Navigation St. Lawrence River, St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system is a vital resource. As one of the world's greatest and most strategic waterways, it is also an essential part of North America's transportation infrastructure. The system enables and facilitates significant domestic and international trade for the continent's largest interior markets including the industrial, manufacturing, agricultural and natural resource sectors. Comprised of the St. Lawrence River, St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes, covered a 2, 000 nmile marine highway that runs between Canada and the United States. Water flows directly into commercial, industrial and agricultural heartland, home to some 100 million people. Since its inception in 1959, various commodities have moved through the St. Lawrence Seaway System including: iron ore ; grain ; coke ; furnace slags ; semi-finished steel ; pig iron and various chemicals. Cargo moves freely along the waterway reliably arriving at its destination on time. Some 41 ports serve as on/off ramps connecting to a vast network of roadways and rail lines providing complete door-to-door service. Greater fuel efficiency is realized as ships use only 10% to 20% of the energy required by trucks. This transport guaranteeing highly competitive unit costs.