DULUTH, MINN - January 14, 2010 – As the shipping winds down this week, the Port of Duluth-Superior, the Great Lakes, and the entire Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System are closing the books on one of the most difficult navigation seasons in the waterway’s history. The recession hammered the construction, automotive, steel and appliance industries in the U.S. and Canada reducing demand for raw materials. All sectors of the freight industry felt the ill effects, in particular, maritime.

“Mid-summer, we thought the Port might reach 34 million short tons this year,” noted Adolph Ojard, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “But it looks like we’ll end up closer to 31 million tons once the navigation season closes.” 

While final tonnage figures for the 2009 navigation season for the Port of Duluth-Superior won’t be available until next week, here is a recap of where things stood through December:
• Overall tonnage for Duluth-Superior off 32% from last year  
• Largest decline in Iron Ore – lagging 57% behind last year’s numbers 
• Coal tonnage running 17% behind last year       
• Grain up some 32% from this time last year
• Other commodities off just over 21% (e.g. limestone, cement, salt, etc. + general cargo/freight)

Local declines in tonnage mirror those reported at ports across the Great Lakes. The largest drop came in iron ore cargos for the steel industry.  The Port of Duluth-Superior will top 8 million tons handled locally by the end of this navigation season, less than half the ore shipments for 2008.
 
As reported recently by the Lake Carriers’ Association, Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes, long the backbone of the navigation system, fell to their lowest level in 71 years in 2009. Iron ore
Duluth-Superior winds down

cargoes totaled only 31,792,629 short tons – off 50 percent compared to 2008, and the lowest level recorded since 1938 when the trade finished the year at 21,574,573 tons.”   (Note: Duluth-Superior recorded 11,642,507 short tons in ’38).

Ojard sounded hopeful for the upcoming shipping season. “It (2009) was a tough year for maritime on our inland waterway. But signs indicate an uptick in demand. Some regional steel mills began re-firing blast furnaces near year-end, Keetac resumed operations and steel prices have shown some firming. We actually had lakers moving product this month compared to this time last year, when no ore moved in January. Signs are positive that by mid-2010 we will start seeing shipments of iron ore, limestone and coal rebounding to levels of previous years.”

  Though the Seaway System may not see the same volume of ‘salties’ due to a weakened U.S. dollar and decreased demand for imports in the Lower Lakes (e.g. steel), Ojard anticipates greater activity in inbound wind turbine shipments, which bodes well for backhauls of grain to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. “If the economy continues to move forward, the Port of Duluth-Superior should be much nearer a 40 million-ton mark for overall tonnage at this time next year.”

For Quick Reference:

 YTD AVG thru DEC (2004–08) YTD thru Dec. 08       YTD thru Dec 09 % change     
       5-year averages         Actual                     Actual              
Coal             20,076,893     21,704,037          18,023,555 -17.0%
Grain  2,520,462       1,234,120     1,625,726 +31.7%    
Iron Ore            18,324,839     18,240,158     7,864,069 -56.9%        
Other   4,133,242        3,870,815     3,037,654 -21.5%  
Grand Total      45,055,436     45,049,130    30,551,004 -32.2%        
(short tons)

For more detailed information, see Port of Duluth-Superior Marine Tonnage Report – December 2009
sent with this release and/or available at www.duluthport.com