GREEN BAY (SPECTRUM NEWS) — Rows of lake freighters are moored at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding surrounded by ice.
In the dead of winter workers at the Sturgeon Bay shipyard are busy fixing, inspecting and upgrading the vessels for the upcoming shipping season. The lull also allows port operators to take stock of the 2019 season and begin looking at what 2020 may hold.
Ports in Green Bay and Milwaukee saw the amount of cargo moving over docks grow last year. Directors at both locations point to the amount of the economic activity in Wisconsin as a contributing factor.
“There was a lot of movement of petroleum products - diesel, gasoline, and ethanol - as well as limestone and cement,” said Dean Haen, the director of the Port of Green Bay. “With the way the season ended, we expect it to start out strong.”
Green Bay saw an 8 percent increase, to 2.3 million tons, of cargo last year. That’s the highest number since 2007.
Milwaukee saw overall tonnage increase 11 percent on both public and private facilities last year to 2.7 million tons.
At the region’s largest port, Duluth/Superior, tariffs and trade disputes kept figures in line with the five-year average. Numbers there were helped by a record amount of wind energy-related cargo passing through terminals.
Adam Schlicht, Milwaukee’s port director, said 2020 could be another strong year.
“I remain cautiously optimistic that our 2020 tonnage will be right on par with recent successes,” he said.
“Time will tell.”