Schumer Says Funding Will Allow Port To Expand Operations and Purchase New Equipment – Leading To 19 New Jobs, Increased Export Capacity, And Better Access To Global Markets For Local Businesses
OSWEGO, NY – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Port of Oswego has been awarded a $4 million grant through the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to improve rail infrastructure and purchase new cargo handling equipment. Schumer says this funding will provide the harbor with essential equipment and railroad upgrades, leading to 19 new jobs, increased export capacity, and better access to global markets for local businesses.
“The Port of Oswego is vital to Upstate New York’s economy, connecting local businesses with markets across the world, and it is essential this economic engine has the necessary resources and equipment to help industry grow. This $4 million federal boost will help the Port of Oswego increase export capacity, enhancing its ability to serve local farmers, food producers, and businesses who depend on the Port,” said Senator Schumer. “The Port of Oswego can now go full steam ahead on purchasing new equipment and upgrading their site, leading to more jobs, better service to customers, and new business. I am proud to deliver the federal funding to help grow the Port’s operations in the region, ease our supply chain issues, and upgrading the Port’s infrastructure to keep their presence strong in Central New York for generations to come.”
“This $4 million grant adds to the $513 million in economic momentum we’ve generated during the past five years, according to a just released joint U.S./Canadian study,” said William Scriber, Executive Director of the Port of Oswego Authority. “This funding will allow us to expand our rail operations and purchase a new ship loader to better serve our customers, grow our export capacity, attract new business and help local businesses reach global markets. This is also part of our expanding efforts to make it easier for regional farmers to work with us to export grain. As the only port on Lake Ontario, our grain storage and handling facility is of critical importance to both regional farmers and NY state’s presence in international markets. We especially want to thank Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for his support in securing this funding for our port and the jobs and economic gains it will generate.”
Schumer said that the $4 million federal investment will support the procurement of a radial telescopic ship loader conveyer and upgrades to the railroad track at the port, supporting local producers and businesses by increasing the port’s capacity to access domestic and international markets. Schumer explained that the port offers multi-modal connectivity, enabling it to economically and efficiently handling cargoes, as it offers international and domestic shippers year-round access to industrial and agricultural markets. While the Port of Oswego has been expanding its capacity to increase the handling of agricultural products, the port’s loading and unloading capabilities are limited because it uses a small portable conveyer and payloader, limiting its ability to meet customers’ calls for an increase in exports. Now, thanks to the EDA funding, the Port of Oswego will be able to acquire new equipment and make the necessary upgrades to modernize and diversify its operations and infrastructure.
Schumer explained that the Port of Oswego, the first port on the Great Lakes system and only deep-water port on Lake Ontario, has four operating businesses that use its harbor and two marinas that are integral to Central New York’s agriculture and manufacturing sectors. Schumer went on to say that the port, which has long been a major economic driver for Oswego County and Central New York, has stepped it up a notch in recent years by adding new equipment, updating aging infrastructure, marketing more aggressively, improving customer relations, and focusing on government partnership. As a result, the Port of Oswego now makes up 63% of the business revenue, 49% of the economic activity and 43% of local purchases of the New York ports on the Great Lakes. Waterborne transportation facilitated by the port supports $24.4 million in business revenue, 119 direct, indirect, ,and induced jobs, and $8 million in labor income to the transportation sector. Since 2018, the Port of Oswego has made over a half a billion dollar impact on New York’s economy, making it a major contributor to the overall economic viability of upstate New York.
Schumer has a long history of fighting to deliver robust funding to protect the Port of Oswego and Oswego Harbor. In January 2023, Schumer secured $18 million for critical repairs to Oswego Harbor to upgrade a damaged break wall. In October 2022, the Senator secured over $750,000 for the Port to purchase a new environmentally friendly reach stacker to bolster port operations, and in March 2022, Schumer delivered $5.9 million to jumpstart repairs to Oswego Harbor’s West Arrowhead Breakwater and make other critical upgrades to the aging Oswego West Pierhead Lighthouse. In 2019, Schumer successfully pushed the USACE to fund a feasibility study on the deepening of the Port of Oswego Channel, and he helped secure a waiver allowing the Port of Oswego to export tens-of-thousands of tons worth of soybeans from local farmers to promising international markets.
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