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Iron ore shipments top 2016’s overall rate by 3 million metric tons on St. Lawrence Seaway

Posted 10/17/17

More than 1.2 million metric tons of iron ore passed through the St. Lawrence Seaway in September, providing a boost to overall shipping tonnage for the Seaway system, according to the Chamber of …

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Iron ore shipments top 2016’s overall rate by 3 million metric tons on St. Lawrence Seaway

Posted

More than 1.2 million metric tons of iron ore passed through the St. Lawrence Seaway in September, providing a boost to overall shipping tonnage for the Seaway system, according to the Chamber of Marine Commerce.

The St. Lawrence Seaway reports that  cargo shipments from the start of the shipping season on March 20 through September 30 totaled 24.3 million metric tons – up nearly 3 million metric tons over the same period last year.

Overall, iron ore shipments have reached 5.9 million metric tons this year, up about 58 percent from the same time period in 2016. The Seaway is also seeing year-to-date increases in salt (up 39 percent over 2016), general cargo (up 35.5 percent) and dry bulk (up 12.6 percent). In the same time period, grain shipments dropped 5.6 percent, coal shipments dropped 6.7 percent and liquid bulk went down 3.1 percent.

“Our results point to the strength of the Canadian and U.S. economies. Export shipments of mined products such as iron ore and dry bulk via the Seaway have grown dramatically this year,” said President and CEO of The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation Terence Bowles. “The Great Lakes-Seaway shipping system is also attracting more high-value cargos such as steel, machinery and other goods that support the growth of our manufacturing and construction sectors.”