Iron ore shipments originating from US ports along the Great Lakes plummeted almost 55% in March compared to the five-year average for the month as "massive" ice formations stymied vessel movements, the Lake Carriers' Association said Thursday.
Shipments from US ports totaled 862,073 st last month, down from the 2009-2013 March average of 1.9 million st, the group said in a statement.
Still, March shipments originating from Canadian ports were 246,649 st, higher than the five-year average of 156,755 st.
Year-to-date through March, total Great Lakes ore trade is at 3.5 million st tons, down 33% from the same period in 2013.
"The decrease would be more, but in an effort to maintain steel production, 370,000 tons of iron ore moved in February, usually a month with no shipments," the Lake Carriers said.
The group noted some of the ore loaded in March did not reach its intended destination until well into April. Two vessels departing Duluth/Superior at the western end of Lake Superior on March 26 did not arrive in Gary, Indiana, until April 7. Under normal circumstances, the 797-mile voyage takes about 62 hours, it said.
And an iron ore cargo loaded in Escanaba, Michigan, on March 5 destined for Cleveland, 545 miles away, was in transit for 12 days rather than the normal 50 hours.
"The ice on the lakes was not the only challenged faced," the group said. "The sub-zero temperatures nearly paralyzed the docks and one cargo took more than three days to load. The vessel should have been full in about six hours."