Thunder Bay Reports Rare Inbound Grain Shipment

Grain movement at the Port of Thunder Bay in Ontario included a rare inbound cargo of feed wheat, according to the port's latest monthly report.

A 12,000-tonne shipment of feed wheat was delivered to Richardson's Current River elevator from the company's facility in Hamilton, Ont. The wheat was said to be destined for Manitoba feedlots where drought has cut into local feed supplies.

Thunder Bay elevators typically load out 8 million tonnes of grain annually, but records of inbound shipments are almost always non-existent, according to the report.

"Grain production analysts are predicting significant reductions in production on the Prairies due to extreme heat, drought, and grasshopper damage," the port report said, adding this will likely impact port tonnage through the second half of the season, when cargo volumes are “typically driven by harvesting activity."

Total grain tonnage moved through the Port of Thunder Bay in August came in at 566,495 tonnes, marking a three-year low for the month. Year-to-date shipments of just over 4 million tonnes were running about 1 million tonnes behind the 25-year high pace seen in 2021 but were in-line with the previous average.