Great Lakes Ore Trade Off to Slowest Start in Five Years

Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes have gotten off to a horrendous begin this 12 months with icy situations and a transparent want for operational icebreakers guilty.

In March, simply 800,000 tons of iron ore was shipped, the bottom stage for the month since 2010, in line with new figures launched by the Lake Carriers’ Association. The March ore float was additionally almost 60 p.c under the month’s 5-year common.

The Lake Carriers’ Association represents 16 American corporations that function 56 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes.

Heavy ice and lack of icebreaking assets on either side of the border have been as soon as once more the culprits, in line with the affiliation.

“The winter of 2014/2015 was again brutal,” mentioned James H.I. Weakley, President of Lake Carriers’ Association. “The ice formations were so formidable that a number of LCA’s members chose to delay getting underway rather than risk a repeat of last spring when ice caused more than $6 million in damage to the vessels. Compounding the problem is that both U.S. and Canadian icebreakers have experienced a number of mechanical issues. The MACKINAW, the U.S. Coast Guard’s most powerful icebreaker, is operating at less than full power. Other icebreakers have suffered casualties that have taken them out of service for various periods of time.”

Weakley famous that with overseas metal imports once more decreasing working charges at American mills to perilous ranges, it’s much more vital that uncooked supplies transfer as effectively as attainable. “Right now American steel mills need every competitive advantage they can get. A slow start to resupplying the mills after the winter closure is a worry the industry could do without. This is just another clear indication that the Lakes need, at a minimum, another heavy icebreaker to pair with the MACKINAW, and another 140-foot-long icebreaking tug to cover for the one that has been sent to the Coast Guard yard in Baltimore for service life extension.”

Weakley additionally referred to as on Canada to assessment its icebreaking assets devoted to the Lakes. The nation used to have seven icebreakers stationed on the Lakes, however now simply two are completely assigned right here.