Port of Monroe Economic Impacts Study Results Released – Supports Over 1,659 Jobs & Contributes $96 Million in Economic Activity
Washington, DC (September 5, 2018) – The Great Lakes Seaway Partnership announces the release of Economic Impacts of the Port of Monroe, a report documenting the many contributions made by the Port and Great Lakes Seaway Shipping to the City of Monroe, Monroe County, State of Michigan and Great Lakes region.
The study reports that in 2017 the Port of Monroe and maritime commerce supported:
- 1,659 jobs
- $96 million in economic activity
- $121.1 million in personal income and local consumption expenditures
- $38.5 million in federal and state tax revenue
“The Port of Monroe represents the closest convergence of major freight assets anywhere in the region with deep-draft frontage on the River Raisin, direct rail Class 1 rail access, and immediate access to I-75. As Michigan’s only port on Lake Erie, the Port of Monroe serves as the gateway to the State of Michigan’s far reaching multimodal transportation network and this report highlights the significant economic impact that the ‘Biggest Little Port’ has on our region,” says Paul C. LaMarre III, Director, Port of Monroe. “This report is evidence that multimodal commerce is vital to the economic prosperity of our region. At the Port of Monroe, we proudly support the mariner and Great Lakes region.”
“The study reflects the important contributions the Port of Monroe provides to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region,” says Steven A. Fisher, Executive Director of the American Great Lakes Ports Association. “The jobs supported by the maritime industry include not only those located directly on the waterfront – shipyard workers, stevedores, vessel operators, terminal employees, truck drivers and marine pilots – but also grain farmers, construction works, miners and steelworkers. Many of these jobs would vanish if not for a dynamic maritime industry.”
The Economic Impacts of Port of Monroe full report can be downloaded at www.greatlakesseaway.org/economy.
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway Navigation System
Economic Impacts of the Port of Monroe is a companion report to the broader Great Lakes-St. Lawrence study titled Economic Impacts of Maritime Shipping in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region, a year-long study of the economic impacts of the entire Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway navigation system.
The study reports that in 2017 in Michigan, maritime commerce supported:
- $4.1 billion in economic activity
- 25,910 jobs
- 59 million metric tons of cargo handled
- $1.7 billion in personal income and local consumption expenditures
- $763.2 million in federal, state & local taxes
The study reports that in 2017 in the United States and Canada, maritime commerce supported:
- 237,868 jobs
- $35 billion in economic activity
- $14.2 billion in personal income and local consumption expenditures
- $6.6 billion in federal, state/provincial and local tax revenue
The Economic Impacts of Maritime Shipping in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region Executive Summary and full report can be downloaded at http://greatlakesseaway.org/economy.
* The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System includes impacts of domestic and international cargo that has travelled at some point through the Great Lakes, its connecting rivers and the St. Lawrence Seaway (ending at St. Lambert Lock in Montreal). It excludes Quebec commerce that moves exclusively between Canadian ports on the lower St. Lawrence River, as well as commerce between these Canadian lower St. Lawrence River ports and overseas ports.
About the Port of Monroe
The Port of Monroe is Michigan’s only port on Lake Erie and serves as the gateway to the State of Michigan’s far reaching multimodal transportation network. Located on the deep-draft frontage of the River Raisin, with direct rail Class 1 rail access, and immediately adjacent to I-75, the Port of Monroe represents the closest convergence of major freight assets anywhere in the region. This accessibility coupled with efficient cargo handling, economic freight rates and a highly accommodating Port management team have earned us the reputation of being the “Mariner’s Port” to our customers and “The Biggest Little Port” on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway System.
For more information, please visit www.portofmonroe.com.
About the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership
The Great Lakes Seaway Partnership is a coalition of leading US and Canadian maritime organizations working to enhance public understanding of the benefits of commercial shipping in the Great Lakes Seaway region of North America. The organization manages an education-focused communications program, sponsors research and works closely with media, policy makers, community groups, allied industries, environmental stakeholders and the general public to highlight the positive attributes of marine transportation.
For more information, please visit www.greatlakesseaway.org.
About the Economic Impacts Study
The Economic Impacts of Maritime Shipping in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region, which uses 2017 data, was conducted by economic consultants Martin Associates of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a global leader in transportation economic analysis and strategic planning. Martin Associates was retained to perform this analysis by a coalition of U.S. and Canadian Great Lakes and St. Lawrence marine industry stakeholders, including: Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, the American Great Lakes Ports Association, the Chamber of Marine Commerce, the Lake Carriers Association, and the Shipping Federation of Canada. The analysis was developed from comprehensive interviews with more than 750 individual firms with 1,105 operations throughout the region. The report provides the navigation community, transportation planners, government policy makers and the general public with an assessment of the economic impacts of the entire Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway navigation system.
