The Lake Carriers Association reported that US flag Great Lakes freighters carried 9.2 million tonne of dry bulk cargo in November, a 6.6% increase over October's total that was noticeably impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

However, compared to a year ago, the US flag float was down by almost 9%. November's loadings were also 4% below the month's five year average.

Iron ore cargos for the steel industry totaled 4.1 million tonne in November, a decrease of 11.8% compared to a year ago. At 2.3 million tonne, coal cargos registered a slight increase, but loadings of aggregate and flux stone fell 14.4% to 2.2 million tonne.

Through, November, US flag cargos stand at 81.6 million tonne, a decrease of 4.1% compared to the same point in 2011, and 2% below the five year average for the January to November timeframe. Iron ore cargos are down by 4.4% compared to a year ago. Coal has slipped by more than 13%, but limestone cargos are still up by 3.7% or 750,000 tonne.

Source - SteelOrbis