Container shipments drop 14% at Port of Vancouver as consumer demand falls

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority says container shipments are falling, as consumer demand weakens amid a sputtering economy.

The authority says container shipment volume at the Port of Vancouver in the first half of the year fell 14 per cent compared with the same six-month period in 2022.

Interim CEO Victor Pang says the figures reflected a softer economy, which contracted slightly in the second quarter.

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Movement of construction materials and auto parts also slumped, while shipments of finished vehicles ramped up as supply chain kinks smoothed out.

Grain exports marked the biggest bright spot, ramping up more than 100 per cent, a boost driven in part by record volumes shipped to Africa amid a surge in demand brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Nonetheless, Pang says the two-week strike by B.C. port workers in July took a toll on operations, as month-over-month container shipments fell by third and pushed many shippers to other ports.