This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” features an interview with Dean Haen, director of the Port of Green Bay.
Local officials recently announced the economic impact of the port reached $217.3 million last year, marking a $70 million increase since 2017. Plus, the port supports 1,620 jobs in the state — an increase of 331 jobs over the same period.
“That’s a significant increase, and it demonstrates the strength of northeastern Wisconsin’s economy,” he said.
The port largely serves the state’s agricultural, manufacturing and construction industries, Haen explains. Its 14 terminal operators, which are spread across a three-mile portion of the Fox River, collectively moved more than 1.75 million tons of cargo during last year’s shipping season.
According to Haen, the additional jobs are largely due to shifts in the types of cargo passing through the port, rather than additional capacity.
“We’ve made a focus years ago to try to diversify the cargo offerings the port has, so we can weather the ups and downs of different economies, different industries,” he said. “And that diversification is really the driver … During this window of time, coal has decreased in use from over 1 million tons per year down to less than 200,000. We’ve been able to back-fill that with more diversified cargo offerings.”
He also touches on recent supply chain trends, impacting both the port’s clients and its own plans.
“You’ve got all this construction going on, so when we’re trying to build a new port facility, the cost of steel is tripled,” he said. “Because you’ve got all this infrastructure money, you’ve got limited contractors and they’re all trying to pull from the same supply chain.”
Listen to the podcast below, sponsored by UW-Madison:
