Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway Tonnage Up 3.5 Percent Through End of September

WELLAND CANAL – Nearly 25 million tonnes of cargo passed through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System by the end of September, up 3.5 per cent compared to the same time last year. It’s the second positive increase of the 2026 season, which began with March openings of the Welland Canal and Montreal-Lake Ontario sections of the 3,700-kilometre-long waterway.

Latest figures released by St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. showed dry bulk shipments were the biggest mover on the seaway, up 20.26 per cent. Dry bulk consists of commodities such as stone/gravel, sand, salt, cement, potash and gypsum.

Snider Dock Services, which operates as Port Colborne Marine Terminal Inc., on the east side of the Welland Canal, handles bulk goods including road salt and synthetic gypsum. It has received several shipments of both commodities this year.

General cargo, which includes iron, steel slabs, machinery and wind turbines, has fallen 10.8 per cent, followed by coal, down 6.47 per cent. Liquid bulk shipments, which include gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel, ethanol and biodiesel, decreased four per cent compared to the same time last year. Iron ore fell 3.4 per cent, and grain, the top commodity shipped on the seaway last year, was down three per cent.

Ship traffic has increased, with 2,719 vessels, including lakers, ocean-going ships, tugs and barges, transiting the system. That’s 138 more than by the end of September last year.

Dave Johnson/Welland Tribune