Shipments of iron ore, stone and coal from U.S. and Canadian Great Lakes ports totaled 16.6 million tons in May, an increase of 3.8 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.
Iron ore cargos totaled 7,850,317 net tons, a decrease of 2.7 percent. The decline resulted from reduced shipments in Canadian lakers from St. Lawrence River ports.
A record-setting month for Canadian stone docks pushed the Lakes limestone and gypsum trade up 14.7 percent to 4.8 million tons. Coal cargos on the Lakes in May approached 4 million tons, an increase of 5.5 percent.
For the season, loadings of iron ore, stone and coal stand at 32.5 million tons, an increase of 13.7 percent. Iron ore cargos are up 6.3 percent. Stone loadings have increased 18.7 percent. The Lakes coal trade is nearly 27 percent ahead of last year's pace.
| Commodity | May 1997 | May 1996 | Season to Date 1997 |
Season to Date 1996 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRON ORE | ||||
| Great Lakes | 6,690,224 | 6,654,728 | 14,103,469 | 12,696,490 |
| Eastern Canada | 1,160,094 | 1,419,958 | 2,554,973 | 2,978,801 |
| Total - Iron Ore | 7,850,317 | 8,074,686 | 16,658,442 | 15,675,292 |
| COAL | ||||
| Lake Erie | 2,215,406 | 1,772,952 | 4,516,815 | 3,323,369 |
| Lake Michigan | 197,005 | 211,817 | 338,053 | 288,438 |
| Lake Superior - U.S. | 1,392,578 | 1,536,616 | 2,877,037 | 2,324,775 |
| Lake Superior - Canada | 156,941 | 231,764 | 249,257 | 350,093 |
| Total - Coal | 3,961,930 | 3,753,149 | 7,981,162 | 6,286,675 |
| LIMESTONE, GYPSUM | ||||
| U.S. Ports | 3,951,774 | 3,747,721 | 6,746,503 | 5,772,816 |
| Canadian Ports | 880,563 | 463,173 | 1,138,655 | 869,519 |
| Total - Stone | 4,832,337 | 4,210,894 | 7,885,158 | 6,642,335 |
| Total All Commodities | 16,644,584 | 16,038,729 | 32,524,762 | 28,604,302 |
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 (167,000 tons in 1996).
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.