Great Lakes Seaway Announces Port Winners of 2022 Season “Pacesetter Award”

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS) announced today that nine U.S. ports in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System received its Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award for recording increases in international cargo tonnage shipped through their ports during the 2022 navigation season. 

“Every year, more than 36 million metric tons of cargo pass through the St. Lawrence Seaway, supporting nearly a quarter of a million jobs and made possible by ports throughout the Great Lakes region,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We are proud to announce this year’s winners of the Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award, which honors Great Lakes ports that have made significant strides in moving goods through the supply chain so they can reach the communities that need them.” 

More than 237,000 jobs and $35 billion in economic activity are supported annually by the movement of cargoes on the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System. The nine ports earning the Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award for 2022 are: Port of Buffalo (N.Y.); Port of Chicago (Ill.); Port of Cleveland (Ohio); Port of Manitowoc, (Wis.); Port Milwaukee (Wis.); Port of Monroe (Mich.); Port of Oswego (N.Y.); Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority (N.Y.); and Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority (Ohio).

“Congratulations to the nine Great Lakes/Seaway ports being recognized as GLS Pacesetter Award recipients for their achievements during the 2022 Seaway navigation season,” said GLS Administrator Adam Tindall-Schlicht. “The sustained level of high performance is a testament not only to the Seaway System’s importance as a maritime supply chain, but also to the hard work and resiliency of the dedicated men and women throughout the Great Lakes/Seaway port community.”

The Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award was established in 1992 to recognize the achievements of U.S. ports whose activities result in increasing international tonnage shipped through the St. Lawrence Seaway, excluding Canada, in comparison with the previous year. The Pacesetter Award name was officially changed in 2001 to posthumously honor the noteworthy career of former GLS Logistics Director Robert J. Lewis, who was instrumental in developing and implementing the GLS’s trade development program.

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