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SHIPPING on the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Seaway is continuing its long-term downturn, and changes in the region's steel industry are largely responsible for the trend, according to a recent Congressional Research Service study, reports Michigan's Monroe News.

Iron ore, limestone and coal are the three leading commodities by tonnage shipped on the lakes. They're followed by salt - mostly Canadian rock salt to de-ice roads - asphalt and slag left over from extracting iron from ore.



Iron ore for steelmaking accounted for 42 per cent of Great Lakes tonnage in 2020, the congressional study said.



"Iron ore volumes show a steady decline, as steel is increasingly produced from scrap metal in mini-mills that are plentiful and scattered throughout the country," according to the nonpartisan agency's report. Scrap metal can easily be transported overland, so mini-mills don't need to be near a waterway or iron ore mine.



The volume of asphalt, salt and gravel, slag iron and cement being shipped is holding steady, and sand and gravel volume is increasing, it said.



Most Great Lakes and St Lawrence Seaway traffic is on foreign-flagged, ocean-going, saltwater vessels; freshwater vessels crewed and owned by American companies and Canadian freshwater vessels.



The maximum size of Great Lakes ships is limited by the dimensions of the locks they must pass through.



The Welland Canal locks between lakes Erie and Ontario can't accommodate vessels more than 740 feet long by 78 feet wide. The maximum for ships traveling through the Soo locks between lakes Huron and Superior is 1,200 feet long and 110 feet wide.



Ships going through the Poe Lock cannot be wider than 105 feet, and not much longer than 1,013 feet. The largest one going through the Poe Lock is the Paul R Tregurtha at 1,013.5 feet long by 105 feet wide.



As for slowing or reversing the decline in shipping, "there are limits to what we can do to stimulate market demand," said Jim Weakley, the president of the Lake Carriers Association, which represents US-flag vessel operators.



Even so, Mr Weakley and the congressional report points to several positive developments, including more container shipping and construction of the first large US-built self-propelled ship for use on the Great Lakes.



Mr Weakley said US and Canadian shipping companies have benefited from tariffs imposed on Chinese steel to combat dumping of its excess steel at prices below production costs.



The US Army Corps of Engineers is constructing a new lock in Sault Ste Marie. The agency said it completed the first phase of the project last August "under budget and ahead of schedule" and announced last month that it remains on schedule as major construction continues with phases 2 and 3 this season.



The US Army Corps of Engineers estimates that the second phase will be done next summer and the third phase will be finished in 2030.