CORNWALL, Ont. – It will cost shippers more to transport their goods along the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario this year.
The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation announced today (Jan. 9) a one per cent increase in tolls for various types of cargo, storage and docking.
But if you like to go through the locks in your own boat, there’s no change, it’s still $30 per lock.
When the seaway opens this spring, it will cost carriers $1.14 cents per metric ton for bulk cargo, 70 cents for grain and coal and $2.76 for general cargo.
General cargo is anything that isn’t in containers and isn’t shovelled, pumped, blown or scooped into a ship.
The corporation handles about 160 million metric tons of cargo every year.
The St. Lawrence Seaway closed on Dec. 31 and won’t open until sometime in late March or early April, depending on the weather.
The seaway closed out 2018 with a roughly six per cent increase in the number of ships travelling its waters, as of the end of November, compared to 2017. It was buoyed by 17-18 per cent increases in tonnage for grain, coal and liquid goods.