Toledo, Great Lakes ports could expand container capabilities
Oct. 24—The Port of Cleveland saw demand double in the past eight years after it installed container offloading capabilities. The Port of Monroe believes it is the future of cargo and is constructing a container port now, in hopes of starting to unload container ships by 2023.
Could the Port of Toledo do the same?
Yes, said Joe Cappel, vice president of business development for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, but it will take some time and money.
The Port of Toledo is already at capacity with bulk, breakbulk, and "project" cargo, Mr. Cappel said.
The categories cover commodities such as coal, large items such as coils of steel and heavy equipment, and oversized items, such wind-turbine and crane parts.
He said the port authority's docks are fully leased, and that expanding the port to accommodate container traffic would be a decision that would have to be based on whether the market would support the investment.
The up-front costs would include clearing a large amount of real estate and getting U.S. Customs to staff an office at the port — after building the agency an office at a likely cost of about $1 million.
"We have containers coming through the area on rail, so it's possible and in the big scheme of things we could help relieve some of the pressure on the overall system, but realistically it would be a drop in the bucket," he said.
He noted that the ships dropping their anchors deep off the California coast each carry between 10,000 and 20,000 metal shipping containers. The ships steaming through the St. Lawrence Seaway max out at about 800 containers.
"We can play a role in this and there's no reason we can't handle containers, but it will just be on a smaller scale and it's not something that can happen overnight," Mr. Cappel said.
Mr. Cappel said a dock for handling containers would require "significant" real estate to accommodate the ships, the truck traffic, a large number of containers, and the required Customs, Homeland Security, and Coast Guard facilities and equipment.
Jim Weakley, president of the Ohio-based Lake Carriers' Association, said the Great Lakes ports and the St. Lawrence Seaway are more than up to the task of expanding the region's profile in maritime shipping.
"It makes perfect sense. I think it's right on the money," he said. Mr. Weakley said the biggest hangup has always been the size of the Welland Canal, which connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and the locks. Those choke points in the Seaway can't handle the huge container ships, but a feeder service and smaller ships have worked well in the past.
Mr. Weakley believes the St. Lawrence Seaway and the ports of the Great Lakes can be a lifeline for those overwhelmed ocean ports, and stream goods from across the globe into the heartland.
"There are stumbling blocks, but there are also lots of reasons to move containers and all of these materials in the Midwest," he said. "The technology exists, the motivation exists and the expertise exists. We have the talent — our vessel masters are the best in the world — they are making a dock or a lock every other day."
