The port of Thunder Bay, Ont., is continuing its strong shipping season with total grain volumes likely to top nine million tonnes, the port authority said last week.
According to the port authority, international demand for Canadian grain, especially wheat and canola, remains high due to the COVID-19 pandemic and low ocean shipping rates, among other factors.
As of July 31, year-to-date grain tonnage at the port was up 26 percent over last year.
July shipments were up 100,000 tonnes and strong grain movements are expected to continue throughout the fall, said Tim Heney, chief executive officer at the port.
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“It’s always market driven,” Heney said in a recent interview with The Western Producer.
“With the pandemic, it’s had a noticeable effect on the European market because there’s a lot more people staying home and making pasta and so on, so they need more grain.
“Some countries have also restricted grain exports, trying to protect their domestic food supplies … and we also have a lot more ocean ship availability.
“With the pandemic, the market for a lot of other commodities kind of fell apart so there’s a lot more ships available and they’re willing to come all the way up the seaway to get grain. We’ve had quite a few more ocean ships this year than we did last year.”
For the past decade, annual grain volumes at the port of Thunder Bay have ranged from a low of 5.2 million tonnes in 2010 to a high of 8.3 million tonnes in 2014.
The port hasn’t handled more than nine million tonnes of grain in a single shipping season since 1997 when total volumes fell just short of 10.2 million tonnes.
But this year, demand for Canadian grain and oilseeds shows no signs of slowing and Canadian grain companies are signaling that they’ll have a big crop to market.
“Everybody’s saying it’s going to be a big one so I think we’re going to continue to see strong movement right through to the end of the season,” Heney said.
Seaway shipping normally ends in late December. Movements on the lakes typically continue until early January.
Heney said ocean ships that have been loaded with grain are usually destined for ports in Europe, North Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
Handy-size ships that arrive in Thunder Bay are typically loaded with about 23,000 tonnes of grain and are topped up to around 35,000 tonnes once they reach the St. Lawrence River.
Shipments of durum wheat and canola to Europe, Africa and the Middle East have been particularly strong this year.
For each of the past 20 years, the port’s total tonnage including grain, coal, potash and other bulk commodities has fallen short of 10 million tonnes.
Strong grain movements this shipping season could push total tonnage beyond the 10 million tonne mark for the first time since 1998.
