The situation was dire in April with Great Lakes freighters still mired in ice and millions of tons of Minnesota taconite iron ore sitting in piles on shore waiting to be shipped to steel mills.
But the U.S. flagged Great Lakes freighters have moved full speed ahead since spring and, despite the slowest start in decades, have now surpassed last year's shipments at this time of the season.
Total taconite iron ore shipments in November hit 5.9 million tons, up nearly 6 percent from a year ago. And the 53.3 million tons moved so far this year are up nearly 87,000 tons from 2013.
While just a tiny percentage increase, "the achievement is huge,'' said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Lakes Carriers Association that represents U.S.-flagged lakers. The season started with shipments on the lakes that were down 43 percent through March and lagged due to heavy ice through much of April.
The remarkable comeback was in part thanks to deeper water in the upper Great Lakes that have not only recovered from historically low water levels but now sit well above normal. That's allowed boats to carry heavier loads -- up to 70,000 tons per trip for the larger boats, compared to about 67,000 tons last year.
And the companies that own the boats took three additional freighters out of mothballs and put them to work, helping increase capacity over the summer, Nekvasil said. The U.S. Great Lakes fleet reached 56 boats and tugs this year, up from 53 in 2013.
Nekvasil described the winter of 2013-2014 as the most brutal in decades. The U.S. Coast Guard started breaking ice on Dec. 6, the earliest on record. Taconite shipments slipped 20 percent in December and then plunged 37 percent in January before the season ended. When shipping was supposed to resume in March and April, trips up and down the lakes that should have taken 50 hours stretched to 10 and 11 days.
In some cases, the steel mill customers that use Minnesota taconite were running low on raw material.
Despite the cold November temperatures, Nekvasil said there are no major ice problems on the Great Lakes and "shipping has yet to be significantly impacted." Coast Guard icebreaking will begin when the lakers need help getting in and out of ports. The shipping season for lakers runs into January.
The Cleveland-based Lake Carriers' Association represents 17 American companies that carry taconite iron ore and limestone for the steel industry, aggregate and cement for the construction industry, coal for power generation as well as salt, sand and grain -- more than 115 million tons of cargo per year.
Source: Forum News Service