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MONTHLY

- F E D E R A L R E S E R V E BANK of C L E V E L A N D *mmmmm

IN

THIS

ISSUE

The Great Lakes O re Fleet

Ocfo&ert t9 5 5

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Eyes are on Commodity Prices

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GREAT LAKES SHIPMENTS
OF L A K E SUPERIOR
IRON ORE
Duluth!




B P o r t of Origin
# P o r t of Destination

Data from Lake Superior Iron Ore Association

The Great Lakes
Ore Fleet
the opening of the tons of iron ore to make a ton of pig iron and
first locks at Sault Ste. Marie provided about one-half ton of pig iron plus an equal
the connecting link between Lake Superioramount of steel scrap to make a ton of steel.
and the rest of the Great Lakes that broughtThus, feeding a steel industry capable of
into being the greatest fresh water fleet in gobbling up more than 125 million net tons
the world.
of iron ore in a year is no small task.
During the past century, mines clustered
The accompanying chart shows the relative
around the head of Lake Superior have sup­
plied the bulk of the iron ore consumed by
the nation’s steel mills. Practically all of the
D O M E ST IC SH IPM E N T S A N D
iron ore mined in the Mesabi and other Lake
IM PORTS OF IR O N ORE
Superior ranges is carried at least part of the
way to the steel mills by the Great Lakes ore
fleet, moving from the head of the lakes Millions of
through the Soo Canal to ports on Lake Mich­ Gross Tons
igan and Lake Erie. The volume of this lake
ore traffic is more than twice that of the
total tonnage handled by the Panama Canal.
The Soo’s centennial year finds a modern­
ized ore fleet at work on the Great Lakes. It
also finds the Lake Superior region’s relative
importance as an iron we supplier diminish­
ing as imports of foreign ore mount at a
rapid rate. But, reserves of iron ore in the
Lake Superior ranges will keep the ore fleet
busy on the customary lake routes in the
foreseeable future.

A

h u n d re d years' a g o

The Ore Fleet's Job

The Great Lakes ore fleet literally moves a
small mountain of ore down the lakes each
year. Generally speaking, it takes about 12A
2




Source of data: U. S. Bureau of Mines. 1955 estimate by
Fed. Res. Bank of Cleveland.

importance of the Lake Superior district(1)
in supplying this country’s appetite for iron
ore. About two-thirds of the nation’s iron ore
requirements are being met currently by U. S.
mines around Lake Superior. Other U. S.
mines scattered over a dozen states supply
nearly one-sixth of the iron ore consumed
and the remainder of the nation’s needs is
imported. Prior to 1954, the proportion sup­
plied by the Lake Superior district was above
three-fourths, but imports of foreign ores
have increased sharply in recent years.
This year, steel mills should receive around
128 million gross tons of iron ore from do­
mestic and foreign mines. Of this total, about
82 million tons will be loaded into vessels at
Upper Lake docks. In addition, a small
amount of Lake Superior iron ore will go to
blast furnaces by all-rail movement.
The boatloads of ore will be distributed
among ports on the Lower Lakes in the pat­
tern shown by the map on the front cover,
with about one-third of the ore destined for
Lake Michigan ports and two-thirds going to
Lake Erie ports.(2) At some Lower Lake ports,
the ore will be transshipped to inland steel
mills. At other ports, such as Cleveland and
Lorain, part of the ore will be unloaded di­
rectly into the stockpiles of local steel mills.
Growth of the Ore Fleet

The job of transporting millions of tons of
iron ore down the lakes each year is done by
314 bulk freighters comprising the Great
Lakes ore fleet. Bulk freighters can be used
in the lake coal and grain trades too, of
course. But, of the 260 American vessels nor­
mally considered ore boats (the balance of
the ore fleet is Canadian), all but 6 are in
commission, with 254 American vessels cur­
rently active in the ore trade.

