CANADA's west coast ports capitalized on carriers looking for more reliable ports than US west coast ports in their struggle with dockers' dispute a full nine months after negotiations began.
Vancouver has joined the Port of Prince Rupert in reporting a record year of box traffic for 2014, as the pair continue to seize market share from their US rivals, according to Lloyd's Loading List.
Vancouver box volumes grew 3.1 per cent last year, with a record 2.9 million TEU handled by the British Colombian port's four terminals, following growth in both retail trade and consumer confidence in North America and despite a significant decline in TEU traffic in early 2014, due to truck disruption.
Last month, Prince Rupert reported double-digit box growth for 2014 at its Maher-operated Fairview Container Terminals, where volumes jumped 15.2 per cent on-year to exceed 600,000 TEU for the first time.
But traffic through the two US west coast ports, situated in Puget Sound, fell 0.8 per cent to 3.4 million TEU during the same period, following a poor end to the year.
As with most US west coast ports, container operations in Seattle and Tacoma have been severely disrupted in recent months, with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in heated talks over a new dockers contract.
In November, for example, productivity levels at the ports fell by as much as 60 per cent, with the PMA placing the blame on the ILWU. As a result, the ports' monthly volumes were severely impacted, particularly in Tacoma, where, traffic dived eight per cent.
Port Metro Vancouver said container lines had also chosen to ship more empty containers to Asia, not only to meet the higher demand for inbound cargo, but also to facilitate quicker turnaround of ships recovering from scheduling delays as a result of west coast port congestion.
Over the past decade, the Vancouver container port's volumes have gone from strength to strength, in line with increased capacity and infrastructure upgrades, while their US counterparts have seen their respective numbers slump.
PORTS
03 March 2015 - 21:05
Vancouver's box volume boosted by US west coast harbour congestion
CANADA's west coast ports capitalized on carriers looking for more reliable ports than US west coast ports in their struggle with dockers' dispute a full nine months after negotiations began.
PORTS
03 March 2015 - 21:05
Vancouver's box volume boosted by US west coast harbour congestion
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