Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 4.4 million net tons in June, a decrease of 2.7 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. For the season, the trade stands at 12 million tons, a decrease of 3 percent compared to the same point in the 2001 navigation season.
Although demand in some stone markets - metallurgical and environmental to name two - remains on a par with the recent past, orders from the construction industry are still sluggish. In fact, in some areas of the Great Lakes basin, demand for construction aggregate is down substantially.
The trade has also been impacted by the comparatively low level of activity at ISG, the successor to LTV Steel. It takes approximately 400 pounds of fluxstone to make a ton a raw steel. ISG only resumed making steel in late May and as of today has but two blast furnaces in operation.
June 2002 | June 2001 | Season-To-Date 2002 | Season-To-Date 2001 | |
| U.S. Ports | 3,485,888 | 3,672,488 | 9,640,509 | 9,854,278 |
| Canadian Ports | 904,810 | 839,126 | 2,344,469 | 2,499,377 |
Total | 4,390,698 | 4,511,614 | 11,984,978 | 12,353,655 |
Ports participating in this survey are as follows: In the U.S., Port Inland, Calcite, Cedarville, Presque Isle (Stoneport), Drummond Island and Marblehead. In Canada, Manitoulin, Smelter Bay, Bruce Mines and Port Colborne.
DATE OF PUBLICATION: JULY 9, 2002.
Note: 2001 totals have been restated to exclude gypsum from U.S. ports.