The lake ore freighter has a rather utili­
tarian appearance. From the side, its elon­
gated, cigar-like shape is relieved only by the
pilot house and deck crew’s quarters at the
bow, and its stack, engine room, after crew’s
quarters, and galley at the stem. The long
row of hatches stretching amidships covers a
spacious hold capable of carrying more than
20,000 tons of payload in the newer vessels.
The modern ore boat evolved in its present
form at about the turn of the century.
The great Mesabi range, with its stillunmined billions of tons of iron ore, was
opened in 1892 and rapidly developed. The
Mesabi was linked with Lake Superior by
rail and modern dock facilities were built at
Duluth, Superior and Two Harbors.
By 1890, steel steamers had clearly demon­
strated their superiority over wooden sail­
boats as being faster, safer, and able to carry
greater payloads more economically. The
trend towards steel and steam for all lake
shipping was under way. Then, in the late
’nineties, George H. Hulett developed a stiff­
legged unloader, revolutionizing ore handling
at Lower Lake ports. A boatload of ore could
be emptied in a matter of hours, where days
had been required formerly. Boats were de­
signed to accommodate the new equipment.
The prototype of the modem ore boat
emerged. It was made of steel and powered
by steam. It was long and broad of beam,
enabling it to carry about 11,000 net tons of
ore through the shallow portions of the St.
Marys and Detroit Rivers. Its cargo was
easily accessible through large hatches amid­
ships so it could be quickly unloaded by the
newly developed Hulett equipment.

(1) The Lake Superior district encompasses mines in Min­
nesota, Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Shipments from
Canadian ranges in Ontario also come down the lakes, as
indicated on the cover, but are included among imports in
this chart.
(2) The map on the cover depicts the flow of iron ore from the
Lake Superior district in 1954 by port of origin and port of
destination. The relative amount of ore coming from, or going
to, any one port this year will not vary enough to affect
significantly the proportions shown.




3

The speedy development of the Mesabi long and 70 feet across the beam and is capa­
range made its rich ore available in quantity. ble of carrying about 22,000 net tons of ore.
A growing nation clamored for steel, and out­ The average vessel built between 1900 and
put doubled in the first five years of the cen­ 1909, on the other hand, measured 500 by 54
tury. To bring the Mesabi ore to the steel cen­ feet and carried close to 11,000 net tons each
ters around the Lower Lakes, more than 125 trip.
new boats were built between 1900 and 1909.
The average carrying capacity and horse­
power
of the U. S. ore fleet according to the
Most of the ore boats built at the turn of
the century are still in use. In fact, about
half of the ore vessels in operation today were
GREAT LAKES ORE VESSELS
built prior to 1910 in the biggest round of
According to Year Built
boat-building on the lakes. By comparison,
the recent round of expansion and modern­
ization completed in 1954 appears small at
first glance. The top panel of the trio of bar
charts gives the distribution of ships of
United States registry in the Great Lakes ore
fleet, according to the decade in which the
vessels were originally constructed or last
rebuilt.
The size of the ore boats has grown steadily
larger over the years, as bigger locks have
been built at the Sault falls on the St. Marys
River and as river channels have been deep­
ened. The first two locks at the Soo were only Thousands
of
350 feet long, 70 feet wide and 9 feet deep, Short Tons
AVERAGE
CARGO C A P A C IT Y *
or more than adequate by pre-Civil War 20
standards. In contrast, the Davis and Sabin
Locks opened in 1914 and 1919, respectively,
each measured 1,350 feet in length, 80 feet in I O
width and 24y2 feet in depth. The MacArthur
Lock, completed at the height of World War
II, was not quite so long but had a depth of
30 feet.
Ore vessels launched since 1950 are, natu­
of
rally, the biggest and fastest in the lake fleet. Thousands
Horsepower
8
They can carry about twice as much ore as
their 50-year-old prototypes, make the round
trip to the head of the lakes and back in 5
days as against 7 days for the older boats,
make about 45 trips a season instead of the
30 trips made by the old timers. In short, one
new ore boat can just about do the work of
three old ones each shipping season. Thus, the
15 new boats added to the lakes ore fleet since
1950 are roughly the equivalent of 45 boats
* Rebuilt ships excluded
built at the beginning of the century.
Co.; U. S. Army,
The typical modem ore carrier is 647 feet Source of data: M.CorpsA. ofHanna
Engineers.

