The following is excerpted from a report released by the Lake Carriers’ Association.
CLEVELAND – U.S.-flagged Great Lakes freighters (lakers) carried 71.3 million tons of cargo in 2025, an 8.9 percent decrease from the previous year, the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) reported. Cargo movement on the Great Lakes in 2025 was 8.1 percent below the fleet’s five-year average.
Except for salt shipments, which increased by 4.1 percent, all commodity shipments decreased in 2025. Iron ore shipments were down 10.8 percent from 2024 to 39.1 million tons. Coal cargoes declined to 6.5 million tons, a decrease of 12 percent. Limestone shipments totaling 20.1 million tons were below the previous year’s total by 4.7 percent. Cement cargoes saw a decrease of 1 percent, while sand and grain shipments were down 26.5 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively, in 2025, the LCA reported.