Thunder Bay Shipping at 17 Year High for Grain

THUNDER BAY – TRANSPORTATION – Over the past months, a look out over the harbour has shown a lot of ships. Today that fact is being confirmed by the Port of Thunder Bay. For the first time since 2008, annual cargo volumes in the Port of Thunder Bay have topped 8.0 million metric tonnes (MT).

With a month left to go in the shipping season, overall volumes are expected to approach the 9.0 million MT mark – a level not seen in over a decade.

The port experienced another month of above-average grain shipments in November, bringing the annual grain tally to over 7.1 million MT.

Year-to-date grain volumes are now 57% higher than last year and 43% higher than the five-year average for November 30. Annual grain tonnage is expected to set a 17-year high when the season wraps up in January.

There has been a sharp increase in the number of foreign “salty” vessels calling the port this season. For the first time in a decade, the number of salty calls to the Port of Thunder Bay has surpassed 100.