October Decrease in Coal Loadings for Great Lakes
November 20, 2009Coal shipments on the Great Lakes were down only 5% in October compared to a year ago. That is the smallest decrease registered yet this year, according to the Lake Carriers Association. In previous months, the decline has ranged from 17% to near 100%.
Whether the October total — 3.7 million net tons — marks a turnaround for the trade remains to be seen. Much will depend on whether utilities foresee growing demand for power during the winter and hence the need to increase stockpiles during the final 2½ months of navigation.
The seasonal decline in water levels was evident in vessels’ payloads in October. Over a period of 21 days, a 1,000-foot-long vessel had to trim 750 tons from its total because of reduced draft. The loss of those tons meant that 1.2% of the vessel’s carrying capacity had been negated in just 3 weeks.
Year-to-date, coal shipments stand at 24.3 million tons, a decrease of 24% compared to a year ago. The trade is more than 26% off the 5-year average for the January-October timeframe. More information is available on the Lake Carriers Association’s Web site.
