July shipments up 22 per cent at Thunder Bay Port

Twenty two per cent more cargo passed through the Thunder Bay, Ont., port last month compared July of 2016.

That's 15 per cent above the port's 10-year-average, chief executive officer Tim Heney told CBC, adding the port has been exceeding its average for the past four years.

The port welcomed 179 vessels during the first seven months of the year, up from 150 in 2016. Of those, 41 were international ships — up from 34 last year — and 138 were domestic, up from 116 last year.   

In total, 350,000 more metric tons of grain came through the city between January and the end of July compared to the same period last year, Heney said. 

Credit for that goes to good crops, more efficient technologies, and the end of the Canadian Wheat Board, he added. 

Since the demise of the Canadian Wheat Board, grain companies with operations in Thunder Bay and Quebec have been favouring the St. Lawrence Seaway for European exports, creating more traffic through Thunder Bay, Heney explained.

What's more, new hopper cars can carry 15 per cent more grain and have fewer gates to open, making it faster to unload more more cargo, he added.

All the shipping activity employs around 800 people, Heney said, at the grain elevators, on the railroads and with the shipping companies.

In addition to profiting from increased grain shipments, the Port is reaping dividends from its efforts to grow business at the Keefer Terminal, Heney said.

Efforts to attract more European cargo bound for western Canada resulted in a record-breaking steel shipment of 8,000 metric tonnes this year, he said.

In addition, the terminal has seen wind turbines, oil sands equipment, and power generation equipment for Manitoba pass through its waters.

A modular hotel bound for Calgary is expected this month.

"It's becoming quite a going concern for us," Heney said of the terminal. "It's quite encouraging."