Shipping and Logistics

US-flagged ore shipments on Great Lakes down in 2024

Written by Laura Miller

January 10, 2025

Annual shipments of US-flagged iron ore on the Great Lakes declined last year. However, shipments were higher when compared to the trade’s five-year average.

The Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) reported a 4.5% year-over-year (y/y) decline in December’s ore shipments of 4.6 million short tons.

December’s shipments brought the 2024 shipment total to 49.8 million st of iron ore. While down 2.5% from the prior year, 2024 iron ore loadings showed a 3.8% rise from the five-year average of 47.94 million st.

The 2.5% y/y decline coincides with a fall of the same amount in annual raw steel production by US mills. US mills produced 2.5% less raw steel last year – 87,049,000 st at an overall capability utilization rate of 75.6% vs. 89,243,000 st at 76.0% utilization in 2023, according to American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data,

LCA’s Great Lakes iron ore shipments report tracks cargoes at the following ports, in descending order of tonnages handled in 2024: Two Harbors, Minn.; Superior, Wis.; Duluth, Minn.; Marquette, Mich.; Silver Bay, Minn.; Cleveland; and Ashtabula, Ohio.

Westlake, Ohio-based LCA represents 13 members who collectively operate 45 vessels on the Great Lakes.

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

Read more from Laura Miller

Latest in Shipping and Logistics