Bill Mongelluzzo, Associate Editor | Apr 19, 2012 4:57PM EDT
Container volumes at the Port of Prince Rupert, Canada, doubled last month compared to March 2011 because of generic growth and the addition of two new services last year.
Prince Rupert in March handled 52,283 20-foot container units, a 120 percent gain over March 2011. Imports increased138 percent and exports were up 100 percent.
Prince Rupert’s year-to-date numbers are also impressive, with total container volume up 95 percent, imports increasing 98 percent and exports up 92 percent compared to the first three months of 2011.
Container volumes also increased at Port Metro Vancouver, with total container volumes up10.5 percent year-to-date. Imports increased 11 percent and exports were up 9.6 percent compared to the first three months of 2011.
Prince Rupert, located 500 miles north of Vancouver, B.C., on Canada’s Pacific Coast, attracted weekly services in May 2011 by China Ocean Shipping Co. and Hanjin Shipping. That doubled the weekly trans-Pacific services calling at Prince Rupert to four.
As a result, Prince Rupert has been posting unusually large year-over-year gains in container volumes, and that is expected to continue for the next few months.
Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bmongelluzzo@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @billmongelluzzo.