News File Photo Glimpsed over the railing at the Alpena marina breakwall, the Alpena pulls out of dock at the Lafarge North America plant in late summer.

ALPENA — Slowed by the coronavirus pandemic over the summer, the shipping industry has slowly climbed back toward normal levels, with time left in the season for further improvement.

In July, at least a dozen freighters — at least three of which have Northeast Michigan ties — were laid up when orders for iron ore, limestone, and other materials dried up as factories closed down during coronavirus-related shutdowns.

Five of those have returned to the water as orders have steadily — if slowly — risen, according to Eric Peace, operations and communications director for the Lake Carriers’ Association.

Of the remaining docked freighters, at least some should be able to resume work yet this season if demand continues to increase, Peace said.

Still in layup are the Philip R. Clarke, Edgar B. Speer, and Roger Blough — boats that employ sailors from Northeast Michigan and which have delivered minerals mined at Carmeuse Lime and Stone in Rogers City.

At the Lafarge North America plant in Alpena, a revived construction market has revved up a shipping schedule that slowed significantly in April and May, according to plant manager Jeff Scott.

The plant has shipped 117 vessels this year, compared to 122 at this time last year. Five more shipments are scheduled before the end of the month, for a total of about 1.54 million tons of cement sent by lake vessel through the end of October.

Because of a mild winter, the shipping season got a jumpstart, with the first shipment of limestone loaded on March 5 — the earliest send-out in a decade, Scott reported. The early start came after another 10-year record for the latest last-vessel date, ending the previous season on Jan. 26.

Shipments of limestone from Michigan and Ohio quarries are down by nearly 20% this year, compared to the 2019 shipping season, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association website.

Iron ore is down by nearly 27% compared to last year at this time. After several summer months of shipment tonnage cut almost in half compared to last year’s numbers, demand is rising slowly, allowing some freighters to make their way back into the Great Lakes.

Iron ore, the raw material for steel, is in higher demand as the auto industry and other manufactures receive more orders. The increased market means mines, many of which were forced to close because their product wasn’t needed, are now back up and running, Peace said.

The urgency now, Peace said, is to get as much product to ports as possible before winter ice closes the Soo Locks, usually in mid-January.

With a National Weather Service prediction of a higher-than-average snowfall in Michigan in the next three months — and 10 inches of snow already falling in Duluth this week — winter may be severe this year, Peace said, and the shipping industry needs to do its part to make sure America’s manufacturers are supplied for the cold months ahead.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.