News

Coronavirus Update

In the past couple of weeks, two Great Lakes freight vessels experienced an outbreak of COVID-19 that necessitated an extended stay in port in order to quarantine infected crew members.

State Tax Withholding Changes for Interlake Employees

Interlake employees received an email from Human Resources a couple of weeks ago with information about changes being made to the process of reporting earnings to state tax agencies.

2021 Season Begins

We are now just days away from seeing the vessels crewed by our members returning to service across the Great Lakes.

Great Lakes Limestone Trade Down 18% in September

According to the Lake Carriers Association, shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.3 million tons in September, a decrease of 18 percent compared to a year ago. Limestone cargos were below the month’s 5- year average by 4.4 percent.

Loadings from U.S. quarries totaled 2.7 million tons, a decrease of almost 17.7 percent from 2019. Shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 631,840 tons, a decrease of 19.5 percent.

LCA: Great Lakes Ore Trade Down 33.1%

According to the Lake Carriers Association, shipments of iron ore from U.S. ports on the Great Lakes totaled 3.9 million tons in September, a decrease of 33.1 percent compared to a year ago. Shipments were also below the month’s 5-year average by 30 percent.

Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at 28.2 million tons, a decrease of nearly 27 percent compared to the same point in 2019.

Through September iron ore loadings are 24.2 percent below their 5-year average for the first three quarters.

Steel Production Up 2.4% Over Previous Week

The American Iron and Steel Institute reports that during the week ending on September 26, 2020, domestic raw steel production was 1,480,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 66.1 percent. Production was 1,801,000 net tons in the week ending September 26, 2019 while the capability utilization then was 77.4 percent. The current week production represents a 17.8 percent decrease from the same period in the previous year.

LCA: Great Lakes Ore Trade Down 40.3% In August

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Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 3.6 million tons in August, a decrease of 40.3 percent compared to a year ago according to the Lake Carriers Association. Shipments were also below the month’s 5-year average by 37.9 percent. Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at 24.3 million tons, a decrease of 25.9 percent compared to the same point in 2019.

Through August iron shipments are nearly 23.2 percent below their 5-year average for eight months of the year.

LCA: Limestone Trade Down 16.6% in August

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The Lake Carriers Association reports that shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 3.6 million tons in August, a decrease of 16.6 percent from 2019. Limestone cargos were also below the month’s 5-year average by 8.4 percent.

Loadings from U.S. quarries totaled 2.9 million tons, a decrease of 18 percent compared to a year ago. Shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 729,336 tons, a decrease of 10.8 percent.

Local 5000 Bargains with Sisco, Interlake Leasing III

Officials with United Steelworkers, District 1, Local 5000 ratified a new agreement between its members and Sisco on Monday. The new agreement, effective for the next three years provides wage increases in all three years of the deal, increased vacation allotment to five weeks for the most senior employees, as well as provides for better travel pay. In addition, a time allotment for the Unit Chair to conduct New Member Orientation was also made part of the agreement. 

Steel Production Drops 0.9% from Previous Week

According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, domestic raw steel production was 1,446,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 64.5 percent in the week ending September 19th, 2020. Production was 1,801,000 net tons in the week ending September 19, 2019 while the capability utilization then was 77.4 percent. The current week production represents a 19.7 percent decrease from the same period in the previous year.

Cleveland Cliffs to Acquire ArcelorMittal USA

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE: MT), pursuant to which Cleveland-Cliffs will acquire substantially all of the operations of ArcelorMittal USA LLC and its subsidiaries (“ArcelorMittal USA”) for approximately $1.4 billion. Upon closure of the transaction, Cleveland-Cliffs will be the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America, with combined shipments of approximately 17 million net tons in 2019.