October Limestone Trade Up 23% on the Lakes

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.6 million tons in October, an increase of 23.3% compared to a year ago. The October total was also slightly ahead of the month’s five-year average, and 4.7% above September’s total of 3,475,702 tons.

Shipments from U.S. ports totaled 3.2 million tons, an increase of 29% compared to a year ago. Loadings at Canadian quarries dipped slightly to 449,000 tons.

One factor behind the increases was better weather this October. Last year U.S.-flag lakers collectively lost about 2,000 steaming hours in October waiting out the heavy weather after Hurricane Sandy.

Year-to-date the Lakes limestone trade stands at 23.5 million tons, an increase of a few boatloads compared to a year ago, but still 5% below the long-term average for the January-October timeframe.