Cargo tonnage sagged in September on the St. Lawrence Seaway, according to numbers released Thursday by the Seaway’s U.S. and Canadian administrations. From the season opening March 31 through Sept. 30,

total tonnage is off 35 percent, sliding to 19.2 million metric tons
from 29.7 million metric tons during the same period in 2008.

Shipments of iron ore, feedstock for U.S. and Canadian steel plants,
are off 54 percent, to 4.3 million metric tons from 9.5 million metric
tons during the previous period, and coal shipments are off 27 percent
at slightly less than 2 million metric tons.

Iron ore numbers reflect a slightly increasing margin from Aug. 31,
when they were down 60 percent. Some regional steel mills have begun
re-firing blast furnaces in recent weeks and steel prices have shown
some firming. However, many analysts attribute this to restocking of
depleted inventories and a small uptick in demand due to the “cash for
clunkers” program. The jury is still out on whether there has been an
increase in real demand for steel.

As of Sept. 30, Seaway grain shipments were off only 2 percent, to 4.6
million metric tons from 4.7 million metric tons during the previous
period.

Source: Journal of Commerce

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