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Dan Kraker
Duluth, Minn.

Harsh winter blamed for lower iron ore shipments

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Lake Superior
In this Feb. 16, 2014 satellite image provided by the NOAA Great Lakes CoastWatch is the ice cover on Lake Superior.
NOAA Great Lakes CoastWatch/AP

Iron ore shipments on the Great Lakes through the end of June are down 17 percent from a year ago. A harsh winter that produced thick ice is to blame.

Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Lake Carriers Association, says it will be tough for the industry to catch up.

"What we have to hope for is that the weather will be decent here in the summer and fall, and we won't have lots of delays," he says. "That will help us make up some of the lost tonnage."

There is a bright spot. While the thick ice cover nearly brought shipping to a standstill, the frigid water has also slowed evaporation from the Great Lakes. Less evaporation, combined with heavy rain and snow, has caused water levels on Lake Superior and other lakes to rise by more than a foot. And that's allowed ships to load more cargo, as much as two to three thousand tons per ship.