Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totalled 3,251,657 tons in August, a decrease of 52 per cent compared to a year ago. Although the steel industry was bringing some capacity back on line in August, stockpiles of ore were generally sufficient to meet immediate needs.
Said the Lake Carriers' Association: "Assuming water levels have peaked for the year, then so have iron ore cargos. One cargo topped 68,000 tons in August. The record – set in a period of high water in 1997 – is 72,300 tons. Vessels won’t be able to carry that much iron ore again until the US Army Corps of Engineers restores the Great Lakes Navigation System to project dimensions."
"Dredging ports and channels to project dimensions will cost more than US$200 million. Stimulus dollars will be of little help. The Corps only allocated 2 per cent of the US$4.6 billion Congress gave it in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Great Lakes projects," said the Association.
"The dredging crisis on the Great Lakes will not end until the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund spends rather than hoards the tax dollars industry pays in each year."
For the year, the Lakes iron ore trade stands at 16.1 million tons, a decrease of 59 per cent compared to a year ago. The decrease is slightly less – 56.4 per cent – when compared to the trade’s five-year average for the January-August timeframe.
Source: Dredging News Online
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