Port Metro Vancouver (PMV)’s auto-related cargo volumes leapt 47% in the first six months of this year, driven by a recovery in post-tsunami Japan.
That rebound contributed to the port’s 6% cargo volume growth in the first six months of the year, compared with the same period in 2011.
Robin Silvester, president and CEO of PMV, told Business in Vancouver that the mid-year stats indicate that PMV growth is accelerating over last year, when port cargo volumes grew 3.4%.
“It looks like the pace of growth has speeded up a little bit, which is obviously a good news story for the economy,” he said, noting that the port saw record volumes of both container and coal cargoes in the first six months of the year.
He added that the growth stats bode well for continued growth through 2012.
“If we wind back to 2008, we had a great half-year but by the end of the year things were really slowing down,” he said. “We don’t see any signs of that at this stage and so we’re seeing that accelerating first half and hopefully we’re going to see that through into the second half. As things look at the moment, barring anything unforeseen, this should be a strong year.”
In the first six months of the year, the port also saw:
- a 5% increase in breakbulk cargo, supported by 5.5 million tonnes of traffic of forest products like lumber, logs and wood pulp;
- a 6% increase in bulk cargo, with coal up 10%, although potash dropped by 9% due to weak demand; and
- a 6% increase in container traffic.
