Posted:
August 15, 2008
The U.S.-flagged Great Lakes fleet shipped about 12 million net tons of cargo in July, virtually the same total for the month as last year. The July cargo float was approximately 170,000 tons greater than the five-year average mark for the month, the Lake Carriers' Association reported.
The dredging crisis continued to curtail cargo loadings in U.S. vessels in July, despite rising water levels. A thousand-footer with a capacity of 71,000 tons had a top cargo of 67,474 tons of iron ore in July, with a season-to-date total of about 1.33 million tons. An adequately-dredged navigational system on the lakes would have allowed the same ship to deliver nearly 1.5 million tons through July, the LCA reported.
Similarly, in the coal trade, a thousand-footer topped out in July at 65,443 tons in a single trip, roughly 4,000 tons below the ship's rated capacity, the LCA reported.
For the year, the U.S.-flag total on the lakes stood at 51.1 million tons at the end of July, a slight decrease from last year and from the five-year average mark for the January to July timeframe.
U.S.-flag Great Lakes cargo float flat for the month of July
The U.S.-flagged Great Lakes fleet shipped about 12 million net tons of cargo in July, virtually the same total for the month as last year. The July cargo float was approximately 170,000 tons greater than the five-year average mark for the month, the Lake Carriers' Association reported.
The dredging crisis continued to curtail cargo loadings in U.S. vessels in July, despite rising water levels. A thousand-footer with a capacity of 71,000 tons had a top cargo of 67,474 tons of iron ore in July, with a season-to-date total of about 1.33 million tons. An adequately-dredged navigational system on the lakes would have allowed the same ship to deliver nearly 1.5 million tons through July, the LCA reported.
Similarly, in the coal trade, a thousand-footer topped out in July at 65,443 tons in a single trip, roughly 4,000 tons below the ship's rated capacity, the LCA reported.
For the year, the U.S.-flag total on the lakes stood at 51.1 million tons at the end of July, a slight decrease from last year and from the five-year average mark for the January to July timeframe.