Press Release

Lakes Limestone Up 8.3 Percent in October

Global edition By Mo Shine 11 November 2021

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Lakes Limestone Up 8.3 Percent in October — Lake-limestone

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.6 million tons in October, an increase of 8.3 percent compared to a year ago. Limestone cargos were also above the month’s 5-year average by 1.6 percent.

Loadings from U.S. quarries totaled 2.9 million tons, an increase of 13.2 percent. Shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 638,517 tons, a decrease of 9.9 percent.

Year-to-date the limestone trade stands at 24.6 million tons, an increase of 9 percent compared to 2020. Loadings from Michigan and Ohio quarries total nearly 19.4 million tons, an increase of 8.3 percent. Shipments from Ontario quarries total 5.2 million tons, an increase 11.6 percent.

GREAT LAKES LIMESTONE TRADE: OCTOBER 2016-2021 AND LONG-TERM AVERAGE
(NET TONS)

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	Average 2016-2020
U.S. Ports	2,692,456	2,992,327	2,815,287	3,112,770	2,574,791	2,915,616	2,837,526
Canadian Ports	613,197	683,936	603,257	696,978	708,406	638,517	661,155
Total	3,305,653	3,676,263	3,418,544	3,809,748	3,283,197	3,554,133	3,498,681

YEAR-TO-DATE 2016-2021 AND LONG-TERM AVERAGE
(NET TONS)

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	Average 2016-2020
U.S. Ports	18,381,910	19,502,362	19,834,280	22,260,673	17,958,044	19,447,386	19,587,454
Canadian Ports	4,389,530	4,317,514	4,572,212	4,960,880	4,652,774	5,193,170	4,578,582
Total	22,771,440	23,819,876	24,406,492	27,221,553	22,610,818	24,640,556	24,166,036

About Lake Carriers’ Association

Since 1880, Lake Carriers’ has represented the U.S.-flag Great Lakes fleet, which today can move more than 90 million tons of cargos annually that are the foundation of American industry, infrastructure, and power: iron ore, stone, coal, cement, and other dry bulk materials such as grain, salt, and sand. More information is available at www.lcaships.com.

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About the author

Mo Shine

Lead Strategist, African Infrastructure & Diplomacy

Mo Shine covers the geopolitics, logistics and diplomacy of critical-mineral extraction in the Global South, with a focus on how African statecraft shapes what investors and operators can actually build. He spent more than a decade in newspaper journalism, as sub-editor and executive editor, and has worked with Skillings since 2009.

His current work tracks the Lobito Corridor and other Western-backed rail routes, and what they change for working capital, regional diplomacy and operator resilience across the Central African Copperbelt.