More traffic on the Great Lakes
Every cloud has a silver lining. Although total shipments in the Canadian part of the Great Lakes are still down by 8% compared to the same period last year, some ports of the Ontario are speaking of progress.
While the shipments of iron ore, dry bulk and liquid bulk shipments have all fallen between 10 to 25% in some places, the demand for wheat, canola and soybeans has risen by 20% in volumes.
The Canadian Chamber of Marine Commerce summed up that, for the five months from April to August 2020, about 5.2 million t of grain passed through the key trade corridor, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway. There are even best performers.
The Thunder Bay Port Authority pointed out that the port is on pace to ship more cargo this year than any other single year since 1997, including an increase of 1 million t of grain compared with this time last year - due to a strong harvest. (mw)