In recognition of its contributions to economic development in Central New York, the Port of Oswego Authority was named a CenterState CEO Economic Champion at a Nov. 16 celebration luncheon.
The port was singled out for winning the Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter award for the fourth time in the past five years for its increases in international tonnage shipped through the St. Lawrence Seaway, as well as its $15 million investment in its New York State Grain Export Center.
“We are gratified for this recognition,” said William Scriber, port CEO and executive director. “It further reinforces our resurgence as a positive economic generator for Oswego County and for our region.
“Since 2017, we’ve grown to be one of the top five ports on the Great Lakes and built more than a half a billion dollars in economic development. A U.S./Canadian research study showed that the port made a $513 million impact on the local and regional economy, generated $201.2 million in wages and salaries, and jobs supported by marine cargo activity rose from 209 in 2018 to 2,229 in 2023—a 996.5% increase. In addition, Oswego is the only Great Lakes port to be designated as a U. S. Department of Transportation Marine Highway.”
Port board member, Thomas Schneider, applauded the efforts of the port: “The Port of Oswego has made tremendous strides in the past five years to increase both the tonnage we handle and our positive economic impact on our region. I applaud our entire team at the port for their great work to make this happen.”
According to CenterState, the celebration luncheon recognized the collective contributions of 369 companies and organizations to the growth and vibrancy of the Central New York economy. Companies were nominated as Economic Champions for their accomplishments throughout the year by CenterState CEO and the Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce, the Upstate Minority Economic Alliance, the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, peers, employees and staff, as well as self-nominations.
According to Scriber, the port is poised for another record shipping year in 2024 and is in a unique position to enable the delivery of components and materials that Micron will be shipping in for the construction of their new Clay facility.
“We are an intermodal facility,” Scriber said, “So we have truck and rail shipping ability right here, along with tremendous storage capacity and we’re New York’s only Lake Ontario port.”
