Thunder Bay port buzzes with activity.

• Position: Brief article

Six months into the year, grain volumes through the Port of Thunder Bay have reached an 18-year high.

More than 2.6 million tonnes of grain moved through the elevators with no sign of a slow-down in July as strong stores from two consecutive bumper crops in Western Canada continue to rnove through the supply chain.

Potash shipments were strong at more than 103,000 tonnes through June, slightly better than the 100,000 tonnes recorded last year.

Other cargoes that passed through the port included potash, liquid petroleum, coal and road salt.

The authority also reported that two local marine cargo records were broken this past spring.

In its June newsletter, the record for the largest single load of coal ever loaded in Thunder Bay was broken twice in April; first by the CSL Laurentian, which took on 31,384 tonnes at Thunder Bay Terminals on April 12--besting the previous record of 31,348 tonnes set in July 2006--followed two weeks later by CSL Assiniboine with 32,366 tonnes on April 27.

The record for the largest single load of...