THUNDER BAY – Despite a pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the global economy, the Port of Thunder Bay is reporting strong numbers, topping those from 2019.
Total shipping volumes as of the end of May are over 20 per cent higher than at the same point last year.
That’s largely down to a boom in grain shipments. Nearly 2.4 million metric tonnes of grain had moved through the port, about a 35 per cent increase from 2019.
CEO Tim Heney chalks it up partly to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen Russia restrict grain exports, leading to greater demand in Europe. A drought in Australia also lowered global supply.
That’s been reflected in increased traffic from international vessels, with 41 having arrived by end of May, nearly double last year’s number.
“A lot of the business has dwindled for import/export on the ocean, grain being the exception,” Heney said. “So a lot of them are coming all the way up to Thunder Bay for [grain] to go back to Europe. That’s probably the most unusual phenomenon we’ve seen, the increase in ocean traffic.”
The economic pain of the pandemic has been felt elsewhere, however. Shipments of coal are around 50 per cent lower than last year, and iron ore has taken a hit as well.
“Steel production is down, due to the pandemic, I would think,” offered Heney. “Other than that, though, everything’s holding its own.”
Heney expected that trend to continue through the rest of the year, with the first of several wind turbine shipments arriving in June.
