The Port of Milwaukee helped export a massive Joy Global Inc. mining shovel to Manzanillo, Mexico last week.
The Milwaukee manufacturer’s shovel was loaded in about 250 parts onto the intermarine vessel “Ocean Crescent,” a U.S. flagged ship normally used for transporting military cargo for the U.S. Department of Defense.
“It’s a huge logistical challenge to load the ship and to get all the pieces stowed in the ship in the way that they need to stow it,” said Jeff Fleming, Department of City Development spokesman.
The ship will travel to the western coast of Mexico via the Saint Lawrence seaway and the Panama Canal, which will take about three weeks.
The Port also received a large import delivery last week, as 15 enormous brewing tanks were delivered for New Glarus-based brewery New Glarus Brewing Company. The tanks came from northern Europe, and the most efficient, convenient and cost-effective method of shipment was by sea, Fleming said.
There are also lots of raw materials shipments coming into the port each day and salt deliveries are up this year compared to last year.
“In some sense, it’s a reflection of the economy,” he said. “When industries need raw material, they often use the Port of Milwaukee, when they’re shipping finished goods, they’re using the Port of Milwaukee, and both incoming and outgoing cargo reflects the state of the economy.”
