Great Lakes Limestone Trade Up 22.8% in November

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totalled 3.1 million tons in November, an increase of 22.8% compared to a year ago. Limestone cargos were 7.3% above the month’s five-year average.
Loadings from U.S. quarries increased 23.6% from 2022 to 2.6 million tons. Shipments from Canadian quarries totalled 536,912 tons, an increase of 19.2%.

Year-to-date the limestone trade stands at nearly 26.6 million tons, a decrease of 3.3% compared to a year ago. Loadings from Michigan and Ohio quarries decreased by 2.2% to nearly 21.5 million tons, while shipments from Ontario quarries total 5.2 million tons, a decrease of 7.5% from 2022.

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.