Montreal volumes down

On a more positive note, the port’s grain shipping business jumped 31.1%. Total traffic at the grain terminal, including marine, rail and road transportation, amounted to 1,203,766 tons for the first six months of the year. The port also saw a 22% upswing in its Mediterranean container traffic. Overall, cargo volume was down 15.4% from a year ago to 10.9 million tons.

“The downturns we have experienced in containerised cargo and dry bulk such as iron, zinc and copper are due to difficulties in the manufacturing sectors of Ontario and the American Midwest, which were still being hit by the recession in the first fiscal half year,” explained Sylvie Vachon, the port authority’s newly appointed president and CEO.