Great Lakes/Seaway Iron Ore Trade Up Slightly in May

Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway totaled 6.1 million tons in May, an increase of 1.8 percent compared to a year ago, the Lakes Carriers' Association (LCA) reported. However, shipments trailed the month’s 5-year average by 5 percent.

Shipments from U.S. Great Lakes ports totaled 5.7 million tons in May, an increase of 5 percent. All of those tons originated at Lake Superior ports. Escanaba, Mich., on the north shore of Lake Michigan, shipped its last iron ore load on April 18.

Loadings at Canadian terminals in the Seaway in May totaled 390,000 tons, a decrease of nearly 30 percent.

Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at 17 million tons, an increase of 10.2 percent compared to the same point in 2016.  Year-over-year, loadings at U.S. ports total 15.4 million tons, an increase of 11.3 percent.  Shipments from Canadian ports in the St. Lawrence Seaway are virtually the same as a year ago: 1,564,483 tons.