THUNDER BAY – The city’s grain shipping industry is off to its strongest start in nearly 20 years.
As of May 31, the Port of Thunder Bay loaded more than 1.8 million tonnes of grain, a substantial increase from the five-year average of 1.4 million. That's the most grain moved at this point in the season since 1997.
Overall, the port has handled a total of more than 2 million tonnes of cargo so far in 2015, which is about 500,000 more tonnes than at this point last year.
Thunder Bay Port Authority officials credit the strong season to two consecutive years of record grain harvests in Western Canada.
During the month of May the port loaded 1.1 million tonnes of grain, which represented the majority of the nearly 1.3 million tonnes of total cargo which is a 37 per cent increase from the five-year average.
Potash shipments were 50 per cent higher than the five-year average, as a little more than 72,000 tonnes were handled in May.
There were 42 lakers and 18 salties that passed through the harbor in the past month.
