THUNDER BAY – BUSINESS – Looking out onto Lake Superior there are a number of ships at anchor. The Port of Thunder Bay is reporting strong cargo movement at harbour terminals through the end of September. Year-to-date shipments of 5.9 million metric tonnes
are 9% ahead of last year.
The month of September featured strong grain, coal, other dry bulk, and general cargo figures. Grain shipments have trended upward this season as a result of increased canola deliveries from Western Canada being shipped to Europe. Total canola volumes to date are two-thirds higher than last year.
The cargo tally for the month of September reached 1.1 million metric tonnes, about 20% higher than last year. An increase in coal shipments has helped to offset a return to normal volumes of potash this season. Meanwhile, a spike in the other dry bulk figure is largely due to deliveries of salt for winter maintenance of regional roadways.
On the heels of two heavy-lift cargoes received in late August, Keefer Terminal handled two shipments of steel rails in September. Manufactured in Europe, the steel is transported by rail as required from the terminal’s laydown area to Western Canada
