Great Lakes limestone trade still affected by dredging crisis
July 23, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Source: Lake Carriers’ Association
Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes from US and Canadian ports totalled 4.4 million net tons in June, a small increase - of just 11,558 tons, which represents one load of cargo in a 600ft long vessel.
The Lake Carriers’ Association said the dredging crisis in the Great Lakes continued to have an impact on the trade.
A large tug/barge unit that has carried more than 35,000 tons of limestone in a trip twice saw its load fall below 30,000 tons in June. The vessel’s top load in June was only 34,036 tons.
For the year, the Lakes limestone trade stands at 11.8 million net tons, a decrease of 4.2 per cent compared to the same point in 2007.
Shipments are more than 10 per cent behind the five-year average for the first half of the year.
