A Second straight ice-filled spring saw the shipping industry playing catch-up in May. The month’s shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway increased 53 percent compared to the ice-impacted April and 4 percent over the same month a year ago and the month’s five-year average.
In numbers released last week by the Lake Carriers’ Association, iron ore shipments totaled 6.6 million tons in May.
Loadings at U.S. ports on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan totaled nearly 6 million tons for the month, an increase of 2.6 percent compared to a year ago. Shipments from Canadian ports in the Seaway totaled 700,000 tons, an increase of 17.8 percent.
Through May, the year’s ore trade stands at 14.9 million tons, an increase of 16.9 percent compared to a year ago. U.S. ports totaled 12.9 million tons through May, an increase of 18.3 percent over a year ago, but trailing the five-year average by 12 percent.
The Lake Carriers’ Association represents 16 American companies that operate 56 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes and carrying a variety of raw materials, including iron ore and fluxstone for the steel industry, aggregate and cement for the construction industry, coal for power generation, as well as salt, sand and grain.
Collectively, the vessels can transport more than 115 million tons of cargo per year.
