It is reported that the global recession’s toll on the region is evident in the shipping port of Duluth and Superior, where commercial activity for the first half of 2009 is at its lowest level since the Great Depression.

Iron ore shipments through June 2009 were down by 61% YoY. These figures mirror a similar drop across the Great Lakes of 57%. But there has been sign of improvement. The Duluth Superior port shipped 3.5 million tonnes in May and 3.9 million in June. Coal shipments are doing much better than the rest of the Great Lakes, down only 7% as compared to 30% overall.

Overall tonnage on the St Lawrence Seaway was down by 39% by the end of May 2009 as compared to the same period last year and 35% by the end of June 2009, up by 4%. The biggest rebound occurred in grain exports through the Seaway, up by nearly 24% over last year.

Still, month to month statistics have offered hope that the economy has finally bottomed out and the only way to go is up.

Mr Adolph Ojard executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority said that "The sixth month period is just a snapshot. As inventory adjusts and manufacturing increases, we will see an increase as well."

(Sourced from www.businessnorth.com)