2022 Martin Associates Economic Study

Maritime commerce on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River is critical to the economies of the United States and Canada. The Martin Associates Economic Study seeks to measure and evaluate commerce and present a description of its economic impacts. Because of the geographic scope of the study area and the diverse stakeholders who might make use of this data, the study presents its results in numerous ways and from many perspectives.

Key Figures

GREAT LAKES ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY

GREAT LAKES ST. LAWRENCE WATERWAY

Who is Martin Associates?

Martin Associates of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is a leading provider of economic analysis and consulting services to the maritime industry. Since 1986, the company has developed more than 1,500 economic impact, strategic planning, financial feasibility and market studies for major ports and waterway systems throughout the United States and Canada, as well as for ports in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. Martin Associates’ clients include port authorities, marine terminal operators, private investment groups, ocean carriers and federal, provincial, and state governments, as well as maritime trade organizations.

How was this project developed?

This analysis estimates the combined U.S. and Canadian economic impacts of all marine cargo moving in the bi-national Great Lakes- St. Lawrence region, including domestic cargo moving between U.S. ports; domestic cargo moving between Canadian ports; cross-lake cargo moving between the U.S. and Canada; and international cargo moving between system ports and overseas ports.

The study measures the impacts of 2022 cargo movements at 40 U.S. and Canadian ports. The analysis was developed from a comprehensive telephone interview program of more than 800 individual firms with more than 1,100 operations throughout the region. Models were then developed to expand the 40-port impacts to the state-wide and province-wide levels.

Partners

The following organizations served as members of the project steering committee and provided confidential data, guidance and oversight for this study: