Montreal is a major international city that has grown to a large degree because of its port, whose history began in 1830 with the creation of the Montreal Harbour Commission. Linked to a great number of ports around the world by many shipping lines, Montreal is now a leader on the North Atlantic container market. The Port of Montreal handles some 20 million tonnes of highly diversified cargo annually: containerized and non-containerized general cargo, grain and other dry bulk, and petroleum products and other liquid bulk. Strategically suited 1,600 kilometers inland on the doorstep of North America’s industrial heartland, Montreal serves as a gateway to the great production and consumption areas of Central Canada and U.S. Midwest and Northeast. It is on the shortest, most direct route between these vast markets and those of Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. Transatlantic routes combine with excellent road and rail links to all parts of North America to provide door-to-door transportation services at competitive prices. The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) forecasts capital investments of $175.7 millions over the 2007-2011 period. http://www.port-montreal.com