Port of Milwaukee Earns Pacesetter Award for Increase in International Tonnage During 2009 Navigation Year

The Port of Milwaukee posted significant increases in international cargo over the 2009 navigation season, earning it the prestigious Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award from the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation. SLSDC Administrator Terry Johnson presented the award today to Eric Reinelt, Milwaukee’s Port Manager, at a ceremony in Milwaukee.

“This is a strong performance by a vital member of the Seaway System,” said Johnson. “The Port of Milwaukee has done an outstanding job of marketing themselves to current and prospective shippers.”

The Port of Milwaukee moved 318,000 million metric tons of cargo through the Seaway, a 22 percent increase over the 261,000 metric tons posted in 2008. Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest port, was one of only two ports in the U.S. Great Lakes Seaway System to post gains last year.

“Milwaukee has always looked to the Seaway as a vital marine trade route for moving manufactured and agricultural goods to market and receiving essential imports,” said Reinelt.

“That was especially true in 2009 as we saw an increase of 75 percent in grain shipments and handled an 800-ton transformer, one of the biggest pieces of project cargo we’ve moved in recent years,” he said.

The transformer was imported through the waterway on a heavy-lift ship last summer and handled by the Federal Marine Terminals stevedores who transferred the cargo from the port to Union Pacific rail and to its final destination. The Port of Milwaukee received 94,000 metric tons of general cargo through the Seaway last year while shipping out almost double that amount in grain.

This year’s award marks the ninth time the Port of Milwaukee has won the Pacesetter Award, which is presented annually to U.S. Great Lakes Seaway ports that register an increase in international tonnage shipped through the Seaway when compared to the previous navigation season. Originally known simply as the Pacesetter Award, the 2002 name change honors long-time Seaway trade analyst Bob Lewis.