Welcome to the Great Lakes cargo capital.
We move mountains of bulk material – an average of 35 million short tons each year.
Port Statistics
THE PORT OF DULUTH-SUPERIOR
TRANSPORTS APPROXIMATELY
20 MILLION
TONS OF IRON ORE EACH
SHIPPING SEASON,
MOST OF ANY
AMERICAN PORT
TRANSPORTS APPROXIMATELY
20 MILLION
TONS OF IRON ORE EACH
SHIPPING SEASON,
MOST OF ANY
AMERICAN PORT
Minnesota provides 80% of the iron ore used in America's first-pour steel.
MORE THAN
1 MILLION
TONS OF GRAIN MOVE THROUGH
THE PORT OF DULUTH-SUPERIOR
EACH SEASON, MAKING IT OUR
NO.1 EXPORT.
1 MILLION
TONS OF GRAIN MOVE THROUGH
THE PORT OF DULUTH-SUPERIOR
EACH SEASON, MAKING IT OUR
NO.1 EXPORT.
Wheat from America's heartland comprises the bulk of that float, helping feed the world. Other typical grain cargoes from our port include sugar beet pulp pellets, flax and canola.
Discover our complete list of commodities and the terminals that handle those materials in Duluth-Superior.
Let’s Talk Tonnage
The Port of Duluth-Superior’s navigation season runs from March through January, and the Duluth Seaway Port Authority creates monthly maritime tonnage reports to track what’s moving. Tonnage figures are reported in short tons. View the reports below to see monthly tonnage/vessel visit statistics, plus season-end reports. The historic tonnage figures document traces harbor statistics back to 1871 for major commodities shipped through the Port of Duluth-Superior.
Navigation Season / Tonnage Reports
Port Facts
Port Location
Westernmost tip of Lake Superior, the
world’s largest freshwater lake (by surface area),
and the greatest of the Great Lakes (though we might be a little biased).
2,342 miles (3,769 km) inland from the Atlantic Ocean;
less than a week’s sailing time to arrive at North America’s furthest-inland seaport.
Think of us as the Fresh Coast.
601 feet (183 meters)
above sea level.
WATERFRONT
49 MILES
(79 KM) LONG
with 19 miles (30.6 km)
of dredged channels
19 SQUARE MILES
(49 KM2)
of water in a naturally protected harbor
Tonnage/Principal Cargoes
Approximately
35 million short tons
of maritime cargo annually.
Principal cargoes:
Iron ore (55%), Coal (15%), Limestone (10%), Grain (5-10%), Other (5-10%).
Annual average of
nearly 800 vessel visits.
Primary Outbound Cargo:
Iron ore, coal and grain.
Primary Inbound Cargo:
Limestone, cement, salt, energy-related project cargo.
Maximum size through 15 sets of Seaway locks
Maximum size through Soo locks (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan)
Port of Duluth-Superior Docks/Terminals
Major facilities include:
2
Ore Docks
1
coal transshipment terminal
10
Bulk terminals
7
grain elevators (55-million-bushel capacity)
1
general cargo terminal/ distribution hub
1
fueling depot
1
shipyard w/2 dry docks
RANKING BY CARGO LOADINGS*
Port Ranking* (total cargo volumne)
ORE
NO. 1
nationally.
COAL
NO. 7
nationally.
Largest dry bulk port in the U.S.
space
NO. 1
Great Lakes
space
NO. 19
nationally.
*U.S Army Corps of Engineers 2018
Navigation Season
Oceangoing dates may be seasonally adjusted.
Great Lakes
TO
Oceangoing
TO
About Lake Superior
world's
largest
freshwater lake
(by surface area)
water surface area
31,700 sq. mi.
(82,100 km2)
Largest
of the five
Great Lakes
Deepest Point
1,332 FT.
(406 meters)
Volume
3 Quadrillion
Gallons of Water
(i.e 3,000,000,000,000,000 gallons or 11.4 quadrillion liters)
