The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority says cargo volumes increased by 1% to 146 million tonnes last year despite the pandemic, global supply chain issues, and extreme weather in British Columbia.
The country's largest port says record container and foreign bulk volumes helped maintain cargo volumes despite trade challenges in a year in which the cruise season was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Grain volumes declined 13% after eight straight record years due to drought in Western Canada in the second half of the year.
The number of shipping containers passing through the port increased 6% to 3.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2021, a record for the fifth year in a row.
General cargo volumes increased 18% with log volumes up 23%, basic metals up 51% and wood pulp down 10%.
Bulk dry cargo increased 1% with coal up 19%, grain down 10%, potash down 13% and sulphur down 14%. Bulk liquid tonnage fell 8% due to a 30% decrease in canola oil, a 12% decrease in crude petroleum, and a 14% decrease in chemicals.
The Port of Vancouver is warning that serious supply-chain problems will occur in a few years because west coast container terminals are expected to run out of capacity by the end of this decade.
