The Port of Vancouver has registered the busiest throughput in container volumes during the first six months of the year.
In particular, the port handled 1.9 million TEU during the first half of 2021, showing an increase of 24% compared to the same period of 2020, and a growth of 15% over the previous record set in 2019.
In addition, imports noted a year-on-year rise of 20%, reaching 989,442TEU, while exports grew by 29% to 954,650TEU.
The Canadian Port accredited this achievement to the strengthening economy in combination with the continued growth in global demand for Canadian products, as well as Canadian demand for consumer and manufacturing goods from Asia.
During the first half of the year, overall cargo volumes through the country’s largest port also reached a record high of 76.4 million metric tonnes (MMT), up 7% from the corresponding period of 2020, and 5% above the previous record set in 2019, attributed by strong increases in barley, up 151% and in wheat, up 23%.
“Record grain volumes through the Port of Vancouver once again over the first half of the year demonstrate the continued growth in the global demand for Canadian agricultural products,” said Robin Silvester, president and chief executive officer at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.
To ensure the Port of Vancouver can meet the increasing demand for container trade, the port authority is advancing two container terminal projects at the Port of Vancouver: the Centerm Expansion Project and the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project.
The construction of the first terminal project is underway and once complete it will meet the anticipated short-term demands of importers and exporters. As for the second project, if approved, it will provide a 50% increase to the port’s container capacity.
