Great Lakes April Coal Shipments Unchanged from a Year Ago

Shipments of coal on the Great Lakes totaled 2.2 million tons in April, a virtual tie with a year ago.  The trade was 19 percent below the month’s five-year average, however.

Shipments from Lake Superior ports totaled 1.4 million tons, a slight increase from a year ago. Included in that total were 168,000 tons loaded in Superior, Wisconsin and transshipped to Québec City for loading into oceangoing colliers.

Loadings in Chicago totaled 300,000 tons, again a slight increase compared to last year.

Shipments from Lake Erie ports dipped to 500,000 tons, a decrease of 22 percent compared to a year ago.

Year-to-date the Lakes coal trade stands at 2.8 million tons, a decrease of 15.4 percent compared to a year ago, and 33 percent below the 5-year average for the January-April timeframe.

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