advertisement

---

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. (SLSDC) has presented a Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award to the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority for posting a 10 percent increase in international cargo last year.

During the 2011 navigation season, the Port of Cleveland shipped 302,047 metric tons of cargo through the St. Lawrence Seaway, earning the port its 10th Pacesetter award. The port posted 81 percent growth in project cargo last year primarily because it handled windmill components, machinery and generators, and automotive presses. It was the first year the port handled windmill components.

“The sustained strong economic performance by the port serves to highlight marine transportation’s importance for the city, the region, and the country,” said SLSDC Administrator Terry Johnson in a prepared statement.

The port currently is constructing more than one mile of track, which will be operated by the Cleveland Commercial Railroad Co. L.L.C. under a public-private partnership arrangement. The port’s largest infrastructure project in more than 10 years will provide intermodal connections for customers’ supply chains, port officials said. In addition, the port is pursuing cross-lake ferry and container feeder services.

SLSDC presents the Pacesetter award annually to U.S. Great Lakes ports that register year-over-year increases in international overseas cargo tonnage shipped through the seaway. Three other ports won the award this year: the Port of Green Bay, Port of Chicago and Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor.