THUNDER BAY — The Port of Thunder Bay gets a high profile in a report on marine shipping activity on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway this year.
Issued Wednesday by the Chamber of Marine Commerce, it says Thunder Bay "is playing a huge role" in the successful movement of grain, but the report also highlights growing volumes of potash and the potential for expanded shipments of general cargo.
The CMC is a bi-national, private sector, not-for-profit association representing marine industry stakeholders.
Referring to a four per cent increase in Canadian and U.S. grain traffic so far this year compared with last year, it said the Port of Thunder Bay "is dedicated to providing access to European markers for Western Canadian grain producers through the longest grain supply chain in the world."
Bruce Burrows, president and CEO of the CMC, said Thunder Bay "is the pulse of the Canadian grain industry," and a leader in maintaining Canada's international reputation as a reliable trading partner.
"Its commitment to continuous development and improvement is another example of how seriously CMC members take their responsibilities with respect to maintaining strong supply chains," he added.
A CMC news release referenced the port authority's five-year capital plan for strategic investments, noting it includes the expansion and reconfiguration of the general cargo terminal to capitalize on future cargo growth opportunities.
"The port is focused on playing a lead role in Canada's export success for years to come," it states.
Last week, the local port authority said strong potash and grain shipments contributed to the largest cargo throughput for the month of September since 2016, and that monthly and year-to-date potash tallies set new standards for the port.
In the CMC report released Wednesday, Port of Thunder Bay CEO Chris Heikkinen said an emerging opportunity is the movement of phosphate imports to Western Canada via Keefer Terminal.
He said the port saw a variety of inbound general cargo shipments in September, and that "with a significant supply of grain and potash available for backhaul shipments, shippers are wise to look at Thunder Bay as an inbound gateway for commodities moving into Northern Ontario and Western Canada."
In an interview with Newswatch, Heikkinen said he's "not overly concerned" about a recent push from an economic development agency in Saskatchewan to get grain shipments moving on a regular basis through the port at Churchill, Manitoba.
Invest Tisdale announced last month it has partnered with the Arctic Gateway Group to restore and promote two-way rail traffic between Churchill and the town of Tisdale.
"We have been advocating for direct rail service to Churchill since 1995, and for restoration of grain service since 2015," said Tisdale Reeve Ian Allan.
Arctic Gateway Group CEO Chris Avery said Churchill can offer Saskatchewan grain farmers and other businesses major cost savings with a shorter and more direct route to world export markets, as well as for imports of key products such as fertilizers.
Heikkinen doesn't anticipate a significant threat to business for the Port of Thunder Bay at this time.
While Thunder Bay ships about eight million metric tons of grain annually, at its peak Churchill only handled 600,000, "so they would have a significant amount of work to do to get anywhere close to our volumes. They have some barriers, obviously, one of them being their very short navigation season."
He also pointed to the major assets the grain companies already have in Thunder Bay, and said they have been shipping more tonnage through the Seaway route in recent years.
"We're always monitoring where grain is moving and how it's moving. We stay in good touch with the grain companies utilizing our port, and we certainly want to make sure that they're satisfied, and that their plans continue to include Thunder Bay. At this time, there's no indication that's changing."
