A CN Rail train moves cargo containers at the Centerm Container Terminal at port in Vancouver, on Friday, July 14, 2023.The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority says container shipments are falling fast, as consumer demand weakens amid a sputtering economy. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority says container shipments are falling, as consumer demand weakens amid a sputtering economy.
The authority says container shipment volume at the Port of Vancouver in the first half of the year fell 14 per cent compared with the same six-month period in 2022.
Interim CEO Victor Pang says the figures reflected a softer economy, which contracted slightly in the second quarter.
Movement of construction materials and auto parts also slumped, while shipments of finished vehicles ramped up as supply chain kinks smoothed out.
Grain exports marked the biggest bright spot, ramping up more than 100 per cent, a boost driven in part by record volumes shipped to Africa amid a surge in demand brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Nonetheless, Pang says the two-week strike by B.C. port workers in July took a toll on operations, as month-over-month container shipments fell by third and pushed many shippers to other ports.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2023.
