THE Port of Montreal has posted a 3.6 per cent year on year increase in container volume in 2011 to 1.36 million TEU, it was announced at the annual general meeting of the Montreal Port Authority.

In 2011, the total cargo volume increased 10.1 per cent to 28.5 million tonnes, well above the record volume of 27.9 million tonnes in 2008.

Liquid bulk volume increased 34 per cent to 10.1 million tonnes over the same period and leap was attributed to higher receipts for refined products.

Other liquid bulk products rose 9.1 per cent compared to last year, mainly because of an increased demand for ethanol. For its part, the volume of dry bulk handled rose 7.1 per cent, largely due to more loads of gypsum, fertiliser, coal and iron ore. This increase did not include grain traffic, which underwent a transition year with the July 1 transfer of the Grain Terminal's operations to the agri-business Viterra.