Shipments of iron ore from U.S. ports on the Great Lakes totaled 5.9 million tons in September, a decrease of 5 percent compared to a year ago, the Lake Carriers’ Association reported.
However, shipments did outpace the month’s five-year average by 4.9 percent.
Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at 38.9 million tons, a decrease of 2.8 percent compared to the same point in 2017. The gap has been decreasing over the course of the shipping season. At the end of April, iron ore shipments were down nearly 14 percent.
Through September iron ore loadings are 6.8 percent ahead of their 5-year average for the first three quarters.