Weakening Ore Trade Impacts U.S.-Flag Carriage In June
Lead by a significant drop in iron ore shipments, U.S.-flag carriage on the Great Lakes fell by 2.2 percent in June compared to a year ago. Weighed against the month's 5-year average, this June represents a decrease of more than 6.6 percent.
The June U.S.-flag iron ore float totaled only 4.6 million tons, a decrease of 15 percent compared to a year ago and a drop of 17 percent compared to the month's 5-year average. While the long-term decline reflects the impacts of unfair trade in steel, the negative comparison with a year ago is the result of a number of factors including reduced shipments from Presque Isle, Michigan, following a flood, reduced orders from a major steelmaker and another steelmaker switching to Canadian iron ore delivered by Canadian lakers.
Continued strong demand for western coal out of Superior, Wisconsin pushed the U.S.-flag coal trade to 2,757,781 net tons in June, a surge of nearly 23 percent compared to a year ago and an increase of 12 percent compared to the month's 5-year average . Drier weather in June allowed the construction industry to up its take of aggregate, producing a slight increase compared to a year ago, but a marginal decrease compared to June 5-year average.
For the year, U.S.-flag carriage stands at 33.9 million net tons, a decrease of 1.6 percent compared to last June and a drop of 12 percent from the month's 5-year average.
U.S.-Flag Dry-Bulk Carriage on the Great Lakes - June 2003-1999 and 5-Year Average
(net tons)
| Commodity | June 2003 | June 2002 | June 2001 | June 2000 | June 1999 | 5-Yr. Average |
| Iron Ore | ||||||
| Direct Shipments | 4,543,751 | 5,256,946 | 4,954,038 | 5,538,226 | 5,627,344 | 5,184,061 |
| Transshipments | 46,568 | 175,262 | 308,847 | 594,397 | 661,581 | 357,331 |
| Total - Iron Ore | 4,590,319 | 5,432,208 | 5,262,885 | 6,132,623 | 6,288,925 | 5,541,392 |
| Coal | ||||||
| Lake Superior | 1,782,361 | 1,396,113 | 1,571,048 | 1,297,053 | 1,656,416 | 1,540,598 |
| Lake Michigan | 343,603 | 181,713 | 192,231 | 944,949 | 1,013,701 | 916,331 |
| Lake Erie | 631,817 | 666,877 | 606,676 | |||
| Total - Coal | 2,757,781 | 2,244,703 | 2,369,955 | 2,242,002 | 2,670,117 | 2,456,929 |
| Limestone | 3,114,397 | 3,085,902 | 3,400,801 | 3,444,615 | 3,257,473 | 3,260,637 |
| Cement | 452,801 | 475,994 | 465,312 | 457,739 | 432,259 | 456,821 |
| Salt | 85,500 | 61,323 | 81,154 | 134,619 | 163,000 | 105,119 |
| Sand | 91,677 | 34,072 | 123,653 | 25,902 | 33,367 | 61,734 |
| Grain | 43,366 | 50,781 | 32,999 | 54,554 | 50,920 | 46,524 |
| Totals | 11,135,841 | 11,384,983 | 11,736,759 | 12,492,054 | 12,896,061 | 11,929,156 |
NOTE: LCA did not begin to track Eastern coal by Lake Of Loading until 2001.
U.S.-Flag Dry-Bulk Carriage on the Great Lakes -
Year-To-Date 2003-1999 and 5-Year Average
(net tons)
| Commodity | Y-T-D 2003 | Y-T-D 2002 | Y-T-D 2001 | Y-T-D 2000 | Y-T-D 1999 | 5-Yr. Average |
| Iron Ore | ||||||
| Direct Shipments | 16,417,794 | 16,373,155 | 17,927,492 | 21,348,620 | 20,091,322 | 18,431,676 |
| Transshipments | 825,947 | 310,995 | 1,949,190 | 2,884,967 | 2,849,861 | 1,764,192 |
| Total - Iron Ore |
17,243,741 |
16,684,150 | 19,876,682 | 24,233,587 | 22,941,183 | 20,195,868 |
| Coal | ||||||
| Lake Superior | 4,556,807 | 4,076,931 | 4,900,017 | 4,636,733 | 4,896,352 | 4,613,368 |
| Lake Michigan | 890,288 | 874,442 | 855,880 | 2,685,859 | 2,831,565 | 2,736,187 |
| Lake Erie | 1,363,603 | 2,147,546 | 2,031,754 | |||
| Total - Coal | 6,810,698 | 7,098,919 | 7,787,651 | 7,322,592 | 7,727,917 | 7,349,555 |
| Limestone | 7,670,471 | 8,697,946 | 9,049,465 | 9,532,620 | 9,488,524 | 8,887,805 |
| Cement | 1,458,029 | 1,493,743 | 1,567,980 | 1,627,842 | 1,711,673 | 1,571,853 |
| Salt | 407,769 | 231,046 | 265,815 | 397,043 | 493,000 | 283,485 |
| Sand | 179,060 | 82,881 | 185,443 | 66,707 | 74,322 | 117,682 |
| Grain | 102,296 | 133,695 | 130,496 | 70,876 | 123,352 | 112,143 |
| Totals | 33,872,064 | 34,422,380 | 38,863,532 | 43,251,267 | 42,559,971 | 38,518,391 |
DATE OF PUBLICATION: JULY 14, 2003