.mill
Before
1900

4




19001909

19101919

19201929

19301939

19401949

19501954

year the boats were built(3) is illustrated in
the lower two panels of the accompanying
trio of charts.
The modernization of the ore fleet during
the past few years has not been limited to the
launching of 15 new ships. Since 1950, 21
vessels have been rebuilt, increasing further
the ore fleet’s speed and cargo capacity. Five
of the rebuilt vessels are ocean-going freight­
ers, modified for the lake ore trade. These
vessels were towed to the lakes through the
Mississippi River, the Illinois Waterway and
the Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal. New sec­
tions were installed between the bow and
stern making their over-all length in excess of
600 feet. The speed, cargo capacity, and gen­
eral performance of these converted ocean­
going freighters rank them amongst the new­
est boats built specifically for the lake ore
trade.
The round of expansion and modernization
completed by the lake ore carriers last year
expanded substantially the fleet’s ability to
move millions of tons of iron ore down the
lakes. New single-trip cargo records have been
set since 1950, as the new boats joined the
fleet and the average cargo loaded at Upper
Lake docks has risen nearly one-sixth. (See
chart.) This year, lower water levels on the
lakes, plus the use of a greater number of
older vessels in the ore trade, caused the
average cargo to decline slightly.
Canadian shipyards have also been busy
adding to their fleet and have set some rec­
ords of their own.(4)
Rising Imports and Future Lake Ore Trade

The rising tide of imports from new ore
fields abroad, coupled with the dwindling
(3) The median cargo capacity or horsepower is used here
as the average. Rebuilt ships are excluded from the average
since they are more prone to have the characteristics of the
ships in the year they were originally constructed than those
of the year in which they were rebuilt.
(4) The Canadian grain-carrier T. R. McLagan is the longest
steamer on the Great Lakes and measures 715 feet in over-all
length. The biggest boat on the lakes is the American ore
carrier George M. Humphrey, launched at Lorain last October.
Although the Humphrey is 5 feet shorter, its 75-foot breadth
is five feet greater than that of the McLagan.




IR O N ORE C4RGO LO ADED AT
U. 5. UPPER LAKE D O C K S

Source of data: Lake Carriers Association. 1955 estimate by
Fed. Res. Bank of Cleveland.

reserves of high-grade open pit ores in the
Lake Superior region might, at first thought,
seem to throw a shadow over the probable
future of the lake ore fleet. Such is not the
case. The biggest vote of confidence given the
future ore trade on the Great Lakes was cast
by steel companies and fleet owners them­
selves when they undertook the last round o£
shipbuilding.
It is true that imports of iron ore have
risen sharply in the past several years. Fol­
lowing World War II, the steel industry
launched a broad search for new sources of
iron ore. Substantial deposits were discovered
and developed in Liberia and Peru. These
mines currently ship several million tons of
ore a year to U. S. mills. The most extensive
fields were uncovered in Labrador and Vene­
zuela, however, and it is the large tonnages of
ore beginning to arrive from these develop­
ments that have pushed imports up so
rapidly. Most of this ore goes to East and
Gulf Coast mills and has not affected the lake
ore trade as yet. However, a large Southern
5

Ohio mill will use about 30 percent Labrador
ore this year, most of it coming in by rail
from the Atlantic seaboard.
An estimated 15 million gross tons of iron
ore will come from Labrador and Venezuela
mines this year. Several million tons of
Canadian ore will also come down the lakes.
Thus, imports from Canada and Venezuela
may be about 18 million tons this year, or
two-thirds more than the total quantity im­
ported in any year prior to 1954. The accom­
panying chart illustrates the sharp upturn
in imports that has occurred in the past two
years. (To get the proper perspective on the
present relation of imports to total supply,
see the earlier chart on total iron ore ship­
ments.) Foreign sources will probably supply
an increasingly larger proportion of U. S.
needs in the foreseeable future.
In the recent search for iron ore, the Lake
Superior region, which had supplied the
country for so many years, was not neglected.
In fact, the biggest “ find” was made in this
area by developing a way to process the bilIRON ORE IM PORTED FOR CONSUMPTION IN U. 5.

Source of data: TJ. S. Bureau of Mines. 1955 estimate by
Fed. Res. Bank of Cleveland.
6




