Record cargo volume rolled through the Port of Vancouver last year, despite a sputtering global economy and a big drop in container shipments.
An unprecedented 150.4 million tonnes of bulk, breakbulk and container goods traversed the docks at the country’s largest port, a six per cent increase over the previous year, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said.
Bulk exports — grain and petroleum, especially — as well as container exports and auto imports drove the increase. However, overstocked retail inventories and cooling demand dragged down container imports — and container shipments overall — the federal agency said.
“It was a mixed year at the Port of Vancouver, with growth in some sectors and softening in others,” it said in a release.
“While there was a softening of container volumes moving through the Port of Vancouver in 2023, Canada’s container sector remains on a long-term growth trajectory and we saw encouraging signs of recovery in Q4 as year-over-year volumes started to grow,” CEO Peter Xotta said.
An economic slowdown, a 13-day strike by B.C. dockworkers in July and ongoing disruptions along the Red Sea and Panama Canal trade routes all posed challenges to smooth operations at the port, he said.
Its 12 per cent boost in overall exports to 142 countries in spite of those hurdles showcased the value of a diverse range of shipment types and national partners, Xotta added.
Grain, canola and crude oil drove the spike in bulk exports on the heels of a bumper crop and a record surge in oil output from Alberta. Fewer exports of forest products and fertilizer tamped down the figures.
A big drop in household goods — the category accounts for nearly a third of inbound container items, from towels to televisions — drove a 12 per cent decrease in container shipments overall. Fewer construction materials and industrial and auto parts also fuelled the fall.
The ramp-up in container exports — especially boxes loaded with wood pulp and specialty crops, such as lentils bound for India — helped offset the inbound slump.
Meanwhile, the number of vehicles that entered Canada via the port rose 36 per cent to more than 454,000, as manufacturers smoothed out supply chains.
But for many shippers, the year launched on stormy seas.
Attacks on cargo vessels by Houthi militants in the Red Sea over the past few months have pushed ships to avoid the Suez Canal on routes around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope that can add weeks to the journey.
A drought in Central America piled on more problems. The dry spell has sapped the Panama Canal of water, which is used to raise and lower ships at a dozen locks, prompting officials to cut the number of boats they let through the waterway.
However, routes between East Asia and the West Coast are less affected. While shipping rates on loads to the western United States from East Asia have tripled over the past year, rates on cargo headed the other direction have dropped 28 per cent, according to freight analytics firm Xeneta.
On Asia-Europe routes, rates have soared for cargo boats coming and going.
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