GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — It was a big year for shipping on the Great Lakes.
2019’s shipping totals at the Port of Green Bay were the highest since 2007, and that’s a good sign, says Port Director Dean Haen.
“It’s a sign that the regional economy has held strong,” Haen told WTAQ. “And it continues to be strong.”
2.25 million tons of cargo moved through the port last year, those numbers driven primarily by raw material shipping. That amounts to around $320 million.
“The port receives a lot of raw materials,” Haen said. “So that goes to manufacturers, it goes to the agricultural community and the construction industry.”
The port’s service area stretches all the way down to Sheboygan, west to Wausau, and north through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
“We saw 177 ships, which, under normal water conditions, we would have seen over 200,” said Haen. “But with the high water conditions those ships were able to carry significantly more tonnage.”
Haen says he expects the trend to continue in through the summer of next year.
