Page 8: of Marine News Magazine (March 2026)

7 9

By the

Numbers

FROM MARKETS TO MOTHER NATURE,

LAKE CARRIERS CHALLENGED

Hauling cargo on the U.S. Great Lakes is rife with challenges, from addressing cargo challenges to better compete versus Canadian counterparts, to a 10-year steady decline in water levels that forces less-ef? cient cargo runs, to navigation challenges posed by ice and a dearth of U.S.

Coast Guard icebreakers. Representing the 14 U.S. carriers comprising 43 ships is the Lake

Carriers Association (LCA). Eric Peace, LCA, discusses this and more with Marine News.

By Greg Trauthwein

The numbers don’t lie. And in 2025, the U.S.-