Outbound potash cargoes through the Port of Thunder Bay during May were the highest in a decade.
The port authority said potash shipments totalled 134,123 tonnes, the highest monthly volume since April 2007. Last year during the same month, only 35,325 tonnes moved through the port.
The majority of potash shipments in May were exported to ports in Brazil and Europe. Thunder Bay is the only potash loading point on the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway System.
Grain shipments topped 920,000 tonnes in May; 100,000 tonnes more than average for the month. For the second consecutive year, record levels of canola are augmenting the strong grain volumes in the western Lake Superior port. Total cargo volumes for the port are now 20 per cent higher than average, year-to-date.
The authority anticipates a steady summer for port facilities, including its own Keefer Terminal. Several shipments of inbound project cargo are expected at Keefer in the coming days.
