Port of Vancouver’s container traffic stays strong, forest products rebound at mid-year

VANCOUVER (July 21, 1999) — The Port of Vancouver handled 36.1 million metric tonnes of freight during the first two quarters of 1999, a 2% decline over last year, according to statistics released by the Vancouver Port Authority. But container traffic continued its strong momentum in the first half of 1999.

“Port Vancouver is on its way to being Canada’s largest container port, with mid-year container volumes jumping 44% over last year’s figures to 526,841 TEUs,” said VPA president and CEO Norman Stark. The Port is expected to handle one million TEUs by the end of 1999.

On the import side, strong consumer demand has pushed full inbound container traffic up 23% to 174,053 TEUs. Full export container traffic saw a 59% increase to 265,409 TEUs largely due to competitive rates by container lines and a favourable Canadian dollar, Stark said.

Strong container traffic through the port is complemented by the recent addition of three lines, making Port Vancouver their “first port of call” and offering regular service to the U.S. Midwest.

Port traffic was also helped by rebounding overall forest products volumes, with a 27% increase to 3.9 million metric tonnes over last year’s numbers due to a steady recovery in the Asian economies. Lumber traffic grew by 41% to 981,000 metric tonnes while wood pulp rose by 24% to 1.8 million metric tonnes compared with the same period last year.

Dry bulk volumes slipped marginally by 4% to 26.7 million metric tonnes over last year’s numbers. Grain decreased by 5% to 5.5 million metric tonnes, due to smaller crop volumes last year. With market slowdowns in Asia, coal was down slightly by 3% to 13.7 million metric tonnes. Potash declined by 6% to 2.1 million metric tonnes while sulphur registered a five percent drop to 2.6 million metric tonnes.