Shipments of iron ore, coal and stone from Great Lakes ports reached a new post-recession peak in August - 17,113,946 net tons. The previous post-recession peak was July of this year when the major dry-bulk trades totaled 16,740,333 net tons.
Leading the upsurge was the stone trade. Shipments from U.S. and Canadian ports totaled 4.9 million tons, a new post-recession record for the trade and an increase of 8.1 percent compared to the same period last year.
Iron ore shipments from Great Lakes ports totaled 7.9 million tons, an increase of 1.9 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. The iron ore trade has been essentially at capacity for the past several years, hence comparisons with previous years cannot produce large increases.
Coal shipments totaled 4.3 million tons, an increase of 7.2 percent. Shipments from Lake Erie ports rose 200,000 in response to increased demand from a Canadian utility.
The season-to-date totals continue to be marred by the extreme ice conditions that prevailed throughout the system in March and April (and on Lake Superior, into May). Since the resumption of iron ore shipments on March 4, the trade stands at 39.2 million tons, a decrease of 1.8 percent. Coal loadings total 18.5 million tons, a decrease of 3.1 percent. Stone shipments stand at 20.3 million tons, a decrease of 3.3 percent. If weather conditions in the fall and early winter do not produce significant delays (as they did last year), it is possible that the 1996 totals can equal or better the 1995 float.
| Commodity | August 1996 | August 1995 | Season to Date 1996 |
Season to Date 1995 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRON ORE | ||||
| Great Lakes | 6,374,846 | 6,365,332 | 32,174,454 | 33,042,933 |
| Eastern Canada | 1,537,090 | 1,397,593 | 7,072,089 | 6,934,340 |
| Total - Iron Ore | 7,911,936 | 7,762,925 | 39,246,543 | 39,977,273 |
| COAL | ||||
| Lake Erie | 2,261,137 | 2,072,907 | 9,301,725 | 9,443,021 |
| Lake Michigan | 184,117 | 116,381 | 809,779 | 668,673 |
| Lake Superior - U.S. | 1,689,295 | 1,541,494 | 7,514,638 | 7,840,189 |
| Lake Superior - Canada | 187,799 | 299,654 | 898,980 | 1,167,913 |
| Total - Coal | 4,322,348 | 4,030,436 | 18,525,122 | 19,119,796 |
| LIMESTONE, GYPSUM | ||||
| U.S. Ports | 4,246,982 | 4,128,680 | 17,821,729 | 19,031,603 |
| Canadian Ports | 632,680 | 383,977 | 2,526,696 | 2,014,875 |
| Total - Stone | 4,879,662 | 4,512,657 | 20,348,425 | 21,046,478 |
| Total All Commodities | 17,113,946 | 16,306,018 | 78,120,090 | 80,143,547 |
Note: The above totals are carried almost exclusively by U.S.-Flag and Canadian-Flag lakers. Third-Flag vessels (i.e., salties) occasionally load coal for export overseas (150,000 tons in 1995).
The ports reporting cargo movement are as follows:
Iron Ore: Minnesota - Duluth, Two Harbors, Silver Bay and Taconite Harbor; Wisconsin - Superior; Michigan - Marquette and Escanaba.
Coal: Ohio - Toledo, Sandusky, Ashtabula and Conneaut; Illinois - South Chicago; Wisconsin - Superior; Ontario - Thunder Bay.
Limestone and Gypsum: Michigan - Calcite, Cedarville, Presque Isle, Port Inland, Drummond Island, Alabaster and Port Gypsum; Ohio - Marblehead; Ontario - Manitoulin Island, Smelter Bay, Bruce Mines and Port Colbourne.