Portage County has been receiving timely deliveries of salt and expects them to continue. Andy Briscoe, director of public policy at the national Salt Institute, said many communities in Ohio and in other northern states have been caught off guard by this winter's relentless snowfall. Briscoe, whose organization is supported by the six major U.S. salt producers, said there's no shortage of salt. Salt mines, such as Morton Salt Co.'s in Fairport Harbor, have been working around the clock for months, he said. The problem is distributing the salt once it leaves the mine.
Trucks have to wait in line for hours to be loaded.
The bad weather hampers deliveries by truck, train and ship. Joseph Wojtonik, spokesman for Morton Salt, said no one could have predicted such a severe start to winter. Mine production doubled The company's production from its salt mines last month was double the December average, he said. To help fill orders in Ohio, Wojtonik said, the company is shipping boatloads of salt from its mine in Ojibway, Ontario, to supplement Fairport Harbor's production. Briscoe said communities need to expand their storage facilities so they can have an ample supply on hand to weather the continuing storms.