THUNDER BAY - Cargo diversity through Keefer Terminal and strong potash shipments resulted in one of the strongest Septembers for the Port of Thunder Bay in nearly a decade.
“One thing we are particularly proud of over the last month is all the cargo activity we had going on at Keefer Terminal,” said Port of Thunder Bay CEO Chris Heikkinen. “We had some really good volumes moving through Keefer last month. We had shipments of pipe, steel rail, some project cargo and mining equipment, and a nice big shipment of phosphate fertilizers.”
More than 30,000 tonnes of cargo moved through Keefer Terminal in September. And while cargo through Keefer only counts for a small percentage of overall tonnage moving through the port, Heikkinen said the labour required to move that cargo benefits the Port of Thunder Bay and local economy.
“We as an organization, we’ve made it a focus of ours to try and bring in new cargo to Thunder Bay to try and attract cargo that might transit on another route,” he said. “When you see four different types of cargo being handled at Keefer in one month it's evidence that those efforts are paying off.”
On the bulk cargo side, the Port of Thunder Bay saw a strong month for potash, moving approximately 300,000 metric tonnes through the port.
Grain shipments were average for this time of year, but Heikkinen said given there was a bridge on the Canadian National Railway line west of Thunder Bay closed and the railway labour disruption heading into September, volumes were strong considering what could have been the alternative.
“I think the volumes were the highest for the month of September in eight years,” Heikkinen said. “That included some really strong potash volumes. And also good numbers on the grain side as well.”
