THUNDER BAY — Despite tariff threats from the U.S., the Port of Thunder Bay is looking to have another great year, according to Chris Heikkinen, chief executive officer of the Thunder Bay Port Authority.
He said 95 per cent of the port's cargo moves east-west, not south.
During their opening of navigation celebration on Wednesday, Heikkinen said the port isn’t overly reliant on trade with the U.S. Only five per cent of the port's cargo ships to the U.S.
“There's not a ton of volume that is at risk due to the potential American tariffs being put on Canadian goods,” said Heikkinen.
However, he added that Tariffs still certainly create some uncertainty.
“There will be some cargos that will potentially be impacted by the tariffs, so we'll have to see how that pans out," said Heikkinen.
Tariffs from the U.S. are not the only cause for concern.
There is some risk across the globe, according to Heikkinen.
In March, China imposed a 100 per cent tariff on Canadian canola.
Heikkinen said he is “monitoring how that may impact shipments moving east.”
Otherwise, Thunder Bay’s port is in a good position to handle more inward and outward products outside those markets.
“It wouldn't take much investment, if any, to bring through diversified products or grow the existing volume of existing cargoes. I think it plays in our favour that we are an existing supply chain. All the players are already here. We are moving products primarily to Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and South America,” said Heikkinen.
The Port of Thunder Bay and the Saint Lawrence Seaway are critical to Canadian trade with international markets, he said.
The port's opening of navigation event not only celebrates the beginning of another navigation season for the port but also allows local officials and community partners to share in the economic success of the port, locally and throughout Canada.
According to the port’s year-end stats, the port handled over 10 million metric tons of cargo last year. The highest volume of cargo moving through the port since 1997.
The majority of Canadian products moving to international markets are grain and potash.
Heikkinen explained that grain made up 75 per cent of their shipments. The port moved 8.7 million metric tons of grain.
“The number two these days is potash,” said Heikkinen. Potash made up 17 per cent of the port shipments last year with a total of 1.8 million metric tons.
“It was the most significant volume of potash that this port has ever seen in its history, so that's telling, and that seems to be a growing number year over year so far,” said Heikkinen.
Other commodities make up smaller percentages for the port, but Heikkinen said they carry equal importance.
These products include dry bulk goods, road salt, finished petroleum products, and steel.
Heikkinen said it’s a little too early to tell how successful 2025 will be, but he anticipates another trend setting year.
“All indicators are that we're going to have another really good season that it could follow in line with the volumes we had last year, which were the best that we'd had in over 20 years,” he said.
