The following is the text of a news release from the Lake Carriers' Association:
(CLEVELAND) — Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.4 million tons in October, a decrease of 8 percent compared to a year ago. However, the trade was only 2 percent below the month’s five-year average.
Shipments from U.S. ports totaled 2.9 million tons in October, a decrease of 6 percent compared to a year ago. Loadings out of Canadian quarries totaled 505,000 tons, 20 percent less than a year ago.
Year to date, the Lakes limestone trade stands at 24.5 million tons, an increase of 6.5 percent compared to the same point in 2014, and 4.5 percent better than the five-year average for the January-October time frame. Shipments from U.S. ports are up 7 percent. Loadings out of Canadian quarries are up 4.3 percent.
U.S. ports: Calcite, Mich., Cedarville, Mich., Drummond Island, Mich., Marblehead, Ohio, Port Inland, Mich., and Presque Isle, Mich. Canadian ports: Bruce Mines, Manitoulin Island and Smelter Bay (all Ontario).
The Lake Carriers’ Association represents 15 American companies that operate 56 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes and carry the raw materials that drive the nation’s economy: iron ore and fluxstone for the steel industry, aggregate and cement for the construction industry, coal for power generation, as well as salt, sand and grain. Collectively, these vessels can transport more than 100 million tons of cargo per year. More information is available at www.lcaships.com.
