Little Change in Lakes Limestone Trade in July
Cleveland—Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3,650,392 tons in July, an increase of 55,000 tons over June, but a decrease of 32,000 tons compared to a year ago. Shipments trailed the month’s 5-year average by 8.8 percent.
Shipments from U.S. quarries fell 4.5 percent compared to a year ago and were 8.5 percent off July’s 5-year average. Loadings at Canadian quarries increased by nearly 20 percent compared to a year ago, but were 10 percent below the month’s 5-year average.
Through July the limestone trade stands at 12.3 million tons, a decrease of 10 percent compared to the same point in 2010, and a drop of 18.4 percent compared to the 5-year average for the January-July timeframe.