THE Port of Vancouver's first half container throughput rose 9.6 per cent year on year to 1.6 million TEU, while cargo volumes rose 3.9pc to 69 million tons, on the back of mid-year records in container shipments and bulk grain, according to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.
Port officials said that over the reporting period global demand increased for Canadian products shipped in containers, while Canadian demand rose for consumer and manufacturing goods from Asia, reported American Shipper.
Bulk grain volumes at the port grew 12.9 per cent year on year to 12.5 million tons thanks to strong overseas demand, while bulk dry cargo volumes were up 4.9 per cent to 43.6 million tons.
However, bulk liquid tonnage declined three per cent from the first half of last year to 4.5 million tons due to an eight per cent drop in petroleum product cargo, which was higher last year in response to the Alberta wildfires.
Breakbulk volumes slipped 1.3 per cent, mainly due to a 3.6 per cent drop in domestic traffic; and automobile shipments, which totalled 218,000 units, rose 3.1 per cent from the first half of 2016.
