Duluth Cargo Connect is a Regional Economic Asset

On September 7, 2017, Vanta Coda II, Executive Director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, and Jonathan Lamb, President of Lake Superior Warehousing, presented the benefits of their 25-year partnership to APEX investor-members. The relationship, traditionally an operational partnership, was formally branded in 2016 as Duluth Cargo Connect (DCC). In addition to the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and Lake Superior Warehousing, Canadian National Railway (CN) is also an integral part of the organization.

Duluth Cargo Connect provides seamless cargo handling, storage, distribution and transportation logistics services for breakbulk, heavy lift and other project cargoes moving in and out of the region. Leveraging the Canadian National Railway, Duluth Cargo Connect customers have access to three coasts – the East, West and Gulf. In addition, customers have access to three Class I railroads – the Union Pacific, Canadian Pacific and BNSF.

The intermodal addition to the Port provides new opportunities for regional manufacturers to take advantage of efficiencies in the supply chain. “The business of logistics is all about efficiency – we’re helping our customers bend the supply chain,” stated Coda. An example of a customer leveraging the Duluth Cargo Connect services is North Dakota farmers transporting goods to Japan. Traditionally, North Dakota would not have been included in the Port’s capture area – today, that area expands several hundred miles in each direction.
“For us, it’s about our ability to move cargo quicker. It’s much more convenient than the Twin Cities and has warehousing capacity, too. In some cases, we expect to see up to a third in freight cost savings by utilizing the new CN Intermodal Terminal in Duluth. Quite honestly, it is just a lot less expensive for us to ship through Duluth,” stated David Claypool, Sales and Marketing Manager with Lexington Manufacturing, based in Brainerd, MN.

As congestion in major inland and coastal ports continues to increase due to demand and natural disasters, Coda and Lamb predict the region will see a surge of manufacturing and light industry-related businesses.

To learn more about Duluth Cargo Connect, visit the website or call Kate Ferguson at 218-740-5422.