Thunder Bay grain shipments down on year through two months

MarketsFarm — Grain shipments through the Port of Thunder Bay are running well behind normal through the first two months of the 2022 shipping season, according to a release from the port.

However, potash movement through the port is up considerably, with inbound shipments of general cargo also strong.

Grain shipments through the end of May, of about 1.13 million tonnes, were down by one million from the same time the previous year. The drought that cut into crop production in the Canadian Prairies in 2021 was cited as the main reason behind the reduction in grain movement.

Meanwhile, shipments of western Canadian potash have quadrupled compared to the same period last year. Terminals in Thunder Bay loaded out 280,000 tonnes of potash in less than two months; this is half of the port’s yearly average.

Canada is the world’s largest exporter of potash. Thunder Bay, the only export port on the Seaway for potash, handles shipments moving to Europe, North Africa and South America.

General cargo shipments were strong through the first two months of the season. Keefer Terminal handled over 10,000 tonnes of steel pipe and rail, in addition to a shipment of wind turbine tower sections. Keefer’s large laydown area is a unique port asset that helps attract western-bound general cargo to the Seaway-Thunder Bay route, said the release.