Seaway cargo has fallen 18.35% by the end of April

Cargo shipped through the 3,700kilometre-long Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system was down at the end of April, figures released Wednesday show.

St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. said total cargo moved was nearly 3.5 million tonnes, an 18.35 per cent decrease over the same time last year.

A release from the Chamber of Marine Commerce said the lower overall tonnage shipments during March and April were due in part to ice conditions on Lake Superior in the early part of the season and less available Prairie grain for export.

The chamber is a binational association that represents more than 130 marine industry stakeholders on both sides of the border and internationally.

“It’s still very early in the season to make many predictions,” said seaway president and chief executive officer Terence Bowles, in the chamber release.

“We expect that there will be ongoing fluctuations in commodity pricing, supply and demand due to global logistical and product challenges, economic conditions and the Russian/Ukraine conflict.”

Bowles said the seaway is wellpositioned to pivot as necessary and will play an important role in helping to alleviate shortages of fertilizer and grain due to the war in Ukraine.

The chamber release said the Port of Thunder Bay saw momentum in potash shipments late in the 2021 shipping season — there was a 93 per cent increase — continue this spring.

More than 90,000 tonnes of potash, an ingredient in fertilizer, were loaded outbound in April, the highest tally for that month since 2007.

Seaway figures show shipments of coal taking the biggest hit, down 49.39 per cent, 119,000 tonnes, compared to the same time last year.

That’s followed by general cargo shipments, which dropped 30.84 per cent, and iron ore, down 22.95 per cent.

Grain shipments are down 179,000 tonnes, 15.26 per cent, over last year, followed by liquid bulk at 54,000 fewer tonnes, 11.55 per cent, and moved and dry bulk down 125,000 tonnes, 10.33 per cent.

The number of vessels transiting the system — lakers, tugs and barges and ocean-going — was 58 fewer as compared to d the same periolast year, a 13.24 per cent decrease.

In the release, the chamber said the Port of Hamilton is enjoying sweet news, with sugar refinery Sucro Can announcing it will more than double its refinery capacity to meet the growing demand of Ontario food manufacturers. The expansion will see capacity reach 200,000 tonnes by 2024.

Though overall tonnage results for Hamilton port have been slightly less in the first month, the port has seen more than one million tonnes of cargo, with grain increasing 34 per cent compared to the same time last year. Ontario corn and soybeans, which had good harvests in 2021, are being shipped to Europe.