Weak global economy sinking shipments from province’s ports

Shipments through British Columbia’s key ports declined in the first half of 2016, and officials are blaming the weak global economy.

The Port of Vancouver had a six per cent drop in cargo to 66 million tonnes, compared with 70 million tonnes in the first half of 2015. Shipments in almost all categories declined, including coal, consumer goods, forest products and petroleum products. Even the total number of ships was down, by three per cent to 1,497 as of June 30, compared with 1,541 for the same period a year ago.

The Port of Prince Rupert experienced a five per cent decline in cargo over the first half of this year, to 10.9 million tonnes compared with 11.5 million tonnes in 2015.

“It’s really just a general reflection on that softer global economy,” said Robin Silvester, CEO of the Port of Vancouver.

This year, however, soft spots in Canada’s trade haven’t been masked by the surge in container traffic that Vancouver experienced last year as shippers diverted cargoes to avoid labour unrest at U.S. ports.

Among the high-volume commodities moved, shipments of coal — the Vancouver port’s biggest export — were down 14.5 per cent to 16 million tonnes compared with almost 19 million tonnes a year ago.

Bright spots in the statistics were increases in grains and processed foods.