Lakes Limestone Trade Down 1.8 Percent in 2014
CLEVELAND—Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 27.1 million tons in 2014, a decrease of 1.8 percent from 2013 and a drop of 2.1 percent compared to the trade’s long-term average. Shipments from U.S. ports dipped 4 percent, but loadings out of Canadian quarries rose 12.5 percent.
The decline Lakeswide largely reflects the significant delays in resuming shipments in the spring. Heavy ice formations covered the Lakes and loadings in April were down nearly 50 percent. Even in May shipments lagged the previous year by 8 percent.