Great Lakes ship operators benefit from less ice in December

Cargo transported across the Great Lakes by U.S.-flag vessels in December “rebounded significantly,” according to the Lakes Carriers’ Association.    Cargo transported across the Great Lakes by U.S.-flag vessels in December “rebounded significantly,” according to the Lakes Carriers’ Association.
   Shipments for the month reached 9.6 million tons, an increase of about 35 percent compared to a year ago. All commodities transported on the lakes, including iron ore, coal, limestone, cement, salt, sand and grain, made increases ranging from 10 to 209 percent.
   This was a welcome improvement for Great Lakes ship operators, who noted last December that heavy ice conditions nearly brought vessel traffic to a halt.
   “The increases recorded this past December dramatically illustrate just how badly the early onset of ice in December 2013 slowed Great Lakes shipping,” said James H.I. Weakley, the association’s president, in a statement. 
   “This is why we have begun our effort to build another heavy icebreaker to partner with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Mackinaw,” he added. “It would be foolhardy to imagine we won’t face daunting ice fields again. In fact, shipping has slowed considerably in January as a result of thick ice in Whitefish Bay, the upper St. Mary’s River, and more recently, the St. Clair River.”
   For the year, U.S.-flag Great Lakes vessels carried 90.1 million tons of cargo, an increase of 1.1 percent over 2013. Iron ore cargoes rose 4 percent to 46.5 million tons, while coal shipments dropped 2.6 percent and limestone fell 3 percent, according to the Lakes Carriers’ Association. Cement cargoes rose 3.7 percent, and salt’s 39 percent uptick “reflects that many communities exhausted their supplies battling the winter of 2013/2014.” Sand cargoes remained unchanged from 2013, but grain loads decreased 42 percent.
   The Lake Carriers’ Association represents 17 American companies that operate 56 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes.