Lake Superior Warehousing

What Lake Superior Warehousing does

Lake Superior Warehousing Co., Inc. is an independently owned industrial logistics operator, established in 1991, that runs the Clure Public Marine Terminal in Duluth, Minnesota under contract with the Duluth Seaway Port Authority (DSPA). The company operates a 360,000+ square foot 3PL warehouse together with more than 40 acres of secure outdoor storage, 2,620 feet of dock face at seaway depth across three general cargo berths, and a heavy-lift equipment fleet led by twin gantry cranes with 80 metric ton individual and 120 metric ton tandem lift capacity. Its rail offering provides direct on-dock access to four Class I railroads (BNSF, CN, Union Pacific, Canadian Pacific), supported by four 500-foot dock-wall tracks and a loop track serving warehouses and laydown yards. A Foreign Trade Zone designation enables duty deferral and reduction for goods handled at the site, and a Tier II Warehouse Management Software backbone provides scanning, RFID, EDI, and a customer login portal for inventory and tariff access.

The company monetizes across five integrated revenue streams: 3PL warehousing (managed services with heated storage), rail handling (transaction-based, including on-dock and unit-train staging), stevedoring (transaction-based, including Ro-Ro), Foreign Trade Zone services (licensing/royalty-like duty benefits), and dimensional/break-bulk cargo handling (professional services with certified Ironworkers securing cargo per AAR rules). Pricing is tariff-based and accessible only via a password-protected client portal; no public pricing is disclosed. Go-to-market is enterprise B2B field sales targeting three primary verticals: oil and gas (e.g., long-term storage of reactors and separators for North West Redwater Partnership), wind energy components, and heavy industrial/manufacturing dimensional cargo. Distribution is delivered entirely from the single Duluth facility serving U.S. and Canadian customers via the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway, three major highways, and four Class I railroads. Management is led by President Jonathan Lamb and includes directors overseeing business development, terminal operations, corporate services, finance & HR, and marketing, consistent with an 11–50 employee privately held operator.

Name

Lake Superior Warehousing

Legal name

Lake Superior Warehousing Co., Inc.

Website

https://lakesuperiorwarehousing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Duluth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. 3PL Warehousing Services: Third-party logistics warehousing services including 360,000+ sq. ft. of warehouse space plus 40+ acres of secure outdoor storage. Heated storage available. Tier II WMS with customer portal for inventory management.
2. Rail Services: Direct access to four Class I railroads (BNSF, CN, Union Pacific, Canadian Pacific) with on-dock rail service. Movement of dimensional cargo with certified Ironworkers for securing cargo per AAR rules.
3. Stevedoring Services: Marine cargo handling services at three general cargo births with 2,620 feet total dock face at seaway depth. Twin gantry cranes for heavy lift operations.
4. Foreign Trade Zone Services: Foreign Trade Zone status allowing duty deferral and reduction on imports, exports, and manufacturing operations within the zone.
5. Dimensional & Break-bulk Cargo Handling: Specialized handling of oversized and heavy industrial cargo including oil and gas equipment and wind energy components.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Lake Superior Warehousing operates the Clure Public Marine Terminal in Duluth, Minnesota under contract with the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, providing multi-modal 3PL logistics services. Its core offerings include 360,000+ sq. ft. of heated warehouse space plus 40+ acres of secure outdoor storage, on-dock rail access to four Class I railroads (BNSF, CN, Union Pacific, Canadian Pacific), stevedoring at three general cargo berths with 2,620 ft of dock face using twin gantry cranes up to 120 metric ton tandem capacity, Foreign Trade Zone services, and specialized dimensional and break-bulk cargo handling for oil and gas, wind energy, and heavy industrial clients.

