Ports Worth More than Thought

By Conrad deFiebre, Transportation Fellow, November 18, 2011 at 4:00 pm

Last December, my report on waterways shipping cited a rough state Department of Transportation estimate of the economic benefit of Minnesota's network of Great Lakes and river ports at more than $1 billion a year. That's real money, but a tiny sliver of the state's $240 billion gross output.

Now we have evidence that MnDOT's statewide figure was more than a trifle low. A new study of the economic impacts of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system has identified nearly $1.5 billion in direct business revenue and 11,510 jobs attributable to cargo and vessel activity at the Port of Duluth-Superior alone.

Adding in impacts on related Upper Midwest industries such as grain farming and iron ore mining, the port is responsible for more than $12.6 billion in economic activity and 73,719 total jobs.

The analysis by Martin Associates includes some benefits in adjoining states and Canadian provinces that ship through the Twin Ports, but it's clear that Minnesota gains much more from its waterways than was thought previously.

With average yearly traffic topping 40 million tons, Duluth-Superior is far and away the biggest port in Minnesota and the Great Lakes, but the state's eight other maritime terminals handle nearly 30 million tons combined. That points to a proportional further total economic impact approaching $10 billion.

Freight movement by water commands little public awareness and practically no taxpayer support from Minnesotans. But the unique public-private partnership that underpins it, with strong user-financing for waterway dredging and infrastructure administered by the federal government, is a great bargain and economic boost for our state.

Posted in Transportation | Related Topics: Economic Growth  Shipping