Canada Markets

For the second straight year, heavy ice poses a problem for the opening of the Thunder Bay shipping season. As of March 25, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratories reported that the five Great Lakes together had a 57.6% ice coverage, which was viewed as being well below the 73.5% coverage at the same time last year, but at the same time, well above the 19% average for this time of year.

The first ship was scheduled to arrive at Thunder Bay last night but tbnewswatch.com reports that this arrival is now delayed until weekend. Today's news has as many as 10 vessels stuck in ice on Lake Superior near Sault Ste. Marie, some of which have been there since Sunday. Both Canadian and United States icebreakers are seeking to break the ice to see movement resume.

The attached chart shows weekly Thunder Bay grain stocks for the first 34 weeks this crop year, peaking in week 34, the week ending March 29, at 811,500 metric tons. This volume represents 69.5% of the 1.167-million-metric-ton capacity as reported by the Canadian Grain Commission as of Feb. 1, 2015. This volume is also 61.5% above the average of the week 34 inventory reported over the past three years of 502,467 mt, shown by the red bar on the attached chart.

Total year-to-date disposition through Thunder Bay is reported at 3.7773 mmt through week 34, 602,100 mt or 19% above year-ago movement. Total 2013/14 disposition is reported at 4.4976 mmt. In total, over 12 mmt of U.S. and Canadian grain moved through the Great Lakes Seaway System in 2014. The 57th season was opened with a load of iron ore to be moved by the CWB Marquis from Montreal to Hamilton.

Cliff Jamieson can be reached at cliff.jamieson@dtn.com

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(ES)

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