Less Ice Means More Ore Ships on Lakes in December
CLEVELAND — A relatively mild December on the Great Lakes allowed iron ore shipments to increase dramatically compared to a year ago when an early arriving winter blanketed the system with thick ice. Shipments totaled 6.3 million tons, an increase of 23.6 percent compared to a year ago. The biggest increase came from U.S. ports on Lake Superior. Loadings out of Duluth, Minnesota, Superior, Wisconsin, Two Harbors and Silver Bay, Minnesota, and Marquette, Michigan, totaled 5,124,525 tons, an increase of 41.8 percent compared to December 2013.