THUNDER BAY – The Port of Thunder Bay had a higher-than-average start to the 2019 shipping season.
From March 28, when the first ship arrived, to April 30, workers handled slightly less than 1 million metric tonnes of cargo, significantly than the five-year average of 750,000 tonnes and 10 per cent more than the same period in 2018.
Port officials attributed the increase to strong grain shipments and a larger number of ocean-going vessels arriving in port during the first month of the shipping calendar.
Adding to the bounty was higher-than-usual grain stocks at the Thunder Bay elevators thanks to grain shipments from western Canada.
With above-average grain movement in the first week of May, it’s expected grain shipments will remain strong throughout the month.
April also saw the port’s first non-grain cargo shipment, an inbound haul of steel from Europe en route to Alberta.
In a newsletter sent out on Friday, port officials announced they expect work on the $15-million reconfiguration of the port’s general cargo terminal to be complete by year’s end, while construction of the new transit building is expected to be under way before summer.
