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Tough Western Canadian harvest means less grain on the dock in Thunder Bay

Potash marine shipments double during September
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(Thunder Bay Port Authority photo)

The Port of Thunder Bay is feeling the impact of a reduced shipments of Prairie grain as the Western Canadian harvest is suffering through a ten-year low.

Monthly grain loads were down 30 per cent in September, according to the Thunder Bay Port Authority, which said in a news release that this mirrors the estimates by crop analysts of a 30 per cent reduction in crop yields in 2022.

The port authority registered 640,037 tonnes of grain through Thunder Bay last month, down from 935,881 tonnes during September 2020.

The authority said year-to-date grain shipments through Thunder Bay are now five per cent below their five-year average.

But Thunder Bay is on track to set a four-year high for potash shipments in 2021. Potash cargoes through the port in September doubled the monthly average.

The authority said, earlier this year, Canadian potash producers predicted strong production for the second half of this year.

The port moved 62,670 tonnes of the fertilizer in September, up from 38,977 tonnes handled during the same month last year.

A monthly highlight for Keefer Terminal was the delivery of a 220-tonne gas turbine generator, the component of which, were loaded onto truck and rail for delivery to Western Canada. The authority said this first in a series of heavy lifts and breakbulk cargo shipments scheduled for this fall.