Describe the product/service your company provides? We provide seamless cargo handling, storage, distribution, and transportation logistics services for bulk, breakbulk, heavy-lift, project and containerized cargoes moving in and out of North America’s heartland via the Port of Duluth-Superior – North America’s furthest-inland seaport.
 
Our Clure Public Marine Terminal on Rice’s Point in Duluth serves as the region’s multimodal logistics hub. It’s a robust facility with six ship berths for vessels sailing the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, a ro-ro dock, heavy-lift cranes and cargo-handling machinery, 25+ acres of secure laydown space, 500,000+ square feet of warehousing capacity, on-dock service from four Class I railroads and seamless connections to the region’s highway and interstate system. We also offer Foreign Trade Zone benefits and an intermodal terminal with rail connections to the Gulf Coast, East Coast and West Coast, plus full waterborne container-handling capabilities for import and export.
 
We’ve earned a reputation for responsive, efficient, personalized service and customer satisfaction. Twice we’ve been ranked the top port in North America by the Railway Industrial Clearance Association, and we were selected the world’s Port/Terminal Operator of the Year by Heavy Lift & Project Forwarding International magazine in 2019.
 
How does your company impact a specific industry? We support business in our region by providing tailored supply chain solutions. Utilizing our numerous transportation connections, wide range of facility services and amenities, and with the help of our quality workforce, we aim to bring value to our customers through optionality of services, global reach, and ease of use. We are successful when we help our customers bring raw materials to their facilities or goods to market in a cost-competitive and efficient manner. If our customers are winning more business, investing in their facilities, and hiring more staff as a result of better access to global markets through our terminal, we are doing our part to support the regional economy and help our customers succeed.
 
Company history
 
When was the company started and who founded it? Duluth Cargo Connect is a working partnership of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, which owns the Clure Terminal, and Lake Superior Warehousing, which operates the terminal assets. That relationship began in 1991.
 
When has there been major changes to the produce line or expansions? Since 2016, we’ve completed more than $35 million in capital projects in and around the Duluth Cargo Connect facilities, spanning everything from rail improvements to opening a new 26-acre terminal expansion to purchasing equipment, like a new reachstacker and security systems.
 
Most recently, we put the finishing touches on a new 56,000-square foot, truck- and rail-served warehouse expansion that opened in August 2023. Additionally, we’re utilizing federal Port Infrastructure Development Program grant funds and state DOT funds to help upgrade our two oldest dock walls, which will help us activate additional acreage for cargo-handling. We’re exploring new cranes as well, and we just completed the replacement and modernization of an additional 1,144 feet of on-dock rail track.
 
Customers
 
Who are your customers? Cargo owners, manufacturers, producers, retailers and industries throughout multiple U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
 
Where are they located? 32 countries across six continents linked through Duluth Cargo Connect for import or export in 2022.
 
Who should prospects contact at your company? Jonathan Lamb, president of Duluth Cargo Connect, or Pete Kramer, director of business development. Jonathan’s email is jonathan.lamb@duluthcargo.com and Pete’s email address is peter.kramer@duluthcargo.com. They can both be reached by telephone at 218-727-6646.
 
Future
 
Are there currently plans to expand or change? We handle such a diverse breadth of cargo, and the cargo logistics business itself is very diverse, so we always have an eye toward new opportunities. Opening our new warehouse expansion in August was an example of that, as we expanded capacity to better serve regional manufacturers. Those kinds of facilities, infrastructure and equipment upgrades provide opportunities for us to expand our service offerings; in fact, we plan these projects with expanded service in mind.
 
Other questions
 
How has AMFA benefited your company? AMFA is an important partner in ensuring that the regional economic output is competitive on a global scale. We have hosted AMFA groups on our terminal twice in the last 10 years. It’s a great connection for helping local and regional manufacturers with their supply chains. Our relationship allows them to learn about Duluth’s global access and how they can use it to expand their market reach.