Although every cargo is important to the shipper and the carrier, it was iron ore for the steel industry that built the U.S. Flag Lakes fleet and remains its mainstay. The U.S.-Flag iron ore "float" averages nearly 58 million tons each shipping season, twice that of the next largest commodities, stone or coal.
U.S.-Flag lakers load iron ore at ports on Lakes Superior and Michigan and deliver their cargos to lakefront steel mills or transfer facilities where the iron ore is then railed to inland furnaces.
The iron ore trade begins out of Escanaba, Michigan, in early March. When the locks at Sault St. Marie, Michigan, open on March 25, loading resumes at the six ore docks on Lake Superior and continues until the Federally-mandated closing of the Soo Locks on January 15. Depending on demand for iron ore, shipments will continue from Escanaba until early- or mid-February.
Since it has the longest shipping season, the iron ore trade is the most dependent on icebreaking by the U.S. Coast Guard. Early- and late-season sailing tests the ships and crews endurance, but steelmakers must minimize stockpiling costs to remain competitive with foreign suppliers.
A 1,000-foot-long U.S.-Flag laker loads iron ore at a Lake Superior port. Not all steelmakers can receive cargo in ships this big, so in some instances the ore is reloaded into smaller ships for final delivery. These innovative transshipnents allow the customer to utilize the economies of scale to the absolute degree possible.
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