lions of tons of low-grade taconite and jasper
remaining in the area.
In the Mesabi range, only about ten per­
cent of the accessible formation was high
grade open pit ore. The balance was taconite,
an extremely hard rock containing about onethird iron. With so much high-grade ore
available in the range, taconite was virtually
ignored for years. The iron particles in it
were so fine and so thinly spread throughout
the ore that solving the difficult mining and
processing problems presented by this tough
rock did not appear worthwhile.
To make a long and interesting story short,
an economically feasible way to mine and
process taconite into a form usable in blast
furnaces was found in 1948. To date, half a
billion dollars have been spent or committed
to develop taconite mines and processing
plants in the eastern end of the Mesabi range.
Entire new towns are being built near the
ore fields and along Lake Superior, north of
Duluth. Shipments of taconite pellets down
the lakes this year are expected to total sev­
eral million tons.
Iron concentrates are also being recovered
from the jasper deposits of the Marquette
range in Northern Michigan. Jasper is simi­
lar to taconite but has a slightly higher iron
content.
Taconite concentrates cost more than natu­
ral ore, since it takes roughly three tons of
taconite to get one ton of concentrates. But,
the concentrated ore contains at least 62.5
percent iron as compared with about 51 per­
cent iron in natural Lake Superior ores.
By 1957, some 7 to 8 million tons of iron
concentrates should be coming down the
lakes. The capacity of present processing
mills is expandable to about 27 million tons a
year. The potential is an abundant supply of
concentrates for many years to come. Other
types of low-grade ore may be found in the
Lake Superior ranges. Tentative estimates of
the potential supply of low-grade iron ores
in the Mesabi and Marquette ranges alone
exceed 5 billion tons.
(Continued on Page 11)

Eyes are on Commodity Prices
price trends are bound to be Spot Market Prices
very much in the public eye for some
Usually, one of the first indications of an
time to come, as the business boom and re­increase
in general inflationary pressures is a
lated developments have generated new up­marked rise
in the prices of basic commodi­
ward pressures on prices and as public policy ties, as businessmen
and traders attempt to
is directed toward heading off any new infla­ increase their commodity
holdings in order
tionary threat.
to profit from further (anticipated) price
Industrial prices, which had been rising increases and to insure against shortages
slowly since the business recovery began in which might interrupt normal productive
the fall of 1954, quickened their advance processes.
after the steel and auto wage settlements in
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has devel­
July of this year. The industrial component1 oped
an index of 22 spot market commodities
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Wholesale especially
selected because of their sensitivity
Price Index rose two percent between June to economic
and conditions. These
and September to reach an all-time record commodities areforces
traded
on open markets and
high. Prices of building materials have been organized exchanges, where
prices are
rising at an accelerated rate since June, re­ primarily determined by thetheir
interaction of
inforced by a definite upward movement competitive supply and demand. The com­
among most metal products, lumber, paper ponents of the index are all primary com­
and rubber products. At least some further modities
which are close to the initial produc­
price increases seem inevitable as the new tion stage and contain a minimum of fixed
wage pattern works its way through the econ­ cost rigidities built into their prices. It is for
omy and as record industrial demand con­
reason that the 22 commodities, although
tinues to press against supplies in those this
they are not a representative cross section of
“ bottleneck” areas of the economy where the 2,000-item wholesale price index, usually
output is not readily expandable.
are quick to reflect shifts in underlying
Meantime, prices of farm products and of supply-demand conditions of the type most
foodstuffs have followed irregular paths, with likely to cause important fluctuations in the
a general downward trend apparently still more broadly based wholesale price index.
predominating. The broad price averages —
The charts and discussion which follow are
whether measured by the Wholesale Price addressed almost entirely to the Spot Market
Index, the Consumer Price Index, or the Price Index. The fact that the latter is
Spot Market Price Index — have so far con­ weighted more heavily on the side of farm
tinued to show little movement away from products and foodstuffs than is the general
wholesale price index should not be overlooked.
the horizontal.
Have sensitive commodity prices been ris­
ing lately? As a matter of fact they have not
1 All commodities other than farm products and foods.

C

ommodity




7

Spot market prices have been stablllwed during
the past two and one-half years by the offsetting
price movements of industrial and agricultural
commodities.
In the recent period of booming business activ­
ity, foodstuffs have declined in price while metals
and rubber prices have soared to levels exceeded
only during the Korean War emergency. The prices
of industrial materials originating on farms have
followed a middle course, with very little fluctu­
ation.

