Great Lakes Limestone & Coal Trade Up

Lakes Limestone Trade up 16% in September
Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3,461,606 net tons in September, an increase of 3.6 percent compared to August, and 16 percent better than a year ago.  However, the trade was down 10.7% compared to the month’s 5-year average.

Loadings at U.S. ports were up 342,000 tons compared to a year ago.  Shipments from Canadian docks increase by 135,000 tons.

Year-to-date the Lakes limestone trade stands at 20.5 million net tons, an increase of 25.2% compared to a year ago, but a decrease of 15% compared to the five-year average for the first three quarters.  Loadings at U.S. ports are up 28 percent compared to a year ago.  Shipments from Canadian docks are 15.4% ahead of last year’s pace.

Great Lakes Coal Trade Up 32.5 Percent in September
Coal shipments on the Great Lakes totaled 3,648,453 net tons in September, a decrease of 6.8% compared to August, but an increase of 32.5% compared to a year ago.  Compared to the month’s five-year average, loadings were down 7.4%.

Shipments from Lake Superior rose noticeably from a year ago – 35% – and were on par with the month’s five-year average.  Loadings in Chicago increased by 145% compared to a year ago and all but equaled the month’s five-year average.  The coal trade out of Lake Erie increased 13.6% compared to a year ago, but was nearly 20% off September’s five-year average.

Year-to-date coal shipments stand at 22.3 million tons, an increase of 8.6% compared to a year ago.  The better measure is the five-year average, and in that regard, 2010 loadings are 18.7 percent off the pace.