THUNDER BAY – The Port of Thunder Bay’s overall tonnage for April was down compared to the same month a year ago, but it’s year-to-date numbers are still considerably ahead of the five year average.
According to statistics released on Wednesday, the port handled 955,953 tonnes of cargo, including 843,080 tonnes of grain, last month, just shy of 187,000 tonnes less than it handled in 2020.
The year-to-date numbers show the more than 1.26 million tonnes of cargo has come through the port so far in 2021, which is about 114,000 below last year’s total at this time, but more than 217,000 more than the five-year average.
Tim Heney, CEO at the Port of Thunder Bay, said it’s been a pretty strong start this year and there are plenty of indicators things will pick up even further moving forward.
“We’re seeing some pretty good activity coming up at Keefer Terminal as well. We’ve already had two loads of structural steel and rail come in and we’re expecting a really strong year at Keefer. That’s looking very positive for the port,” Heney said.
Grain is still the big driver of activity, but it’s also hard to predict, dependent on a number of factors, including supply from farmers west of Ontario and export decisions made by countries around the world.
The latter may play into Thunder Bay’s favour for the near future, with some countries putting export duties on grain, thanks in part to the uncertainty of COVID-19.
“When you talk about how much grain is going to go through Thunder Bay, it’s always the harvest, our competing markets in the Ukraine and Europe and what the harvest is like there. So far the first half of the year is looking pretty good. We’ll have to see how the harvest comes off for the second half,” Heney said.
Dry weather on the Canadian prairies won’t help this year’s crop.
“There’s so many things that can change the picture dramatically, but right now, it looks like that’s recovered somewhat and people are again being optimistic on the planting and this year’s crop. We just have to wait and see.”
As for the number of ships arriving in port, there were four less vessels in April 2021 compared to April 2020, but year to date there has only been one fewer ship, with 60 berthing in the city since the shipping season began. There were 47 ships that arrived last month.
Heney said he’s also encouraged that a load of fertilizer was shipped through the port, destined for western Canada, a type of cargo that doesn’t typically arrive in Thunder Bay. He added he’s hopeful the port will see more shiploads of fertilizer moving forward.
