From a national and international perspective, the role of MAFC’s maritime shipping is often overshadowed by the role of international maritime trade flowing through oceanic coastal ports. As shown in Table 1, MAFC states account for little of the nation’s direct foreign trade (4 percent of US export tonnage; 2 percent of US import tonnage). Direct foreign maritime trade between MAFC states and other countries only happens in the Great Lakes. In dollar value terms, MAFC states account for even less due to the fact that most export products are lower value-per-ton commodities (grain, coal, etc.) than the value added containerized freight shipped to and from coastal ports. MAFC’s overall share of total US maritime freight is also small at 14 percent.

In contrast to foreign trade, MAFC states account for a substantial portion of the nation’s domestic maritime freight movement, responsible for shipping 41 percent of total domestic tonnage and receiving 29 percent. The data also mask the MAFC region’s contribution to US agricultural exports. hipments from MAFC waterways to the Louisiana deep-water ports categorized as “domestic” are ultimately trans-loaded to ocean going vessels for foreign export.

Table 1: MAFC Share of US Waterborne Commerce (2010)

State	Total Tonnage (millions of tons)	Domestic				Foreign
		Shipped	Received	Within State (millions of tons)	Share Domestic (%)	Exports	Imports	Share Foreign (%)
Subtotal MAFC States	318,039	128,993	89,833	60,553	88%	22,906	15,755	12%
Total US (and Territories)	2,334,397	310,832	310,830	271,796	38%	557,842	883,097	62%
MAFC Share of US Total	14%	41%	29%	22%		4%	2%

Source: CY 2010 Waterborne Tonnage by State in Units of 1000 Tons

Table 2 summarizes the total MAFC Region maritime freight tonnage shipped by category (intrastate trade, interstate trade between MAFC states, trade between MAFC and other states, MAFC foreign trade). Table 3 the top commodity categories by total tonnage handled (shipped and/or received by ports in the MAFC region.

Table 4 summarizes maritime shipping by individual MAFC state. Appendix D and Appendix E provide additional details about dominant commodities for individual MAFC states. Intrastate shipping is freight movement that originates and is received within the same state. Commodity movements that originate and end within a MAFC state (intrastate) or between two MAFC states (interstate) is handled twice and therefore double counted.

Locally produced mineral commodities dominate intrastate shipping. Coal dominates internal shipping in Kentucky, Illinois, and Ohio. Shipment of sand gravel and other aggregates is common to most maritime states, and limestone from Michigan accounts for much of the total in that category.

Regional interstate shipping is dominated by coal and iron. Coal from eastern states, MAFC states, and western states is shipped by river and the Great Lakes. Kentucky and Illinois are major coal producers and some eastern coal is loaded onto barges at MAFC ports. A significant amount of coal from western states (Wyoming, Montana) is moved by rail to the port of Duluth-Superior where it is loaded on ships for distribution throughout the Great Lakes.

Iron ore mining and steel production account for a significant share of shipping on the Great Lakes. Iron ore in mined near ports on Lake Superior and shipped to industrial centers on the other lakes for steel production. Limestone is quarried in Michigan and elsewhere and shipped to both mines and steel factories. Limestone is also used throughout the region in cement production and other uses. As noted earlier, western coal is the primary source of energy for steel production.

Movement of other non-metallic crude materials: primary manufactures such as pig iron and concrete, fertilizers and other chemicals, and petroleum products constitute the majority of the remaining regional maritime trade. Crude petroleum from North Dakota shale and Alberta tar sands are moved by pipeline and rail to Great Lakes ports such as Duluth-Superior for shipment to refineries elsewhere.

Total maritime trade between the MAFC region and the rest of the United States is also significant. Coal shipped from coal-producing states in the Ohio River basin is shipped to states throughout the MRS and to Louisiana deep-water ports for export. Corn, soybeans, and other crops are shipped to states of the lower Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico mostly for export but some for domestic production of livestock, poultry, and other products. Of the 198 million tons of maritime freight shipped between MAFC and the rest of the United States in 2010, coal and crops constituted 33 percent and 29 percent of the total, respectively. Sand and gravel used in construction, salt, petroleum and petroleum-based products, and chemicals (both fertilizers vital to Midwest agriculture and non-fertilizers) constituted most of the remainder of domestically shipped commodities.

Direct foreign maritime trade comprised the smallest category of maritime trade in the MAFC region because such trade is limited to ports in the Great Lakes. Iron ore, limestone, and coal are exported to Canada, while most food exports are shipped to other parts of the world.

