Iron ore shipments out of Marquette down nearly 37 percent

Iron ore shipments out of Marquette down nearly 37 percent - Crain's Detroit Busines
MARQUETTE — Iron ore shipments out of Marquette's Upper Harbor are down dramatically, prompting fears about the future of Empire Mine.
According to the Lake Carriers' Association, roughly 460,000 tons of iron ore shipped out of Marquette last month, compared with about 732,000 tons in November 2014. The average monthly shipment between 2010 and 2014 was about 791,000 tons.
The Mining Journal reports a similar downward trend was also seen throughout the Great Lakes, according to the association's report.
Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 4.9 million tons in November, a decrease of 17 percent compared to a year ago.
"It's been a rough, brutal year and our customer demand is down," Cliffs Natural Resources spokeswoman Patricia Persico said.
"So we've adjusted our production accordingly, and we have a lot of inventory we're working off this year. ... Those temporary shutdowns are obviously impacting things and of course the steel imports are the main root cause here..."