May Great Lakes Coal Trade Mirrors a Year Ago
CLEVELAND – Shipments of coal on the Great Lakes totaled 2.9 million tons in May, an increase of 32 percent over April and a virtual repeat performance of a year ago. However, when compared to its 5-year average for the month of May, the trade was down 20 percent. Loadings at Lake Superior ports increased slightly, and included 210,000 tons transshipped to Quebec for delivery overseas.
Shipments from Chicago dipped slightly, but loadings at Lake Erie ports were unchanged from a year ago. Year-to-date the Lakes coal trade stands at 6.2 million tons, a decrease of 5.1 percent compared to a year ago. Loadings are nearly 26 percent behind the 5-year average for the January-May timeframe.