[ Port Vancouver’s Containers & Cruise Strong, Forest ... ]

Port Vancouver’s Containers & Cruise Strong, Forest Products Reboun
d at Mid-year

Port Vancouver handled 36.1 million metric tonnes during the first t
wo quarters, a two percent decline over last year’s figures, accordin
g to statistics released recently by the Vancouver Port Authority(VPA)
. Containers and cruise continued their strong momentum in the first
half of 1999.
“Port Vancouner is on its way to being Canada’s largest Container
Port, with mid-year container volumes jumping 44% over last year’s fi
gures to 526,841 TEUs. The Port is expected to handle one million TEU
s by the end of 1999. On the import side, strong consumer demand has
pushed full inbound container traffic up 23% up 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 favorable Canadian d
ollar. Strong container traffic through the Port is complemented by t
he recent addition of three lines, making Port Vancouver their ‘first
port of call’and offering regular service to the U.S. mid-west”,sai
d Norman Stark VPA President and C.E.O.
“The Vancouver-Alaska cruise continued to grow, posting an impressi
ve 7% gain over last year’s numbers for a total of 346,119 revenue cr
uise passengers. Strong tourist dollars, competitive pricing by the c
ruise lines and full vessels kept this sector on track with continued
growth. With a 4 % increase in the number of vessel calls over last y
ear, we want to reaffirm the Port’s commitment to construct a third
cruise berth for the 2004 crise season”, said David Stowe, VPA Cair.
Overall forest products volumes have rebounded with a 27 % increase
to 3.9 million metric tonnes over last year’s numbers due to a steady
recovery in the Asian economics. Lumber traffic grew by 41% to 981,0
00 metric tonnes while wood pulp rose by 24% to 1.8 million metric ton
nes compared with the same period last year.
Chemical volumes grew by six percent to 1.3 million metric tonnes ov
er last year’s figures. Conversely, petroleum products decreased by
43% to 1.3 million metric tonnes, largely due to low offshore prices a
nd increased competition from alternate suppliers.
Dry bulk volumes slipped marginally by 4% to 26.7 million metric ton
nes over last year’s numbers.
Grain decreased by 5% to 5.5 million metric tonnes, due to smaller cro
p volumes last year. With market slowdowns in Asia, coal was down sli
ghtly by 3% to 13.7 million metric tonnes. Postash declined by 6 % to
21. million metric tonnes while sulphur registered a five percent dro
p to 2.6 million metric tonnes.
Port Vancouver is Canada’s largest and most diversified port, tradi
ng more than $30 billion in goods with more than 90 nations.