Thick ice formations continued to extract a heavy toll on U.S.-Flag carriers during April. Shipments of the various dry- and liquid-bulk cargos carried by Lakes Jones Act operators totaled 9.1 million net tons, a decrease of 14.6 percent compared to a year earlier.
The winter of 1995-96 was perhaps the worst in modern times for the Great Lakes basin and ice formations were extensive and thick when vessel operations resumed in early March. The Coast Guard icebreaker MACKINAW was assisting vessels in and out of Marquette, Michigan (southern shore of Lake Superior) until May 6.
Iron ore cargos carried by U.S.-Flag vessels totaled 5.5 million tons in April, a decrease of 5.3 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. Since the resumption of the iron ore trade on March 4 (initially from Escanaba, Michigan), U.S.-Flag carriage stands at 6.9 million tons, a decrease of 10.9 percent.
Coal loadings in U.S.-Flag bottoms totaled 1.3 million tons in April, a decrease of 28.2 percent. The most dramatic decrease came at Superior, Wisconsin, where loadings fell by more than 400,000 tons. Again, ice conditions slowed the resumption of the coal trade from Lake Superior. For the season, U.S.-Flag coal cargos total 1.4 million tons, a decrease of 35.6 percent.
The U.S.-Flag stone trade totaled 1.7 million tons in April, a decrease of 29.6 percent. Many of the smaller, low-horsepower vessels active in the stone trade had to delay their sailings because of heavy ice. For the season, U.S.-Flag stone cargos stand at 1.8 million tons, a decrease of 32 percent.
| Commodity | April 1996 |
April 1995 |
Season to Date 1996 |
Season to Date 1995 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Ore | 5,469,484 | 5,777,311 | 6,866,668 | 7,705,064 |
| Coal - Western | 788,159 | 1,191,118 | 788,159 | 1,578,039 |
| Coal, Coke - Eastern | 497,620 | 599,081 | 645,007 | 647,993 |
| Total - Coal | 1,285,779 | 1,790,199 | 1,433,166 | 2,226,032 |
| Limestone, Gypsum | 1,672,194 | 2,380,679 | 1,753,049 | 2,573,741 |
| Cement, Potash | 309,028 | 253,334 | 351,584 | 390,547 |
| Salt | 116,190 | 94,430 | 116,190 | 94,430 |
| Sand | 0 | 20,086 | 0 | 20,086 |
| Grain | 9,969 | 89,576 | 9,969 | 89,576 |
| Liquid Bulk | 189,870 | 199,269 | 583,682 | 671,690 |
| Totals - All Commodities | 9,052,514 | 10,604,884 | 11,114,308 | 13,771,166 |
| Liquid Bulk - Barrels | 1,283,518 | 1,347,055 | 3,945,700 | 4,540,623 |
April 1996 and Season-To-Date totals revised on July 29, 1996.
Note: Given the limited number of gypsum producers, that commodity must be combined with limestone to insure confidentiality. Since tankers operate year-round, that trade is reported on a calendar year basis. The 1995 totals include carriage by two non-members of Lake Carriers' Association - Kinsman Lines, Inc., [grain] and Hannah Marine Corporation [liquid bulk]. Starting with 1996, this survey also includes Upper Lakes Towing (one self-unloading tug/barge unit in various dry-bulk trades), Upper Lakes Barge (one self- unloading tug/barge unit in various dry-bulk trades) and Merce Transportation (cement).