Great Lakes ore sinks in June

Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway in June were down 6 percent from May and down 5 percent from last year.    Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway totaled 6.2 million tons in June, down 6 percent from May and down 5 percent from June 2014, the Lakes Carriers’ Association (LCA) said in a statement.
   Loadings at U.S. ports totaled 5.5 million tons in June, down 7 percent year-over-year.
   Canadian ports in the Seaway handled 695,000 shipments in June, up 19 percent year-over-year, according to the LCA.
   Through June, ore trade on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway stood at 21.1 million tons, a year-over-year increase of 10 percent. However, ore trade is down 10 percent in comparison to the five-year average. “Comparisons with the long-term average clearly illustrate how the severe ice conditions that prevailed on the Lakes from early January to late April of this year have impacted cargo movement,” the LCA said in a statement.