U.S.-Flag Fleet's August Ore Total Worst In Years
U.S.-flag Great Lakes carriers suffered one of their lowest monthly iron ore totals in memory in August. The fleet moved only 4 million net tons of iron ore, the lowest total for a full month of non-weather impacted navigation in a number of years. The comparison with last year is equally bleak; this August's ore float represents a decrease of 30.6 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. In terms of the 5-year average, this August represents a drop of 27.9 percent compared to the month's 5-year average.
The August ore float reflects the still-weak state of the steel industry. For much of August, the steel industry operated at less than 75 percent of capacity. Since it takes 1.3 tons of iron ore to make a ton of steel in a blast furnace, demand for iron ore plummeted.
The coal trade for U.S.-flag lakers fared better in August. Shipments totaled 2.9 million net tons, an increase of 17.7 percent compared to a year ago and a boost of nearly 11 percent over the month's 5-year average. Exceptionally strong demand for western coal drove the trade in August.
Sluggish is again the best way to characterize the August stone trade for U.S.-flag lakers. Loadings in U.S. bottoms totaled 3.2 million net tons, a decrease of 3.6 percent compared to August 2002 and a drop of 5.2 percent compared to the 5-year average. The trade has been plagued by reduced demand for fluxstone from steelmakers and lackluster demand for aggregate from the construction industry.
For the year, the U.S.-flag ore float stands at 25.1 million net tons, a decrease of 9.9 percent compared to the same point in 2002 and a plunge of 19.4 percent compared to the 5-year average. Coal shipments are essentially on par with last year and the 5-year average, but stone loadings are down 9 and 11 percent respectively.
U.S.-Flag Dry-Bulk Carriage on the Great Lakes - August
1999-2003 and 5-Year Average
(net tons)
| Commodity | August 1999 | August 2000 | August 2001 | August 2002 | August 2003 | 5-Yr. Average |
| Iron Ore | ||||||
| Direct Shipments | 5,429,207 | 6,158,335 | 4,995,745 | 5,491,827 | 3,945,638 | 5,204,150 |
| Transshipments | 497,925 | 590,481 | 371,415 | 286,760 | 62,440 | 361,804 |
| Total - Iron Ore | 5,927,132 | 6,748,816 | 5,367,160 | 5,778,587 | 4,010,081 | 5,565,954 |
| Coal | ||||||
| Lake Superior | 1,607,894 | 1,634,244 | 1,557,040 | 1,541,511 | 1,889,450 | 1,646,027 |
| Lake Michigan | 1,027,418 | 940,277 | 226,119 | 242,229 | 349,721 | 959,002 |
| Lake Erie | 694,013 | 668,299 | 646,938 | |||
| Total - Coal | 2,635,312 | 2,574,521 | 2,477,172 | 2,452,039 | 2,886,109 | 2,605,029 |
| Limestone | 3,584,013 | 3,412,752 | 3,458,844 | 3,347,825 | 3,227,032 | 3,406,093 |
| Cement | 443,817 | 486,784 | 519,992 | 462,946 | 513,136 | 485,335 |
| Salt | 150,149 | 106,300 | 69,517 | 44,718 | 127,538 | 99,644 |
| Sand | 33,519 | 48,723 | 72,165 | 7,295 | 85,482 | 49,436 |
| Grain | 17,671 | 29,002 | 15,953 | 31,864 | 42,323 | 27,362 |
| Totals | 12,791,613 | 13,406,898 | 11,980,803 | 12,125,274 | 10,889,698 | 14,843,882 |
NOTE: Prior to 2001, Lake Erie and Lake Michigan were combined into one total.
U.S.-Flag Dry-Bulk Carriage on the Great Lakes -
Year-To-Date 1999-2003 and 5-Year Average
(net tons)
| Commodity | Y-T-D 1999 | Y-T-D 2000 | Y-T-D 2001 | Y-T-D 2002 | Y-T-D 2003 | 5-Yr. Average |
| Iron Ore | ||||||
| Direct Shipments | 31,083,080 | 33,892,538 | 27,713,806 | 27,031,490 | 24,228,743 | 28,789,931 |
| Transshipments | 3,689,165 | 4,073,221 | 2,445,107 | 839,665 | 888,387 | 2,387,109 |
| Total - Iron Ore | 34,772,245 | 37,965,759 | 30,158,913 | 27,871,155 | 25,117,130 | 31,177,040 |
| Coal | ||||||
| Lake Superior | 8,089,561 | 7,554,957 | 8,389,765 | 7,402,066 | 8,195,609 | 7,926,391 |
| Lake Michigan | 4,659,498 | 4,397,850 | 1,334,595 | 1,334,942 | 1,523,252 | 4,466,395 |
| Lake Erie | 3,249,515 | 3,355,550 | 2,476,774 | |||
| Total - Coal | 12,749,059 | 11,952,807 | 12,973,875 | 12,092,558 | 12,195,635 | 12,392,786 |
| Limestone | 16,498,083 | 16,462,458 | 15,751,217 | 15,201,420 | 13,818,369 | 15,546,309 |
| Cement | 2,684,101 | 2,585,912 | 2,562,071 | 2,378,652 | 2,401,756 | 2,522,498 |
| Salt | 801,149 | 622,213 | 418,934 | 324,780 | 613,605 | 556,136 |
| Sand | 166,846 | 152,635 | 317,573 | 104,289 | 323,251 | 212,918 |
| Grain | 141,023 | 211,359 | 146,449 | 165,559 | 159,035 | 164,685 |
| Totals | 67,812,506 | 69,953,143 | 62,329,032 | 58,138,413 | 54,628,781 | 62,572,372 |
DATE OF PUBLICATION:
September 30, 2003
