Strong dry bulk movements to end July on the St. Larwence Seaway highlighted cumulative traffic volume which virtually matched the year-earlier total.
Preliminary statistics released by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation show cargo volume for the period at 16.5 million tonnes. This marked an improvement from the end-June decline of 5.3% which seemingly reflected the combined impact of difficult early season ice conditions and of the Trump administration’s tariff warfare, notably hitting Canadian steel imports.
For the period to end July, dry bulk cargo rose nearly 11% to 5.65 million tonnes. All grain, iron ore, coal and general cargo were down respectively 4.1%, 5.8%, 5.7% and 13.7%.
Vessel transits increased by 4.7% to 1,839.
(SLSMC photo)