AMO Currents - Recession hammers Great Lakes shipping in April

AMO Currents - Posted: May 14, 2009

Recession hammers Great Lakes shipping in April

U.S.-flagged Great Lakes vessels saw their cargoes plummet in April as steel mills, iron ore mines and other industrial operations constricted in the grip of the recession, the Lake Carriers’ Association reported.

Total cargo movement on the Lakes was only 5.1 million net tons, a decrease of 45 percent compared with April of 2008. The cargo float this April was only half of the five-year average mark for the month.

Iron ore shipments fell 62 percent to 1.7 million net tons in April, with steel mills operating at less than 50 percent capacity. Limestone loadings in U.S. hulls fell 48 percent to finish the month at 1.1 million tons. The pulse of the construction industry remained weak and demand from steel mills for flux stone was low, the LCA reported.

The coal trade finished the month at 1.9 million tons, striking distance of last April’s total. Shipments of western coal from Lake Superior were strong, while cargoes loaded at ports on Lake Michigan and Lake Erie slumped badly, the LCA reported.

As of May 1, 46 U.S.-flagged lakers were in service, a decrease of 28 hulls compared with last year. Since then, two vessels have been withdrawn from service.

For the season, the U.S.-flag cargo float stood at 6.6 million net tons at the end of April, a decline of 59 percent from the same period in 2008 and a 61 percent drop from the five-year average mark for the January to April timeframe.