect across the Canada-U.S. Great shipping community with raw material volumes drastically reduced,” White notes. CSL’s shipping volumes for iron, coal and stone are all lower than before tariffs in 2024 and basically similar to last year. Nevertheless, the company has been keeping all its vessels operat- ing by carefully working with its customers to pivot to new demands to limit tariff impacts. This includes some traffic in response to Build Canada initiatives as well as to new foreign markets. “We’re also seeing another robust year for grain with a lot of volume going through the St. Lawrence with buyers continuing to favour these crops despite the higher fuel prices sparked by geopolitical tensions, par- ticularly in Iran,” White says. LOGISTEC’s Terminals LOGISTEC’s US Great Lakes and St. Lawrence terminals continue to show resilience, adaptability and long-term growth potential, despite the decline in steel and aluminum shipments. Activity remained stable or increased during first half of 2026 at the company’s terminals New York, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. “A key driver is renewable energy, including wind compo- nents, project cargo and BESS battery movements throughout the Great Lakes region,” says Frank Robertson, LOGISTEC’s senior vice president – Operations, North. “This focus is expected to continue, with several large-scale project cargo, steel, bulk and renewable energy opportunities planned in the second half of the year, which will support the region’s growing role in North America’s energy transition.” Increased spending on US infrastructure and energy projects is keeping LOGISTEC’s Ohio net- work busy as a key hub for steel and breakbulk through the Cleveland terminal, as is major state there – especially with more interest in agricultural byproducts for new fuels – but we have to build more efficient systems to handle these commodi- ties and make the business case to get the agri-food industry to use our services.” Interest is also mounting at the Port of Detroit for the facilities to produce and/or store biofuels as well as other newer energy sources, including hydro- gen. “We’re excited about the possibilities regarding hydrogen because it’s definitely happening with the automotive industry even looking at building hydro- gen cars,” Jamian says. The increasing electrification of utility boats is opening up other maritime related opportunities to repurpose shuttered mill properties, as is the manu- facturing of some military components. Jamian says the large stretch of waterfront land that will be available alongside the river’s deep water bodes well for the future once the environ- mental remediation is done. “Real estate will be among our strongest assets, but it will take some work to prepare and sell to new manufacturing.” Along with tariffs, the uncertainties in US-Can- ada trade relations are having an impact. “Many global and national organizations, as well as individ- uals, don’t realize the importance of our binational relationship, especially with Windsor, Ontario, because of the river that Detroit shares with it,” Jamian says. “The fact that we work together every single day is something that is not being discussed in the national conversation.” Port of Duluth Recent challenges at the Port of Duluth have included the Superior Midwest Energy Terminal (SMET) loading its final coal shipment this past June. DTE Electric decided against renewing its lease as part of the energy transition away from coal-fired power plants, ending the terminal’s 50-year operation. Overall tonnage at the Port of Duluth has plum- meted 94% year over year because of declining coal shipments. “Reinvigorating that 200-acre site with another bulk cargo, such as possibly wood chips, is part of our current discussions with various people,” says Kevin Beardsley, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority’s executive director. “A lot of machinery is coming through Duluth on its way to Alberta, Canada, for the energy sector,” Beardsley notes. “That’s helped breakbulk and gen- eral cargo go up 9% in June.” The US Maritime Administration awarded $27.5 million – the largest port grant in MARAD’s history – to the Port of Duluth in May to prepare the 7.5-acre Duluth Lake Pier (acquired in 2020) (PIVOT – continued on page 11) (PIVOT – continued from page 9) Jonathan White, Canada Steamship Lines’ VP, Commercial, Canada Frank Robertson, LOGISTEC’s Senior VP – Operations, North
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