Prince Rupert Tonnage Falls 24.5 Percent

Cargo tonnage at the Port of Prince Rupert dropped 24.5 percent in the first quarter even though container traffic at the Canadian West Coast port doubled over the first three months of last year, the port announced. 

The port handled 41,043 TEUs in the first three months of this year, most of them containers going to and from China, up sharply from the 21,040 TEUs the port reported in the same period of 2008. However, Prince Rupert Port Authority President and CEO Don Krusel noted the box terminal opened only in November 2007 so the first quarter last year "was part of the ramping-up period." 

And the container traffic also fell sharply from the fourth quarter of 2008, tumbling 48 percent on a quarter-to-quarter basis. 

Nevertheless, Krusel said "we are very pleased with the container terminal’s performance and volumes during the severe global economic downturn." Customers continue to be satisfied with "the speed, reliability and cost effectiveness they are experiencing in moving their cargo through Prince Rupert," he said.



All import containers were fully laden in the first quarter this year, but just 32.5 percent of containers destined for Asia were loaded, the authority said.

Commodity traffic dragged the overall numbers down. 

Overall tonnage fell from 3.1 million metric tons in the first quarter last year to 2.4 million this years. The drop was mainly due to a 61 percent fall in coal shipments, to 639,765 metric tons, as major customers in British Columbia scaled back production.

Grain traffic was about even with last year, with wheat up 27 percent, while chemical and log shipments grew.