Cold winter dents Great Lakes 2014 coal shipments

OREANDA-NEWS. Coal shipments on the Great Lakes rose by 43pc in December from a year earlier, thanks to mild weather, but ended 2014 slightly down because of freezing conditions in the early months of last year.

Coal shipments last month rose to 3.1mn short tons (2.8mn metric tonnes) from 2.2mn st in December 2013, when winter conditions intensified, the Lake Carriers' Association said. Shipments from Lake Superior rose by 39pc to 1.6mn st and loadings at Lake Erie terminals surged by more than 70pc to 1.2mn st.

For the full year, shipments totaled 24.5mn st, slightly off from 24.6mn st in 2013. Ohio port loadings rose by 26pc to 8.5mn st, including 706,000st from the Conneaut terminal, the first coal shipped from there since 2008. Lake Superior shipments, which were most affected by the lakes freeze last year, fell by 6.2pc to 14.1mn st. Loadings from Chicago, on Lake Michigan, fell by 34pc to 1.9mn st.

"The coal trade suffered in March and April," the association said. "Shipments were slowed by the heavy ice on the lakes." So far, shipments in January this year have been affected by freezing conditions on river and harbor channels.

December shipments were 24pc higher than the 2009-2013 average for the month while the 2014 yearly average was 12pc off from the prior five-year period. About 90pc of the coal shipped is used for power generation, while the rest is coking coal used in steelmaking.

US shipments of iron ore from the Great Lakes and to Canadian Seaway terminals for transhipment also benefited from the mild December weather compared with a year earlier. Ore shipments rose by 24pc to 6.35mn st from 5.1mn st a year prior. US Great Lakes ports accounted for 5.8mn st compared with 4.5mn st a year earlier, while Canadian seaway ports totaled 509,262st, down by 17pc from 593,638st a year earlier.

For the full year, ore shipments rose by 2pc to 59.6mn st from 58.3mn st in 2013. Shipments of ore from US ports totaled 54mn st, up by 4pc from 51.8mn st. Two Harbors, Minnesota, accounted for 15.8mn st of ore loaded, down by 9pc from 17.3mn st in 2013. Loadings of US iron ore from Canadian seaway ports, all in Quebec province, fell by 13pc to 5.6mn st. Port Cartier loadings rose by 3pc to 5.15mn st, shipments from Sept Iles fell by 31pc to 457,049st whilere there were no US ore loadings last year at Pointe Noire, compared with 791,476st in 2013.

The Lake Carriers' Association represents 17 US companies that operate 56 US-flag vessels that carry coal, iron ore, salt, sand and grain.