Over the last few decades, traffic in containerized general cargo has increased significantly, to become the leading cargo sector at the Port of Montreal. That said, Montreal remains a multipurpose port, and this vocation is reflected in its high volume of traffic in breakbulk, dry and liquid bulk cargo.

The Port of Montreal has modern facilities to handle all types of cargo:

• four modern container terminals;
• large, open areas for handling dry bulk, including a terminal at Contrecoeur, some 40 kilometres downstream from Montreal;
• two multipurpose terminals;
• 15 transit sheds for non-containerized general cargo and dry bulk;
• a grain terminal with storage capacity of 260,000 tonnes;
• berths for petroleum products and other liquid bulk;
• a railway network with more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) of track serving almost every berth;
• a passenger terminal for cruise ships;
• cranes with heavy-lift capacities;
• special ramps for roll-on/roll-off cargo.

There is also on-site access to repair, bunkering, towing, mooring and other essential services.

General cargo
The general cargo category includes all containerized and non-containerized goods not transported in bulk.

General cargo represents about 50 per cent of the total traffic handled at the port. It is the sector of port activity that is the most labour-intensive and has the greatest economic impact. It is also the most competitive sector among ports.

The Port of Montreal's traffic in general cargo continues to increase, regularly breaking records thanks to containers.

Containerized general cargo
The Port of Montreal handles more than one million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) containers annually. These containers transport a wide variety of cargoes: foodstuffs, alcoholic beverages, machinery and tools, car parts, construction materials, lumber, pulp and paper, clothing and fabric, steel and alloys, chemical products, etc.

To handle all this containerized cargo, the port has four terminals over a surface area of approximately 80 hectares (185 acres). These terminals are equipped with 14 dockside gantry cranes, as well as yard gantry cranes and other handling equipment, and numerous electrical outlets for temperature-controlled containers.

Non-containerized general cargo
At the Port of Montreal, non-containerized general cargo traffic is mostly comprised of steel, rolling stock, stone products, metal and forest products, and foodstuffs.

With its transit sheds, refrigerated warehouses and open spaces, the port is equipped with all the facilities required to handle this type of cargo, which arrives in bags, barrels, boxes and on pallets. There is also handling equipment for heavy-lifts and loose cargo.

Four berths are equipped with special ramps to accommodate roll-on/roll-off vessels.

Liquid bulk
Numerous liquid bulk products move through the Port of Montreal.

The port's petroleum terminals are located at its downstream end, and handle gasoline, fuel oil, diesel fuel, naphtha, jet fuel and other petroleum products. Several berths handle other liquid bulk products, such as chemicals, molasses and vegetable oil.

Dry bulk
As one of Canada's leading dry bulk transshipment centres, the Port of Montreal is of vital importance to local industries that depend on a reliable supply of raw materials: iron ore, road salt, fertilizer, raw sugar, copper ore, gypsum and industrial sand. These raw materials are stored in warehouses, in open spaces and under tarps.

The Montreal Port Authority operates its own grain terminal. Its elevator, the most modern in Canada, has a total storage capacity of 260,000 tonnes. It can unload 3,000 tonnes of grain per hour, and load 5,500 tonnes per hour.