Late Surge In Lakes Coal Trade Can't Erase Deficit
Although coal shipments on the Great Lakes increased by nearly 20 percent in December, the late surge was not enough to overcome the decreases that characterized the preceding months. As a result, the Lakes coal trade totaled 39.8 million net tons in 2003, a decrease of 5 percent compared to last year and a drop of 4.8 percent compared to the trade's 5-year average.
Although demand was the primary factor behind the decrease, the coal trade was impacted by the harsh winter of 2002-2003 that slowed the resumption of shipments in March and April. During the year there were also some availability problems from time to time. The trade did finish strong, and a number of ports will continue to ship in January.
December Great Lakes Coal Shipments:
1999-2003 and 5-Year Average
| Port | December 1999 | December 2000 | December 2001 | December 2002 | December 2003 | 5-Year Average |
| Superior | 1,164,089 | 1,635,553 | 1,105,843 | 1,542,343 | 1,736,258 | 1,436,817 |
| Thunder Bay | 60,227 | 105,653 | 254,343 | 85,864 | 126,511 | 126,519 |
|
Lake Superior |
1,224,316 | 1,741,206 | 1,360,186 | 1,628,207 | 1,862,769 | 1,563,336 |
| South Chicago | 236,402 | 216,779 | 241,739 | 245,857 | 349,008 | 257,957 |
| Toledo | 275,369 | 427,879 | 493,492 | 307,400 | 291,056 | 359,039 |
| Sandusky | 352,798 | 286,302 | 631,301 | 310,877 | 466,804 | 409,616 |
| Ashtabula | 813,000 | 624,858 | 768,246 | 433,206 | 544,239 | 636,709 |
| Conneaut | 707,402 | 686,689 | 638,169 | 401,079 | 447,628 | 576,193 |
|
Lake Erie |
2,146,569 | 2,025,728 | 2,531,208 | 1,452,562 | 1,749,727 | 1,981,557 |
|
All Ports |
3,607,287 | 3,983,713 | 4,133,133 | 3,326,626 | 3,961,504 | 3,802,850 |
Great Lakes Coal Trade 1999-2003
| Port | Y-T-D 1999 | Y-T-D 2000 | Y-T-D 2001 | Y-T-D 2002 | Y-T-D 2003 | 5-Year Average |
| Superior | 16,096,709 | 16,366,427 | 16,925,015 | 18,079,010 | 17,814,688 | 17,056,369 |
| Thunder Bay | 1,063,571 | 666,755 | 1,783,635 | 1,887,269 | 1,742,447 | 1,428,735 |
|
Lake Superior |
17,160,280 | 17,033,182 | 18,708,650 | 19,996,279 | 19,557,135 | 18,485,104 |
| South Chicago | 2,514,507 | 2,331,838 | 2,582,492 | 2,465,634 | 2,994,306 | 2,577,755 |
| Toledo | 5,016,489 | 5,709,600 | 4,633,463 | 4,344,434 | 3,399,679 | 4,620,733 |
| Sandusky | 4,621,839 | 3,870,187 | 4,853,076 | 4,351,450 | 4,113,454 | 4,362,001 |
| Ashtabula | 6,082,754 | 6,647,360 | 6,199,573 | 5,123,312 | 5,604,603 | 5,931,520 |
| Conneaut | 5,561,752 | 6,396,683 | 7,378,062 | 5,661,176 | 4,140,037 | 5,827,542 |
|
Lake Erie |
21,282,834 | 22,623,830 | 23,064,174 | 19,480,372 | 17,257,773 | 20,741,796 |
|
All Ports |
40,957,621 | 41,988,850 | 44,355,316 | 41,912,285 | 39,802,214 | 41,804,655 |
NOTE: All 2003 totals are subject to final verification.
Date of Publication: January 14, 2004.
