Developing Marine Container Traffic Along the St. Lawrence Seaway

Efforts to develop marine container traffic along the St. Lawrence Seaway initially failed, leading to the withdrawal of services. However, recent changes in international container transportation have revived container shipping to American Great Lakes ports. A unique approach to customs inspections is set to connect inland American container terminals with nearby Canadian destinations. The ongoing development of the container trade has seen the construction of larger container ships, resulting in the redevelopment of many ports to accommodate these vessels and connect with railway and truck transport at container terminals.

The combination of increased market demand for railway container transportation and limited railway infrastructure capacity has raised transportation costs per container along main railway corridors. This has prompted the redevelopment of the Panama Canal to accommodate larger vessels sailing from Asian ports to East Coast American ports at competitive transportation costs. The introduction of direct maritime container shipping between European ports and the Port of Cleveland on Lake Erie using smaller container ships has also become feasible, offering competitive transportation rates.

The Port of Hamilton on Lake Ontario is identified as the Canadian Great Lakes port with the greatest potential for future market success. While the absence of customs services at the Port of Hamilton currently hinders direct seasonal sailing of containers between European ports and Hamilton, plans are underway to develop a container terminal near Chicago and at the Canadian Port of Johnstown on the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Port of Buffalo and the Port of Duluth have also entered the container shipping market, with potential for further growth in container traffic across the North Atlantic.

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