Pandemic Response
Source: Great Lakes Seaway Review – Volume 48 – Number 4 – April-June 2020
As the supply chain goes, DTE Energy in Monroe, Michigan was impacted by the loss of regional manufacturing. Demand for power decreased, leading
the company to reduce operation to one of four generating units. Coal and limestone deliveries to the Port of Monroe were cancelled. Decreased power generation led to a loss of the byproducts synthetic gypsum and bottom ash which export from the port. With the plant now operating at full power, business at the Monroe port has increased, which positively impacts Midwest Energy Resources, Interlake Steamship Company, Grand River Navigation, to name a few. “It is our resilience Paul LaMarre III which will define our 2020 shipping season as a whole,” said Paul LaMarre III, Monroe port Director, noting that the port is already on track to handle the most international/Seaway cargo in its history. “Because the port is home to Ventower Industries, which is one of only four wind tower manufacturers in the United States, we are well positioned to be a multimodal congregation and distribution hub for wind components manufactured at Ventower and elsewhere.” This season, BigLift’s Happy River will call on the port every eight days to deliver wind turbine sections from Becanour, Quebec.
