U.S.-flag Great Lakes cargo stagnant in March

U.S.-flag Great Lakes cargo stagnant in March U.S.-flag vessels operating on the Great Lakes carried 2.48 million net tons in March, just 0.3 percent more than the same month last year.
   March is not a full month of navigation as the vessels fit-out at various times during the month, with the majority getting underway around the time the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. open on March 25.
   The Cleveland-based Lake Carriers' Association, which represents 16 American companies operating 63 U.S.-flag vessels, said the fleet was again “vastly underutilized” because of a lack of adequate dredging, which is limiting vessels' payloads by as much as 17 percent. To emphasis its point, the association noted the month’s top coal load of 58,994 tons represented only 86 percent of the vessel's rated capacity.
   In order for the Great Lakes navigation system to be restored to project dimensions the LCA said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs to remove 18 million cubic yards of sediment at an estimated cost of $230 million. Last December, Congress increased the Corps' Lakes dredging budget for fiscal year 2008 to $138 million, which should allow for the removal of about 1 million cubic yards of backlog. However, the administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2009 cuts the Lakes dredging budget to less than $90 million.
   “Congress must boost the Lakes' dredging budget for the next several years or the fleet will remain underutilized and industries dependent on raw materials disadvantaged in the global economy,” the LCA said.