Trade war causing significant decrease in Ogdensburg International Bridge traffic
"It's quite concerning," OBPA Executive Director Steven J. Lawrence told the OBPA Board of Directors on Thursday night. "It's affecting everything from tourism and trucking."
OBPA Chief Financial Officer Patricia A. Nisco said less traffic means their finances are taking a hit.
"We only know March at this point. We're down $98,000 in revenue. I think that trend will continue," she said. "I would be concerned we're getting back up to covid numbers in losses on the bridge."
Lawrence said crossing totals for the first week of April are deeply concerning, as they build off of losses incurred in March.
Total crossings tallied 7,992 for the first week of April, down 40.22% from the first week of April 2019 and down 35.14% from 12,322 in March 2024.
Auto crossings totaled 6,562 for the first week of April, down 43.01% from 11,515 in the first week of April 2019 and down 38.23% from 10,623 in the first week of April 2024.
All other crossings, which includes commercial truck traffic, totaled 1,430 for the first week of April this year, down 22.83% from the first week of April 2019 and down 15.83% from 1,699 from the first week of April last year.
Lawrence describes the decrease in truck traffic as "a sign of disrupted trade flows."
Bridge crossings for March went down significantly compared to the same month in 2019. Auto crossings decreased 35.10%, from 44,523 in March 2019 to 28,897 in March 2025. All other crossings, which includes commercial truck traffic, increased 0.27% from 6,035 in March 2019 to 6,051 last month.
Compared to March 2024, crossings last month went down 24.37% from 38,206 to 28,897 last month. All other crossings increased 12.10% over the same time period, from 5,398 in March 2024 to 6,051 in March 2025.
"We had better numbers in 2022 at this point, and ... Covid was hanging on. It's concerning I had to go back that far where we had numbers like this," according to Lawrence.
"It appears Canadian sentiment is shifting where public sentiment has grown more negative to ... shopping and tourism," Lawrence said. "News outlets are urging Canadians to shop local and avoid unnecessary border trips."
He also believes "increased scrutiny" at American customs checkpoints and longer wait times to get through are discouraging Canadians from making discretionary trips.
OBPA board chairman Vernon D. "Sam" Burns said if bridge crossings follow April's losses, small businesses in St. Lawrence County, especially in border towns, will hurt.
"What does that mean to small businesses in St. Lawrence County?" Burns said. "If things stay as they are now, that will be devastating to the border towns."
Lawrence noted that decreases in auto crossings aren't a one-to-one comparison, since each vehicle coming over for a day trip or vacation usually transports more than one person.
"What does that mean to a border town ... I think it's time our elected officials understand what's going on," Burns said.
He suggested writing letters to all elected officials in the area — town, village, city, county, state and federal — "letting them know what is going on at the local level. They need to hear it from those on the front lines."
The Seaway International Bridge between Akwesasne and Cornwall and the Thousand Islands Bridge between Alexandria Bay and Ivy Lea also saw traffic decreases in February, the most recent period for which data was available.
On the Seaway bridge, total crossings went up 6.13% between January 2024 (189,358) and January of this year (200,973). In February, total crossings went down 7.91% from 190,436 for that month in 2024 and 175,376 in February 2025.
Thousand Islands Bridge traffic went down 1.93% in January, from 107,576 in 2024 to 105,504 in 2025. In February, total crossings dropped 15.76% from 190,436 for that month in 2024 to 93,040 for the same month in 2025.
An official with the Bridge and Tunnel Operators Association said the trade war is having a bigger impact on smaller border communities, but not so much between large cities. The association is binational and represents bridge and tunnel operators along the northern border from the Seaway International Bridge as far west as the Aazhogan Bridge between International Falls, Minnesota, and Fort Frances, Ontario.
He said on the Gordie Howe Bridge between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, traffic is holding steady, for the most part.
People who live and work in those major cities, a large portion of their auto traffic, are continuing to cross.
"Obviously, those folks are going to continue to go over each day," Czudner said, describing much of their traffic as "inelastic."
Detroit also is a big draw to Canadian travelers because "Detroit is one of only three cities that have all four professional sports teams in our downtown core," he said. They are the Detroit Pistons (NBA), Tigers (MLB), Lions (NFL) and Red Wings (NHL).
He said there is a 15% drop in discretionary weekend trips, which he attributed to Canadians responding to the trade war and "keeping the purchasing power in Canada."
"There's hesitancy on both sides traveling back and forth," according to Czudner.
He doesn't believe issues with U.S. Customs are contributing to decreases in traffic.
"I haven't found too many issues when people have their paperwork in order, but the fear factor is definitely relevant."
Czudner said he believes the two nations will eventually resolve the trade issues and get back to business as usual.
"It's a big issue. Canada and the United States have been the best friends throughout our joint history and we expect to go back to that relationship soon," he said.
Asked when he believes bridge traffic throughout the Bridge and Tunnel Operators Association membership may start to rebound, he said, "optimistically, I hope we get the deals done, the tariff deals done soon, and we can get back to normal."
"You're going to continue to see some significant drops in traffic while we see some uncertainty," he added. "I expect it to go back quite close to normal in the future."
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