Great Lakes Port Data | 2020 Top 50 Global Freight

2020 Essential Revenue and Operating Information for the 50 Largest Global Freight Carriers

Up Front

Freight carriers across the world experienced dramatic market shifts and volume swings in 2020.
The new trade deal between U.S., Mexico and Canada provides market certainty for North American trade.
The world’s largest freight carriers have navigated unprecedented circumstances due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Rankings

 

Great Lakes

Port Name City Type of Freight TEUs Volume of Freight Tonnage
Ashtabula Harbor Ashtabula, Ohio dry bulk NA 4,254,537
Buffington Harbor Buffington, Ind. NA NA 1,634,865
Drummond Island Port Drummond Island, Mich. NA NA 1,260,854
Fairport Harbor Point Fairport Harbor, Ohio NA NA 1,957,879
Indiana Harbor East Chicago, Ind. dry bulk, liquid bulk, heavy lift NA 11,910,541
Port Clinton Marblehead, Ohio NA NA 1,889,279
Port Dolomite Clark Township, Mich. NA NA 2,766,412
Port Inland Gulliver, Mich. NA NA 4,327,245
Port of Alpena Alpena, Mich. NA NA 2,237,836
Port of Calcite Calcite, Mich. special project cargo NA 7,759,361
Port of Chicago Chicago dry bulk, liquid bulk NA 16,866,792
Port of Cleveland Cleveland container, dry bulk, liquid bulk, heavy lift, special project cargo NA 11,778,910
Port of Conneaut Conneaut, Ohio NA NA 3,487,058
Port of Detroit Detroit dry bulk, liquid bulk, passenger NA 14,837,762
Port of Duluth-Superior Duluth, Minn., and Superior, Wis. break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, heavy lift, passenger NA 35,102,200
Port of Gary Gary, Ind. NA NA 8,600,449
Port of Grand Haven Grand Haven, Mich. NA NA 1,321,003
Port of Green Bay Green Bay, Wis. dry bulk, liquid bulk NA 2,156,416
Port of Hamilton Hamilton, Ontario container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, special project cargo NA 11,628,319
Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor Portage, Ind. container, dry bulk, liquid bulk, heavy lift NA 8,496,097
Port of Milwaukee Milwaukee dry bulk NA 2,301,557
Port of Monroe Monroe, Mich. NA NA 1,195,210
Port of Montreal Montreal container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, passenger NA 38,041,530
Port of Sandusky Sandusky, Ohio NA NA 2,247,534
Port of Silver Bay Silver Bay, Minn. NA NA 6,248,656
Port of St. Clair St. Clair, Mich. NA NA 6,192,710
Port of Stoneport Stoneport, Mich. NA NA 4,141,455
Port of Toledo Toledo, Ohio NA NA 8,899,825
Port of Toronto Toronto container, break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, passenger NA 2,172,750
Presque Isle Harbor Presque Isle, Mich. NA NA 7,473,094
Two Harbors Two Harbors, Minn. dry bulk NA 17,208,207

Extras

Seaports have experienced huge volume swings in 2020.
If your company appears in the 2020 list, you have a few ways to announce it. Visit our logo library to get web- and print-ready graphics.
North America’s busiest cargo airports.
Learn more about Transport Topics’ Top 50 Global Freight Carriers publication.
Find out where the Top 50 Global Freight Carriers are based.
FedEx and UPS face their biggest test yet amid e-commerce growth and early holiday shopping.

Global Freight News

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Trucking Prepares for Subdued 2025 Holiday Shipping Season

Carriers attribute the softer outlook to shippers front-loading inventory earlier in the year due to tariff concerns, combined with cautious consumer spending amid inflation worries.

November 20, 2025
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UPS Plane That Crashed in Kentucky Had Cracks in Engine Mount

A series of photos released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the left engine coming off the UPS plane and flying up and over the wing as it rolled down the runway.

November 20, 2025
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Walmart Raises Profit Expectations as Americans Hunt Deals

Walmart posted strong sales and profits that blew past Wall Street expectations as it sets itself up for a strong holiday shopping season.

November 20, 2025
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USPS Announces Major Changes to Shipping Prices in 2026

The changes will raise shipping services prices approximately 6.6% for Priority Mail service, 5.1% for Priority Mail Express service, 7.8% for USPS Ground Advantage, and 6% for Parcel Select.

November 20, 2025
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FedEx CEO Says Global Supply Chain Shocks to Persist

The changes to global trade and supply chains driven by factors including technology and geopolitical risks are likely to persist over the long term, according to FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam.

November 20, 2025
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US-China Trade Truce May Ease Logistics Costs, DP World Says

“It will definitely be positive for the cost of logistics,” said Mohammed Akoojee. “Up until now, the trade war has increased the cost of logistics in terms of freight rates and duties.”

November 18, 2025
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Amazon Attracts About $80 Billion of Orders for US Bond Sale

Amazon is the world’s largest seller of rented computing, which is critical to powering AI systems. The company has been investing heavily in data centers and chips to build and run AI models.

November 17, 2025
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Postmaster General Says USPS Should Boost Final-Mile Delivery

David Steiner said USPS should work with more customers to provide final- or last-mile delivery to individual homes and businesses, the most expensive and labor-intensive part of delivery.

November 17, 2025
BusinessTechnologyEquipmentLogisticsFor-HireGlobal Freight

Ford Taps Amazon to Let Shoppers Buy Its Used Cars Online

Ford joins Hyundai Motor on the Amazon Autos portal, which allows car buyers to browse, finance and purchase a used car by clicking on the familiar “add to cart” icon.

November 17, 2025
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UPS Driver Joins Actor Glen Powell for 'SNL' Monologue

Powell lamented that, for the past four years, the UPS driver might have thought he was a liar. So when he got the call to host "SNL," he and his family decided to make things right.

November 17, 2025

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