Prince Rupert Port, Full Steam Ahead

Thursday, June 19, 2008 11:02 AM

Prince Rupert, B.C. - The Prince Rupert Port continues to grow.

In its latest newsletter, 54 North, the Port Authority reports the addition of a second weekly sailing from COSCO (China Ocean Shipping) as of July 5^th.

COSCO Americas Vice President Sales Tim Marsh says the Prince Rupert Port is “Meeting and exceeding expectations.”

The number of containers has increased from 1,100 TEUs, when the weekly COSCO service began in November, to an average of nearly 1,650 TEUs a week by the end of May.

January - May 2008 TEU statistics include:

Imports - 18,156
Exports - 16,562 (6,842 fully laden)
Total TEU's - 34,718

PRPA President & CEO Don Krusel says increasing global demand for industrial feed stocks including coal and petroleum coke, continued strong markets for agricultural products, ramp up of new lines of business including containers and wood pellets, and the competitive advantages of shipping through Prince Rupert are all contributing factors to the Port's continued growth.

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Posted on Thursday, June 19, 2008 11:02 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Palopu on June 19 2008 7:54 PM

I must say that this Container Port has been a big shot in the arm for Prince Rupert, CN Rail, Mayer Terminals, and Cosco Shipping lines. This increase will mean 6-7 trains ex Prince per week as opposed to the present 3-4 per week.

These trains slip quietly through Prince George with hardly a sound. The only benefit to Prince George in the last 9 months is crew changes, however with the slow lumber economy they can handle this extra business without hiring any new staff.

The loaded Containers going back are (To the best of my knowledge) loaded in Tennesee, Wisconsin, or other Eastern jurisdictions, with Cotton, Finished Paper Goods, etc; I dont beleive that any Containers have been loaded in Prince George to Prince Rupert. So in essence we have not benefited from this project anywhere near to what was projected by the Soothsayers.

We can look at it again 6 months down the road and see if there is any change.

Posted by: leoleo on June 20 2008 7:24 AM

Coorect......the vast majority of cans are loaded in the USA.

Also of note- re 6842 loaded of the 16,562 moved out of Rupert....this is by design....re weights etc.

It really is not a port designed for export of Canadian goods despite what the govt and or CN would like to spin.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on June 20 2008 4:58 PM

I have family that works at the port and they believe there is along ways to go to even come close to what was predicted.
They spend a fair bit of time NOT working because of a lack of volume.
Hopefully that will change, but it could take a while.
And even though they want the work,they are also very concerned about the amount of logs being shipped out as well.
Something worth paying attention too.