Early and Harsh Winter Costs U.S.-Flag Great Lakes Fleets Opportunity to End 2013 on the Plus Side
CLEVELAND—Significant weather and ice delays and cancelled cargos limited U.S.-flag cargo movement on the Great Lakes to just 7.1 million tons in December and as a result, the fleet’s yearend total slipped to 89.2 million tons, a decrease of 0.4 percent compared to 2012.
Iron ore cargos carried in U.S.-flag lakers totaled 43.9 million tons in 2013, a decrease of 3 percent compared to 2012. Those cargos represented 75.2 percent of all the iron ore moved on the system last year. Through November, U.S.-flag ore cargos had been just slightly behind 2012’s pace, but the brutal weather in December slashed shipments to just 4 million tons, a decrease of 21 percent compared to December 2012.