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Great Lakes and Seaway carriers expect another bleak year
CANADIAN and US-flag operators on the Great Lakes and Lawrence Seaway expect no better in 2016 than the poor navigation season they suffered last year, reports the American Journal of Transportation.
It's partly the global plunge in commodity prices, especially iron ore, but also the accelerating influx of cheap Chinese steel into North America.
"There is a continuing glut of foreign steel, mainly from China, impacting significantly on iron ore movements in the Great Lakes," said US Lake Carriers Association (LCA) vice president Glen Nekvasil.
The LCA represents 15 American companies that operate 56 US-flag vessels on the Great Lakes.
It's estimated that it takes one and a half tons of iron ore to manufacture one ton of steel.
As of early November, Mr Nekvasil indicated that four of the 13 large 1,000-foot ships (captive to the Great Lakes) in the fleet were laid up.
Canadian-flag operators have similarly not been able to function at full capacity, although they were expecting a late season surge in grain shipments.
The Seaway handled nearly 40 million tonnes in 2014 versus 37 million tons in 2013, representing a 7.64 per cent increase. In the period ending October 2015, cargo was down 9.4 per cent at 27 million tons.
But Seaway officials were expecting an improved end to the 2015 following more robust activity in October that has helped to close the deficit.
With economists forecasting slow growth, St Lawrence Management Corporation CEO Terence Bowles recently told an industry conference that one can expect "stable demand for Seaway cargoes" in 2016 "leading perhaps to a modest increase in overall volume."
Grain shipments to end October were down 9.7 per cent at 7.6 million tons. Iron ore was down by nearly 12 per cent and coal had plunged by 37 per cent.
Most positive feature was dry bulk, thanks to healthy movements of cement, gypsum, and stone tied to a vibrant construction sector in Ontario and Quebec.
Mr Bowles also noted that project cargoes, notably wind energy components, have shown growth.
It's partly the global plunge in commodity prices, especially iron ore, but also the accelerating influx of cheap Chinese steel into North America.
"There is a continuing glut of foreign steel, mainly from China, impacting significantly on iron ore movements in the Great Lakes," said US Lake Carriers Association (LCA) vice president Glen Nekvasil.
The LCA represents 15 American companies that operate 56 US-flag vessels on the Great Lakes.
It's estimated that it takes one and a half tons of iron ore to manufacture one ton of steel.
As of early November, Mr Nekvasil indicated that four of the 13 large 1,000-foot ships (captive to the Great Lakes) in the fleet were laid up.
Canadian-flag operators have similarly not been able to function at full capacity, although they were expecting a late season surge in grain shipments.
The Seaway handled nearly 40 million tonnes in 2014 versus 37 million tons in 2013, representing a 7.64 per cent increase. In the period ending October 2015, cargo was down 9.4 per cent at 27 million tons.
But Seaway officials were expecting an improved end to the 2015 following more robust activity in October that has helped to close the deficit.
With economists forecasting slow growth, St Lawrence Management Corporation CEO Terence Bowles recently told an industry conference that one can expect "stable demand for Seaway cargoes" in 2016 "leading perhaps to a modest increase in overall volume."
Grain shipments to end October were down 9.7 per cent at 7.6 million tons. Iron ore was down by nearly 12 per cent and coal had plunged by 37 per cent.
Most positive feature was dry bulk, thanks to healthy movements of cement, gypsum, and stone tied to a vibrant construction sector in Ontario and Quebec.
Mr Bowles also noted that project cargoes, notably wind energy components, have shown growth.
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