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Dredging deficit, low water curtail cargo totals in August
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The lack of dredging and falling water levels again cut the U.S.-flag cargo float in August as lakers were forced to leave cargo behind at the docks. Shipments for the month totaled 11.3 million net tons, a decrease of 2.7 percent compared to a year ago and nearly 5 percent below the month’s five-year average.
The largest coal cargo to transit the Poe Lock in a thousand-footer at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., was 64,504 tons. A coal cargo from Superior, Wisc., on an open-lake transit was even lower--64,450 tons. Ten years ago, when high-water levels offset the lack of dredging, ships this size were carrying nearly 71,000 tons of coal each trip, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association. The average iron ore cargo loaded in a thousand-footer at a Lake Superior dock was 61,437 tons in August. However, the vessels in this class have an average carrying capacity of 67,605 tons. The dredging crisis and falling water levels negated 9 percent of these vessels’ carrying capacity from just one loading facility in August. Through August, U.S.-flag carriage stood at 62.7 million tons, a decrease of 5.1 percent from the same point in 2006, and a slight gain over the five-year average. |
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