Ore shipments on Great Lakes decrease in October

Ore shipments on Great Lakes decrease in October    Shipments of iron ore from ports on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway totaled 5.8 million net tons in October, down 6.5 percent compared to figures a year ago and the month's five-year average.
   On a year-to-year basis, iron ore loadings trail last year' shipments by 7.2 percent, the Lake Carriers' Association (LCA) reported. Ore loadings are more than four percent below the five-year average for the January-October time frame.
   'While the decrease compared to last year reflects lower steel production, the fall-off from the five-year average is misleading,' the association said in a statement.
   'Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway totaled nearly 70 million tons in 2000. The best tally since then was 62.4 million in 2004, so the 2000 ore float tends to skew comparisons. In reality, the 2005 iron ore trade is ahead of the pace for all but one of the past four years,' the association explained.
   The Lake Carriers' Association, based in Cleveland, represents 12 American corporations that operate 55 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes, which collectively transport as much as 125 million tons of cargo a year.