It is the sector of port activity that is the most labour intensive and has the greatest economic impact. It also is the sector where the most competition exists among ports. Overall, traffic in this cargo category continues to grow and reach new heights thanks to containers. 817 Liquid Bulk Numerous liquid bulk products move through the Port of Montreal. The port's petroleum terminals are located at the downstream end of the port and handle gasoline, fuel oil, naphtha and other petroleum products.
Several berths handle other liquid bulk products, including chemicals, molasses and vegetable oil.
As one of Canada's leading dry bulk transshipment centres, the Port of Montreal is of vital importance to local industries that depend on raw materials for their production. The port's dry bulk terminals handle iron and copper ore, salt, gypsum, fertilizers and virtually all other dry bulk commodities. The Montreal Port Authority directly operates its own grain terminal. Its elevator, one of the fastest and most efficient in Canada, has a total storage capacity of 260,000 tonnes. It has an unloading capacity of 3,000 tonnes per hour, while the continuous vessel loading capacity can reach 5,500 tonnes per hour.