TOLEDO – There was a 2.24% increase in tonnage through the Port of Toledo in 2022, when compared to 2021, the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority announced last week.
Over 11.7 million short tons traveled through the Port of Toledo last year – the highest tonnage the seaport has seen since 2007.
The port set a record for aluminum handled at the General Cargo Dock, operated by Midwest Terminals, and grain had the strongest year-over-year growth with an increase of 14.79% over 2021. 2022 was also the first full operating season for the Cleveland-Cliffs’ Toledo Direct Reduction Plant, driving iron ore tonnage up nearly 5% from the previous year.
The Port Authority invested in infrastructure in 2022. At the General Cargo Dock, over $5 million in repair work has been completed on the dock wall. An additional $10.6 million of work is in progress, which is being funded through the U.S. Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program and the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Maritime Assistance Program.
At the Toledo Shipyard, $640,000 was invested to stabilize a retaining wall and construct pads for the shipyard’s offroad crane to service the dry docks. The port has also received $9 million from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to create additional capacity at the Port Authority’s storage and reuse facility for dredged material.
These improvements will provide the Port Authority with 20 years of storage capacity for dredged material.
The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System marine shipping industry supports nearly 238,000 jobs in the U.S. and Canada and generates $35 billion in economic activity. The system moves 143.5 million in metric tons of cargo annually. The Port of Toledo supports $669 million in economic activity and more than 7,000 jobs in the region.
