Lake Carriers Association reports that U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters carried 10.1 million tons of dry-bulk cargo in May, an increase of 3.3 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. The May float was down 3.1 per cent from the month’s five-year average. Of the total for the month, 4.9 million tonnes represented iron ore shipments. Coal shipments represented 1.8 million tonnes, limestone represented 2.8 million tonnes, while cement, salt, sand and grain totaled 656,000 tonnes.
Except for salt, sand and grain, shipments of all categories were lower on a year-to-date basis in 2013, as compared to 2012, and were also lower compared to five year averages. The details are shown in the tables below:
