Great Lakes coal shipments rise in October

Coal shipments transported on U.S.-flag Great Lakes vessels reached 3 million tons in October, an increase of 9% compared to a year ago.    Coal shipments transported on U.S.-flag Great Lakes vessels reached 3 million tons in October, an increase of 9 percent compared to a year ago, according to the Cleveland-based Lake Carriers’ Association.  
   Shipments also outpaced the month’s long-term average by 75,000 tons, the association noted.
   Coal shipments from Lake Superior ports totaled 1.7 million tons, an increase of 3.5 percent compared to a year ago, and a slight increase over the month’s long-term average. Loadings on Lake Michigan were 267,000 tons, a decrease of 35 percent compared to a year ago, and 24.2 percent below the month’s long-term average.
   For the second month in a row, coal loadings at Lake Erie ports topped 1 million tons, an increase of nearly 50 percent compared to a year ago, and 12.8-percent better than the month’s long-term average, LCA said.
   “Despite the increases of the past two months, the trade’s end-of-October total — 18.8 million tons — still represents a decrease of 5.1 percent compared to a year ago. As was the case with other commodities, coal was severely impacted by the brutal winter of 2013/2014. At the end of April, shipments were down by nearly 50 percent,” the association said in a statement.  
   “Ice is already forming on the lakes, so industry will need the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards to keep the shipping lanes open once ice formations become formidable,” LCA added.
   The Lake Carriers’ Association represents 17 American companies that operate 56 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes.