Steel, Iron Ore Fuel St. Lawrence Recovery

Cargo shipments through the St. Lawrence Seaway have been buoyed by demand for iron ore and steel slabs with an overall increase of 16.6 percent year to date, compared with the same period last year.

Iron ore posted a 30 percent increase with 892,000 metric tons. Imports of steel slabs rebounded to 45,000 metric tons, compared with no slabs last year.

Ships and barges carried 14.8 million metric tons of cargo from March 25 to July 31, an increase of some 2 million metric tons, compared with 12.7 million metric tons handled during the same period last year, according to the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Total shipments during July were down 4.8 percent, compared with the same period in 2009, due to lower coal and grain traffic.

Turbine traffic through the Port of Duluth also boosted the total. The increase in wind shipments may signal a rebound in the wind sector, said Adolph Ojard, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.