Latest entry: September

8




been rising, at least up to press time. The
spot market price index, like the wholesale
and consumer prices indexes, has been un­
usually stable for more than two and one-half
years. However, the over-all steadiness of the
index has been deceptive. The accompanying
charts show how the stability of the 22commodity index since early 1953 has actu­
ally been based upon the offsetting fluctua­
tions of its two principal component groups
— foodstuffs and industrial raw materials.2
Industrial Materials and Foodstuffs

At the beginning of this period of stability
— in 1953 and early 1954 — rising foodstuffs
prices were balanced by declines among most
industrial raw materials. Falling prices for
raw materials during the industrial boom of
1953 may seem anomalous. Rising industrial
activity usually exerts an upward pressure
on raw material prices, but in 1953 another
influence — reaction to the scare buying and
stockpiling of the Korean War period — was
having an even stronger effect. Industrial raw
materials prices declined steadily from early
1951 through the end of 1953. The business
recession beginning in the fall of 1953 helped
carry the industrials’ price decline into 1954.
The foodstuffs component of the 22-commodity index had strengthened during 1953
and early 1954 primarily because of spectac­
ular price advances by hogs, lard and cocoa
beans. Excessive cutbacks in hog production
after a market glut in 1952 laid the ground­
work for the upward price spirals in hogs
and lard. Cocoa prices soared when European
consumption increased sharply (due to de­
rationing and prosperity) at a time when
plant diseases, adverse weather conditions
2 The 22 commodities making up the Bureau of Labor Statis­
tics’ index of spot primary market prices are as follows:
butter, cocoa beans, corn, cottonseed oil, hogs, lard, steers,
sugar, wheat, burlap, copper scrap, cotton, hides, lead scrap,
print cloth, rosin, rubber, steel scrap, tallow, tin, wool tops,
and zinc. The first 9 items are classified as foodstuffs and the
remaining 13 as industrial raw materials. It should be noted
that 5 of the raw industrials are metals. The 5 agriculturebased industrial raw materials which hare been charted are
cotton, hides, rosin, tallow and wool.
A recent 1953-54 base period was used in constructing all of
the charts in order to facilitate the comparison of relative
price movements.




and political policies were holding down out­
put in West Africa’s principal producing
area.
The pattern of price movements now domi­
nating the spot market commodity index had
its origin in the spring of 1954. At that time,
the relative positions of foodstuffs and raw
industrials were reversed; declining food
prices began offsetting a rising trend in the
prices of industrial raw materials.
At first, the upturn in industrial materials
prices appeared artificial. War scares in the
Far East (Indo-China and Formosa) bol­
stered the prices of imported commodities for
several months. In addition, a decision by the
U. S. Government to substantially expand its
purchases of domestically produced minerals
for the national stockpile gave the prices of
nonferrous metals an initial lift, which was
followed by continuous support.
The war scares proved to be temporary,
but the climb in the prices of industrial raw
materials did not. The decline in industrial
production in this country ended in the
spring of 1954 and business activity in
Europe continued the expansion that had
persisted throughout the brief recession here.
Metals and Rubber

As indicated by the accompanying charts,
the price movements of metals and rubber
have dominated the rising trend of the indus­
trial raw materials component of the 22commodity index. With the government ab­
sorbing surplus stocks that had accumulated
during the brief recession, metals prices3
strengthened during mid-1954 and quickly
responded to the improved industrial demand
in the fall of that year.
Lead and zinc benefited most from govern­
ment stockpile purchases. Primarily as a
result of the government program, lead and
zinc prices rose gradually from lows of 12.5c
and 9.8c per pound, respectively, in early
March 1954 to 15c and 12c per pound in
3 Represented in the 22-commodity index by copper scrap,
lead scrap, steel scrap, tin and zinc.
9

January 1955. Thereafter, with the govern­
ment absorbing successively smaller offerings,
expanding industrial demand pushed zinc to
13.5c per pound and lead to 15.5c per pound
in September of this year.
The purchase by the U. S. Government of
100,000 tons of surplus Chilean copper in the
spring of 1954 set the stage for a gradual
rise in the market price of that metal. A
series of strikes against copper producers
both here and abroad together with climbing
industrial consumption had created a shortage
of copper by the late spring of 1955. Before
an expanding world output could restore
market equilibrium, a new strike against
U. S. copper producers took place in July,
with the result that copper prices soared to
an all-time peak of more than 50c per pound
on the world market.
Stimulated by record demand from the
auto and construction industries, the steel
industry chewed up increasing quantities of
scrap during late 1954 and 1955, while
greatly expanded exports cut into scrap sup­
plies. Steel scrap prices, like those of most
other metals, climbed along with the rising
pace of business activity.
Natural rubber prices have more than
doubled since the first quarter of 1954. In­
creased buying by Iron Curtain countries co­
incided with the record demand generated by
the booming auto industries in Europe and
the United States. Because rubber trees take
several years to mature (and the capacity of
existing synthetic rubber factories is limited),
the world supply of rubber cannot be readily
increased on short notice. Increased demand
is quickly reflected in higher prices.
Agricultural Prices

