Seaway cargo down 8%

(Newswatch Group/File)

CORNWALL, Ont. – The latest numbers from the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation show overall ship traffic on the St. Lawrence River is down nearly eight per cent.

The biggest slump is in iron ore shipments (down 18 per cent) and coal (down 17 per cent), as of the end of June.

In fact, all categories were down with one exception.

The saving grace for the seaway is liquid bulk shipments, which are up nearly 32 per cent, compared to the same period in 2015.

Despite opening two weeks earlier than normal, the number of ships on the seaway is also down two per cent (1,159 transits compared to 1,183 in 2015).