Prince Rupert handled 1.2M TEU in 2019.
The Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) in British Colombia, Canada, has announced another record year in container throughput. Prince Rupert is unique in north America for being almost a fully ship-to-rail operation, with the vast majority of its container traffic heading through the rocky mountains to the US.
While US west coast ports have struggled in 2019 with the trade war with China and a loss of market share to the east and gulf coast ports, Prince Rupert, the northern most container port on the north American west coast, has continued to grow its business. DP World’s Fairview Container Terminal handed over 1.2 million TEU in 2019, an increase of 17% over 2018. Counting all cargo types the port’s business was up 12% to 29.9 million tonnes for the year.
“The Port of Prince Rupert’s consistent record-breaking annual volumes confirms the Port’s growing role in Canadian trade,” said Shaun Stevenson, President and CEO of the Prince Rupert Port Authority. “The Port of Prince Rupert has a reputation for offering strategic advantages to shippers. The 2019 volumes illustrate the growing market demand for the Prince Rupert gateway and further validates our plans for growth and expansion over the next several years.”
The PRPA has ambitious plans for growth in the container, bulk and liquid cargo sectors, supported by the Government of Canada’s C$153.7 million investment through its National Trade Corridors Fund. Altogether the port anticipates C$2 billion in capital expansion projects will get underway in 2020, including DP World’s Fairview Terminal expansion project that will bring the terminal’s capacity up to 1.8 million TEU by 2022.
