Coal, iron ore weighing on seaway performance

(Newswatch Group/File)

CORNWALL, Ont. – While making up a bit of ground, cargo shipments on the St. Lawrence Seaway are still behind 2014 levels with two months left in the year.

Numbers released Thursday from the St .Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation show 26,970 metric tons of cargo has been shipped as of the end of October.

That’s down 9.4 per cent from the same period last year (29,773 metric tons).

The pace has picked up a bit as shipments were lagging nearly 12 per cent by the end of September.

Weighing on the performance is coal, which is down 37 per cent over the 10 month period compared to 2014, as well as iron ore which has slipped nearly 12 per cent.

The only cargo type which has seen gains this year is dry bulk shipments, which are up 5.8 per cent.

The number of vessel trips is also off about six per cent (2,867 in 2015 versus 3,039 in 2014).

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