Not reflected in these tables is the level of trade between states outside of MAFC that rely on the river system infrastructure located in the MAFC region. For example, some coal loaded on barges in West Virginia is bound for the Lower Mississippi and some chemical and petroleum products are shipped to eastern states. Maintenance of maritime infrastructure in the MAFC region is vital to the inland waterway network as a whole.

Table 2: MAFC Maritime Trade by Category (Tonnage Handled 2010)

	Total Tonnage (Short Tons)	Percentage of Total MAFC	Shipments (Short Tons)		Receipts (Short Tons)
MAFC Intrastate Shipping*	121,107,998	20.3%		60,553,999	60,553,999
Total Shipping Between MAFC States (excluding intrastate)*	239,510,766	40.1%		119,755,383	119,755,383
Shipping Between MAFC States and Rest of U.S.	198,189,680	33.2%		138,295,460	59,894,220
MAFC Foreign Trade**	38,593,941	6.5%		22,905,511	15,688,430
Total	597,402,385	100.0%		341,510,353	255,892,032

Source: 2010 State-to-State Public Domain Data Base by Origin and by State

*Intrastate Tonnage and Shipping between MAFC states is double counted because origins and destinations are internal, and cargo is handled at both ends.

**Foreign Trade excludes imports and exports shipped via ports in the Gulf of Mexico, which are included in “Shipping between MAFC States and the rest of U.S.”

Table 3: Top Commodities MAFC Maritime Freight (Total Tonnage 2010)

	Shipments	Receipts	Total
Coal, Lignite, and Coal Coke	122,989,349	95,812,629	218,801,978
Sand, Gravel, Shells, Clay, Salt, and Slag	64,423,241	53,128,214	117,551,455
Iron Ore, Iron, and Steel Waste and Scrap	46,752,267	42,840,691	89,592,958
Food and Food Products	59,289,268	1,671,902	60,961,170
Unknown and Not Elsewhere Classified Products	23,182,792	21,083,533	44,266,325
Petroleum Products	10,780,002	14,376,865	25,156,867
Primary Non-Metal Products	8,139,787	6,922,645	15,062,432
Chemicals excluding Fertilizers	3,460,528	5,985,248	9,445,776
Chemical Fertilizers	779,677	7,476,394	8,256,071
Primary Metal Products	703,155	4,926,928	5,630,083
Non-Ferrous Ores and Scrap	–	2,378,761	2,378,761
Manufactured Goods	32,286	308,512	340,798

Figures include all MAFC region maritime freight: internal to MAFC region, between MAFC region and rest of United States, and foreign trade. MAFC internal tonnages are double counted because handling at both origin and destination are internal to region. “Unknown and Not Elsewhere Classified” and “Not Classified” tonnage includes commodities that either don’t fall into a standard classification or in cases where release of data would essentially disclose shipping data of individual firms.

Sources: 2010 State-to-State Public Domain Data Base by Origin and by State

Table 4: Total Maritime Trade by MAFC State (2010)

State	US Rank	Total Tonnage (‘000 tons)	Domestic				Foreign
			Shipping (‘000 tons)	Receiving (‘000 tons)	Within State (‘000 tons)	% Domestic vs. Total	Shipping (‘000 tons)	Receiving (‘000 tons)	% Foreign vs. Total
Illinois	6	108,083	79,209	14,725	10,996	97%	1,073	2,080	3%
Ohio	8	98,986	19,996	55,198	10,488	87%	6,131	7,174	13%
Kentucky	9	91,357	46,032	26,646	18,679	100%	0	0	0%
Indiana	14	60,805	15,613	41,041	3,013	98%	454	684	2%
Michigan	15	59,067	18,374	21,225	10,059	84%	5,283	4,127	16%
Minnesota	20	40,408	28,079	6,907	994	89%	4,261	167	11%
Wisconsin	22	34,494	21,184	5,852	231	79%	5,704	1,523	21%
Missouri	24	32,953	22,308	5,352	5,293	100%	0	0	0%
Iowa	33	10,470	6,958	2,712	800	100%	0	0	0%
Kansas	39	239	232	7	0	100%	0	0	0%
Subtotal MAFC States		536,862	257,985	179,665	60,553	93%	22,906	15,755	7%
Total US States + D.C.		2,893,044	603,654	614,561	269,761	51%	553,095	851,972	49%
MAFC Share of US Total		19%	43%	29%	22%		4%	2%

Source: Waterborne Commerce of the United States Part 5, Table 4-2