Article: LIGHTENING THE LOAD; Companies reliant on barge deliveries are running well below capacity thanks to low water levels and reduced dredging of the Cuyahoga River.(Insight)

Byline: JAY MILLER

John Coolidge has a problem.

The cement barges that shuttle between the processing plants of St. Mary's Cement Inc. in Ontario and the company's terminal in Cleveland's Flats, where Mr. Coolidge is the terminal manager, can't carry a full load.

The problem lies at the bottom of the Cuyahoga River, where silt is building up, cutting into the depth of the navigation channel. Were they fully loaded, St. Mary's barges - along with the big boats that carry iron ore, limestone, coal and cement - would risk getting stuck in the muck.

And even with less than a full load, the St. Mary's dock crew struggles to get the ships ...

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