THUNDER BAY— Port operations this season have been strengthened by high volumes of grain, potash, and cargoes processed at Keefer Terminal.
International cargo at Keefer Terminal generates jobs and stimulates economic growth, said Chris Heikkinen, Thunder Bay Port Authority CEO.
The Port of Thunder Bay’s 2025 shipping season is off to a solid start. Cargo shipments from the beginning of the season to April 30 were 11 per cent higher than the 5-year average, said a media release issued by the port.
The 2024 shipping season was the best on record in more than 25 years.
“In April specifically at Kiefer we brought in some phosphate fertilizer that comes all the way from Morocco, direct to Thunder Bay. It's stored in Kiefer and then it's railed west to farms," said Heikkinen. "We also had our first seasonal shipment of steel pipe.”
In April, Keefer Terminal brought in and stored nearly 20,000 tonnes of phosphate fertilizer, shortly after the terminals first seasonal shipment of inbound steel pipe was completed, he said.
“The noteworthy thing is that both of the vessels that brought in these cargoes, they then went to a grain elevator in Thunder Bay and took backhaul cargo to Europe,” said Heikkinen.
“The Port of Thunder Bay moves many millions of tons of grain primarily, and it's moved to East Europe, North Africa, the Middle East,” said Heikkinen
With the hopes that 2025 will compare to last year's successes, the port continues to celebrate its highest shipping volumes in a generation.