Further examination of the “ industrial
raw materials” group reveals that those raw
materials produced in the farm sector of the
economy have not participated in the rising
price trend evidenced by metals and rubber.
Cotton, hides, rosin, tallow and wool tops
together, as shown in an accompanying chart,
have tended to follow a middle course. Ex­
10



panding industrial demand for these com­
modities in 1955 has been tempered by the
existence of abundant supplies and competi­
tion from substitute materials.
Abundant supplies are not something pe­
culiar to the agriculture-based industrial raw
materials. They are currently an overriding
characteristic of almost all the commodities
produced in the farm sector of the economy.
Agricultural abundance has been manifested
in the 22-commodity index primarily by the
steady decline in foodstuffs prices which has
been in progress since April 1954.
A variety of factors lie behind the price
weakness in the farm commodity group. For
a precise understanding, each product needs
to be interpreted both on its individual merits
and in terms of the more complex inter­
relationships among the various farm prod­
ucts. To generalize, however, the principal
underlying factor is the failure of supplies
to adjust down to a normal peacetime level of
demand. Wheat, cotton, corn, and other stor­
able commodities have backed up into inven­
tory rather than moving into consumption.
Land forced from production of such surplus
products has found its way into production
of other products creating still additional ex­
cesses. Abundant feed supplies at reduced
prices have tended, furthermore, to spur the
production of hogs and cattle and conse­
quently their by-products, lard, tallow and
hides. Wool and butter, as alluded to previ­
ously, have fallen victim to competition from
lower priced substitutes and, in the case of
wool, a cheaper source through foreign sup­
pliers.
The flexible farm price support program in
several cases has resulted in the lowering of
support levels; consequently, downward price
pressures have been expressed in lower mar­
ket prices.
So far as the agricultural outlook is con­
cerned, the accumulation of stocks held by
the Commodity Credit Corporation will in
effect provide a rather specific price ceiling
on many farm products for some time to
come, as these stocks will move onto the free

market whenever prices rise much above sup­
port levels.
On the industrial side, the question is
whether the present pressures can be con­
tained. Whether higher wage costs will be
fully passed all the way forward to the com­
modities and services purchased by consumers
depends largely upon the intensity of com­
petitive pressures at the various levels of
industry and trade. Although the retail

ORE

prices of most services have risen steadily
during recent years, many cost increases bear­
ing on manufactured commodities have been
absorbed by shrinking producer and distribu­
tor margins. In the final analysis, the strength
of consumer demand and availability of pur­
chasing power, both in the form of personal
income and credit, will be important factors
influencing the prices of manufactured com­
modities at retail.

FLEET
{Continued from Page 6)

The development at Steep Rock, in Ontario,
also deserves mention in any round-up of
Lake Superior iron ore. Here, rivers were
diverted and a lake was drained in order to
get at the rich iron ore deposits lying under
water. Steep Rock ore is beginning to move
over the docks at Port Arthur in appreciable
tonnage with shipments expected to reach
2,200,000 tons this year.
The future of the Lake Superior region as
a major supplier of the country’s iron ore
needs seems secure. Over two-thirds of the
nation’s steel-making capacity is clustered
around the Lower Lakes in such centers as
Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Lorain, Buffalo,
Pittsburgh, Youngstown and Wheeling. Five
large steel companies in this area have re­
cently announced major expansions which




will increase their future demand for iron
ore. The lake ore fleet, as the connecting link
between the Lake Superior supply and the
Lower Lakes demand, will continue to prosper.
At this time, it is virtually impossible to
assay the impact of the opening of the St.
Lawrence Seaway (scheduled for 1959) upon
the present pattern of the lake ore trade. The
Seaway will make it possible to bring large
shipments of rich Labrador ore directly into
the Lower Lakes. In fact, the locks and canals
of the seaway will accommodate the largest
vessel now in the lake ore fleet. The competi­
tive advantage of Labrador ore will be deter­
mined, in part, by the rate of tolls charged
for traffic through the Seaway. The fixing of
such charges is still under advisement.

11

FOURTH

FEDERAL

RESERVE! DISTRICT

i

CLEVELAND

TOLEDO

AKRON •

PA.

I

«{YOUNGSTOWN

CANTON •
O H IO

mm




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LEXINGTON
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