U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters (“lakers”) carried 9.9 million tonnes of dry-bulk cargo in June, 1.0 per cent more than the previous month, but 1.3 percent below a year ago and the month’s five-year average.
While iron ore cargoes for the steel industry slipped 3.1 per cent compared to a year ago, June year-to-date tonnage carried of 18.9 million tonnes was well above the five-year average of 16.4 million tonnes. Aggregate and fluxstone for construction and steelmaking rose 13.1 per cent, but coal for power generation and steel production fell 16 per cent, in part because of a lengthy weather-related outage at Superior Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior, Wisconsin.
June year-to-date U.S.-flag cargoes stand at 34.3 million tons, an increase of 3.5 per cent ahead of the 5-year average (of 33.2 million tonnes) for the first half of the year.