Fewer Trucks Crossing Border Via Ontario’s Bridges

WINDSOR, ON — Many bridges connecting Ontario to Michigan or New York had less truck traffic in 2013 than they did in 2012.

On the Ambassador Bridge, which handles a quarter of U.S.- Canada trade, truck traffic was down by 7.03 percent.

The President of the Ambassador Bridge, Dan Stamper told the Windsor Star that the drop in truck traffic is in part due to the Canadian manufacturing sector: “Mostly it’s that manufacturing is not as strong in Canada as in the past. A lot of manufacturing has moved to Mexico and southern states in the U.S. We are seeing that switch in manufacturing in the traffic patterns.”

Each month, border operators give traffic data to the Public Border Operators Association (PBOA) and the latest released numbers show an overall decrease of 2.28 percent.

Here’s the total annual truck traffic, per bridge, at the end of November 2013:

• 165,103 fewer trucks or a 7.03-percent drop in truck traffic on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor, ON to Detroit, MI.
• A 3.99-percent increase, or 54,798 more trucks on the Blue Water Bridge, which connects Sarnia, ON to Port Huron, MI.
• A 16.75-percent drop or 5,633 fewer trucks on the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel
• A 2.14-percent or 1,395 more trucks on the Ogdensburg Bridge, which connects Johnston, ON to Ogdensburg, NY.
• A 1.99-percent drop or 23, 391 fewer trucks on the Peace Bridge, which connects Fort Erie, ON to Buffalo, NY.
• A 0.68-percent drop or 614 fewer trucks on the Sault Ste. Marie Bridge, which connects Sault Ste. Marie, ON with Sault Ste. Marie, MI.
• A 3.79-percent drop or 2,818 fewer trucks on the Seaway International Bridge, which connects Cornwall, ON to Akwesasne and Massena, NY
• A 3.9-percent increase or 12,906 more trucks are travelling on the Thousand Islands Bridge, which spans the Saint Lawrence River to connect Ontario with New York.
• A 1.8-percent drop or 11,500 fewer trucks on the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, which connects Queenston, ON and Lewiston NY.
• A 0.83-percent or one fewer truck on the Rainbow Bridge, which connects Niagara Falls, ON to Niagara Falls, NY. Data for the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, a few kilometres away, is not available.

When the numbers are added up, that’s a total of 139,961 or a 2.28-percent drop in trucks crossing these bridges into the United States. 


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