North Star Port

eadwinds battered the Port of Duluth- Superior in 2025, as market trends, shift- ing trade lanes and geopolitics turned against the Great Lakes' tonnage capital, stifling waterborne cargo movement. • Total tonnage finished at 25,297,084 short tons—the lowest since 1938. • Overseas trade fell to its lowest point since prior to the St. Lawrence Seaway opening in 1959. • Oceangoing vessel calls to Duluth- Superior slipped to a Seaway Era low (44). • Grain tonnage dipped to its lowest level since 1890. • Canadian trade dropped to late-1980s levels. Bulk cargo movement slowed the most, with iron ore, limestone, grain, coal, cement and salt all declining against the five-season average. "The season began and ended with idled mines on the Iron Range, which cut taconite production and ultimately led to iron ore tonnage falling 15% com- pared to 2024," said Kevin Beardsley, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. "That translated into about 3 million tons of lost cargo for Duluth- Superior and the majority of lost trade with Canada." A reduction in coal shipments shaved almost a million more tons from the port's total float year over year. Grain, though comparatively less in tonnage, posted an even larger drop by percentage, sinking more than 35% compared to 2024. "The grain trade fell coming out of the pandemic in 2021 and hasn't recovered," said Beardsley. "It's a variety of factors, mostly economic and geopolitical." Those diminished coal and grain exports sunk Duluth-Superior's overseas tonnage by more than 30% compared to 2024. "Anything that affects global trade affects our port, and right now, those factors are working against Duluth- Superior and U.S. Great Lakes ports as a whole," said Beardsley. Breakbulk cargo emerged as the port's lone highlight, narrowly exceeding 2024 2 | NORTH STAR PORT | WINTER 2026 SEASON SUMMARY PHOTOS / David Schauer, Gus Schauer, Adam Bjornberg Beating into the wind H Erie Trader/ Clyde S. VanEnkevort

• Cover