Ohio is the second-largest steel-producing state in the nation. More than a dozen companies make steel in the Buckeye State. It follows then that iron ore leads the list of cargos delivered to Lake Erie ports. In recent years, U.S.- and Canadian-Flag lakers have annually delivered more than 18 million tons to the state.
Ohio-bound iron ore originates from Minnesota's Mesabi Range, Michigan's Upper Peninsula and eastern Canada. The receiving ports are Cleveland, Lorain, Toledo, Ashtabula, Conneaut and Huron. Much of the iron ore is consumed at Ohio mills, but a significant amount is railed to steelmakers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky.
Most of Ohio's Lake Erie ports can accommodate the largest vessels in the U.S.-Flag Lakes fleet, so much of the iron ore arrives in 1,000-foot-long supercarriers. These ships, longer than a modern aircraft carrier, routinely deliver almost 70,000 tons each trip, enough product to keep a large steel mill operating for 5 days. Cleveland's steel mill borders the twisting Cuyahoga River, a waterway much too confined to handle the largest lakers. And yet, Cleveland's steel industry avails itself to the efficiency of supercarriers by having 1,000 footers deliver iron ore to nearby Lorain for reloading into smaller ships sized for the Cuyahoga. This unique shuttle system has been in operation since 1981.
Steel's contributions to Ohio's economy are manifold. The mills have a workforce of roughly 30,000 and an annual payroll of $1.4 billion. Each job in the steel industry generates three more in supply industries, so nearly 125,000 Ohioans owe their livelihood to steel.
Ohio's steel mills, in turn, depend on Great Lakes shipping to deliver most of their raw materials. Nearly all the iron ore consumed by the state's steelmakers arrives via the Lakes. Many of the mills cannot receive significant quantities of raw materials by any other mode of transportation.
Docked stern to stern, a pair of 1,000-foot-long supercarriers discharge more than 120,000 tons of iron ore at a transfer facility in Lorain, Ohio. The taconite pellets are then reloaded into ships sized to navigate Cleveland's twisting Cuyahoga River.
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