US-flag Great Lakes freighters carried 10.5 million tons of dry-bulk cargo in July, an increase of 6.6 percent compared to June, but a decrease of 5.1 percent compared to a year ago, according a report Monday from the Lake Carriers' Association. The July float was, however, just marginally below the month's five-year average.
Iron ore cargos for the steel industry in July totaled 4.3 million tons, a decrease of nearly 18 percent compared to a year ago. Coal cargos fell by almost 23 percent.
Aggregate and fluxstone for construction and steelmaking rose more than 35 percent to 3,840,596 tons. That is the fleet's highest monthly total for limestone since August 2008 when the trade totaled 3,497,364 tons.
Through July, US-flag cargos stand at 44.9 million tons, a slight increase compared to the same point in 2011, but 2.4 percent ahead of the five-year average for the January-July timeframe. Iron ore cargos are down by 300,000 tons. Coal has slipped by nearly 18 percent, but limestone cargos are up by 21 percent, or nearly 2 million tons.