Product overview

Lake Superior Warehousing operates as an integrated multi-modal logistics platform offering six core service modules: Rail Services (direct access to BNSF, CN, Union Pacific, Canadian Pacific with on-dock rail tracks), Warehouse Services (360,000+ sq. ft. 3PL space with Tier II WMS, RFID, EDI), Stevedoring (2,620 ft dock with twin gantry cranes up to 120 mt tandem capacity), Foreign Trade Zone (duty deferral and reduction benefits), Cargo Experts (heavy-lift dimensional and break-bulk cargo handling, ranked #1 North American port by RICA), and Central Location/Multi-Modal Hub (seaway-to-rail-highway connections). The services share infrastructure at the Clure Public Marine Terminal under contract with the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, and are unified by the Tier II Warehouse Management Software system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rail Services Rail logistics service providing direct on-dock access to four Class I railroads (BNSF, CN, Union Pacific, Canadian Pacific), with four 500-foot tracks at Berth 1 dock wall for direct vessel load/unload, a loop track to warehouses and laydown yards, and certified Ironworkers securing cargo to rail cars per AAR standards. Targets dimensional cargo movement to/from the interior of North America via the best rail clearances.
• 3PL Warehouse Services Third-party logistics warehousing offering 360,000+ sq. ft. of warehouse space plus 40+ acres of secure outdoor storage, with heated storage options. Backed by Tier II Warehouse Management Software with scanning, RFID, and EDI capabilities and a customer portal for inventory visibility.
• Stevedoring Services Marine cargo handling at three general cargo berths with 2,620 feet of total dock face at seaway depth, twin gantry cranes with 80 metric ton individual lift capacity and 120 metric ton tandem-pick capacity, and a Roll-On/Roll-Off facility.
• Foreign Trade Zone Services Customs facilitation service allowing duty deferral on re-exported merchandise, domestic duty deferral until merchandise leaves the zone, and reduced or eliminated duties on waste, yield loss, and scrap, supporting imports, exports, and in-zone manufacturing operations.
• Dimensional & Break-bulk Cargo Handling Specialized heavy-lift logistics for oil and gas equipment, wind energy components, and other industrial assets, with certified Ironworkers securing cargo to rail cars per AAR standards. Marketed as a service offered by the #1 Port in North America per the Railway Industrial Clearance Association.
• Central Location Multi-Modal Hub Strategic logistics hub at the western tip of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System providing congestion-free connections via on-dock rail service by four Class I railroads and direct highway access, marketed as offering better road and rail clearances to the interior of North America than any other port.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked #1 Port in North America by Railway Industrial Clearance Association
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Duluth Seaway Port Authority (DSPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOperates the Clure Public Marine Terminal and associated warehouses under contract with the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. The DSPA is an independent public agency created by the Minnesota Legislature in 1955 that fosters regional maritime and trade development.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Federal Marine Terminals: Federal Marine Terminals provides stevedoring, terminal operations, and cargo handling services, with a notable presence on the Great Lakes. Highly comparable to LSW as a direct competitor in Great Lakes marine terminal operations and break-bulk cargo handling.
• Maher Terminals: Maher Terminals operates a large marine container terminal with on-dock rail and integrated warehousing services. Comparable to LSW's combined marine terminal + warehousing + on-dock rail model, though focused on containers rather than break-bulk and dimensional cargo.
• AMPORTS: AMPORTS operates marine terminals specializing in break-bulk, RoRo, and heavy-lift cargo handling across multiple U.S. ports. Comparable to LSW because both serve dimensional and break-bulk cargo customers with specialized stevedoring infrastructure and similar enterprise customers.
• Logistec Corporation: Logistec is a Canadian marine terminal and cargo handling services provider with strong Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway operations. Comparable to LSW because both operate marine terminals handling break-bulk and specialized cargo along the same seaway system.
• Ceres Terminals: Ceres Terminals operates bulk and break-bulk marine terminals in North America with capabilities in grain, fertilizer, and project cargo handling. Comparable to LSW as a regional marine terminal operator serving similar industrial cargo customers with stevedoring and storage services.

Regional players

• Burns Harbor / Port of Indiana: The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor operates a Lake Michigan deepwater port handling steel, bulk, and project cargo with Class I rail access. Comparable to LSW as another Great Lakes port operator competing for similar steel, energy, and industrial cargo.
• Port of Cleveland: Port of Cleveland operates a Great Lakes maritime terminal handling break-bulk, bulk, and project cargo with on-dock rail connectivity. Directly comparable to LSW as a competing Great Lakes port for the same customer base of oil & gas and industrial cargo shippers.
• Port of Toledo: The Port of Toledo operates general cargo and bulk terminals on the Great Lakes with rail and highway connectivity. Comparable to LSW as a regional competitor for industrial and dimensional cargo routing decisions in the Great Lakes market.

Broad incumbents

• Ports America: Ports America is the largest marine terminal operator in the United States, providing stevedoring, cargo handling, and terminal management across dozens of ports. Comparable to LSW because it operates marine terminals and provides cargo handling services, though at much greater scale and geographic breadth.
• XPO Logistics (GXO): XPO/GXO is a large contract logistics provider offering warehousing, distribution, and supply chain services at scale across North America. Comparable to LSW's 3PL warehousing business for enterprise industrial customers, though without the marine terminal or heavy-lift specialization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/158630514169567
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lake-superior-warehousing-co.-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lake Superior Warehousing