WEAKLEY TO GREAT LAKE CARRIERS: DON?T PANIC OVER DOWN IRON ORE SHIPMENTS

WEAKLEY TO GREAT LAKE CARRIERS: DONÆT PANIC OVER DOWN IRON ORE SHIPMENTS    The ocean carriers plying the Great Lakes continue to experience one of the worst slumps in iron ore volumes in years, but Lake Carriers’ Association president James H.I. Weakley said the industry should not panic.
   “Despite these trying times, the industry has held its course,” said Weakley during a speech at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy on Feb. 15. “There’s been no dramatic shrinkage.”
   “LCA and its members have weathered economic storms before and remained afloat,” he added. “I have every expectation that will be the case again.”
   Unlike previous short-term slumps, the U.S. steel industry continues to be injured by steel imports. Since 1997, about 35 steelmakers and steel processors have filed for bankruptcy. About 15 of these companies have closed their plants permanently.
   Consequently, LCA members’ iron ore volumes have dropped from 63.4 million net tons in 1997 to 48.2 million tons in 2002.
   Weakley, however, pointed out that while problems in the ore trade persist, the carriers experienced a “banner year” for western coal. Shipments from Superior, Wis., topped 18 million ton in 2002, the ninth consecutive year of positive gains in western coal volumes.