An Ohio-based group this week urged Congress to invest in infrastructure to aid shipping on the Great Lakes as part of a nationwide economic recovery package.

Lake Carriers' Association President Jim Weakley said the organization's 16 member companies hauled more than 100 million tons of cargo last year.

"Investing in America's maritime transportation infrastructure is key to America's future," Weakley told the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

A recent study showed Great Lakes shipping is a major source of jobs, including 44,000 directly related to maritime transportation and another 200,000 between the mining and steel industries, according to information supplied by the Lake Carriers' Association.

Locally, shipping in and out of the Port of Indiana at Burns Harbor in Porter County contributed nearly $1.7 billion to the local economy, according to a 2006 analysis done by the Ports of Indiana and the Center for Urban Policy & the Environment at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

The port reported total employment of 5,573, according to the analysis.

Shipping on the Great Lakes outperforms land-based modes of transportation in fuel efficiency and environmental impact, with a freighter able to travel 607 miles on one gallon of fuel compared to 59 miles for a truck and 202 miles for a train, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study cited by the Lake Carriers' Association.

In terms of emissions, Great Lakes vessels produce 90 percent fewer emissions than trucks and 70 percent fewer emissions than trains, the study concluded.