Great Lakes limestone trade up in April 2021

Limestone shipments on the Great Lakes totaled 2.4 million net tons in April, the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) reports.

The 2.4 million net tons represent an increase of 13 percent compared to one year ago. Loadings were also above April’s five-year average by 33 percent, LCA says.

Loadings at U.S. ports totaled 1.9 million tons, an increase of 1.8 percent. Shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 490,088 tons, which is nearly double last year’s total. 

On the year, the Great Lakes limestone trade stands at 2.5 million tons – an increase of 10.1 percent from 2020. Shipments from U.S. ports decreased 2.3 percent from the previous year, while shipments from Canadian ports increased 112.1 percent. The year-to-date total includes 75,751 tons shipped in March.