SSGA tours Port of Duluth

The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance experienced a closer look at the burgeoning shipping opportunities at the Port of Duluth-Superior during a visit with four Moroccan buyers as part of a trade mission led by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC).

SSGA Manager of Strategic Programs Shane Frederick visited SSGA members Hansen-Mueller and Duluth Seaway Port Authority during the tour of the Hansen-Mueller Elevator in Duluth.

“You’re seeing history here,” Facility Manager Jeff Blaskowski said of Hansen-Mueller, which acquired the facility in 2022 after several years of vacancies. “This is a cool, old elevator.”

The Hansen-Mueller facility can store 3.5 million bushels of grain and stands 195 feet above the bar. The site also supports nine legs and has a nearly 2,000-foot dock and on-dock rail service from BNSF Railway. The facility was built in the late 1800s – “You’re not going to see a lot of automation here – yet,” Blaskowski said – and can export small grains, plus soybeans and meal, from the United States and Canada to both domestic and international customers.

Following the Hansen-Mueller visit, the delegation, which included buyers from Morocco’s feed milling industry, toured the Port of Duluth-Superior.

Though the port still ships about a million tons of grain annually – wheat and beet pulp pellets are some of the top exported commodities – iron ore is far and away the most popular material exported from the Port of Duluth-Superior, which first opened for commercial shipping over 150 years ago. The port is the continent’s furthest inland seaport and the highest-ranking port on the Great Lakes, attracting about 900 vessels each year. Shippers prefer shipping via Duluth-Superior party because traffic is uncongested; traffic on the Seaway could double and ships and barges would still flow freely.

“The great thing about the Great Lakes is we can offer a diversified supply chain for many of these shippers utilizing the coast,” said Kate Ferguson, director of trade and business development with the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “So many companies want to diversify their risks, and we know the Great Lakes can be a reliable chain.”

Grain shipments at the port dipped by 20% in 2022, the port’s smallest grain throughput since 1890. The port hasn’t moved soybeans in about five years, and overall grain exports could drop again in 2023.

“It was great to visit with our members, and see the potential shipping opportunities at the Hansen-Mueller facility in Duluth,” Frederick said “We appreciated the opportunity to visit the Port of Duluth-Superior and tell our story.”