Great Lakes iron ore shipments rise in April

Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway totaled 5.8 million tons in April 2017, topping the month’s five-year average by almost 21 percent, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association.    Iron ore shipments in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway totaled 5.8 million tons in April 2017, an 8.8 percent increase from the same month a year ago, reported the Lake Carriers’ Association.
   The April 2017 iron ore shipments also topped the month’s five-year average by almost 21 percent, according to the association.
   Year-to-date, the Great Lakes iron ore trade stands at 10.9 million tons, an increase of 15.6 percent compared to the same point in 2016. Shipments of iron ore from only U.S. Great Lakes ports totaled 5.3 million tons in April, a year-over-year increase of 6.8 percent, while loadings at U.S. ports totaled 9.7 million tons, an increase of 15.4 percent from the same 2016 period.
   Shipments from Canadian ports in the St. Lawrence Seaway have increased slightly to 1.2 million tons while loadings at Canadian terminals in the St. Lawrence Seaway rose 35 percent to 507,000 tons, the Lake Carriers’ Association reported.
   April was also the last month to see iron ore shipped from Escanaba, Mich., as the Empire Mine in Palmer, Mich., which shipped iron ore through Escanaba to Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, has closed. According to the Lake Carriers’ Association, in order to feed blast furnaces in those three states, all domestically mined iron ore now must transit the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
   The last shipment of iron ore from the mine was loaded on the U.S.-flag laker Wilfred Sykes, which carried 22,823 tons to Indiana Harbor, Ind.