Navigation

By the Numbers: Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway Economic Impact

A new year-long study by the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership looked at the economic impacts of the navigation system. All figures are for the 2017 shipping season.

3

The number of vessel-operator communities that operate in the system – U.S. lakers, Canadian lakers and salties (ocean-going cargo vessels).

110

The number of ports served in the eight Great Lakes. This study measured the impacts of 2017 cargo movements at 40 of those ports in Canada and the U.S. – 19 in the U.S. (including Green Bay) and 21 in Canada.

1829

The year the Welland Canal was opened, connecting Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, and bypassing Niagara Falls.

2,300

The number of miles of the deep-draft inland navigation system, the longest in the world.

92,661

The number of jobs generated by cargo transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway locks.

123,172

The number of U.S. and Canadian jobs dependent on the Soo Locks.

237,868

The number of jobs supported by economic activity via the navigation system.

$6.6 billion

The amount of federal, state/provincial and local tax revenue generated by maritime activity.

$8 billion

The amount businesses involved in the maritime industry spent on local purchases in their respective local economies.

$14.2 billion

The amount of personal income and local consumption expenditures generated by maritime activity.

$35 billion

The amount of economic activity generated by the system.

$77.4 billion

The total value of cargo moved through the system.

Source:  greatlakesseaway.org

Article Comments