Will neighbor to the north seize supply chain advantage?

While the long-term viability of U.S. West Coast ports is being called into question lately, Canada’s two leading Pacific Rim ocean cargo gateways are thriving.

To date, the Port of Vancouver in British Columbia had an overall tonnage increase mid-year of 20 per cent. The port’s container, breakbulk and bulk traffic totalled 58.4 million tons in the first half of 2010. Neighboring Port of Prince Rupert, meanwhile, has sailed safely through the receding global economic storm, recording its highest volume throughput since 1997. The port handled 12,173,672 tons of cargo in 2009, up 15 per cent over 2008 volumes.

Significantly, the higher volumes in 2009 were not driven by one line of business, but were up for most Prince Rupert facilities including containers and bulk cargo.

More telling information on shipper satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) will be available shortly. The Port Performance Research Network, chaired at Dalhousie University, is working diligently on gathering feedback, and we look forward to sharing its findings with our readers.