Canada to Invest in Revamp of Port Windsor Grain Terminal
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Canada is investing up to $26.3 million to improve multimodal operations at Port Windsor in Ontario at a key grain terminal operated by U.S.-based Archer Daniels Midland Co. that handles corn, soya and canola.
“This is the largest ever federal investment in Port Windsor, transforming our region into a true multimodal transportation hub vital to growing industry, investment and jobs,” said Irek Kusmierczyk, parliamentary secretary to the minister of employment, workforce development and official languages. He is also a member of Parliament for Windsor-Tecumseh.
The Canadian government recently declared the project will significantly increase its export capacity to global markets in the United States, Europe and Latin America for agricultural production from southwestern Ontario farmers in Essex, Kent, Lambton, Middlesex and Elgin counties.
Port Windsor CEO Steve Salmons said the investment in the region’s largest agricultural multimodal hub at Port Windsor “provides new and continuing markets for local and prairie farmers to export Canadian grains.”
Port Windsor, a key Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway hub for imports and exports between the United States and Canada, handled 745,000 metric tons of grain in 2022, the latest available figures.
Funds from the Canadian government will significantly improve Port Windsor’s operational efficiencies for truck, marine and rail truck transportation, Kevin Wright, ADM general manager of the Great Lakes region and country manager for Canada, told Transport Topics.
“While the project will significantly increase export capacity to global markets, it also will increase the resiliency of the Canadian grain export supply chain through new infrastructure as well as leveraging the latest technology to help streamline the flow of ag products through the Port of Windsor, utilizing automation and improving the productivity of transportation assets,” Wright added.
With its North American headquarters in Decatur, Ill., ADM bills itself as a leader in human and animal nutrition. It buys, transports and transforms agricultural crops into ingredients and solutions for foods, beverages and supplements for people worldwide while also providing a range of goods and services for livestock, aquaculture and pets. It ranks No. 74 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America.
Funds will be spent to build new grain-drying equipment as well as expand capacity for both grain storage and conveyor loading shipping and receiving capacity. The grant also will be used to develop an automated truck kiosk system to expedite complex traffic flows.
Other improvements will focus on reducing the current supply chain bottleneck at Windsor’s grain terminal, increasing grain tonnage and reducing emissions in grain transportation. “This will address issues such as idling trucks, waiting times for marine vessels to dock, and locomotives shuttling around railcars for temporary grain storage on-site,” the Canadian government noted.
Canada’s investment comes from its National Trade Corridors Fund, which is committed to strengthening the flow of goods through its supply chains. The fund is a competitive, merit-based program to help infrastructure owners and users invest in critical transportation assets that support the national economy. Canada allocated $4.6 billion for an 11-year period ending in 2028 to the National Trade Corridors Fund to improve its roads, rail, air and marine shipping routes to promote growth in its domestic and international trade.
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