Activity at Canada’s ports and marine terminals was up sharply in 2003 as compared to 2002. The gain was due largely to increased shipments of crude petroleum which were responsible for more than half of the growth. Oil production from Newfoundland and Labrador continued to strengthen reaching record levels in 2003 of almost 123.0 million barrels up 17.9% from 2002. In contrast, real gross domestic product experienced more moderate growth of 2.0% in 2003 as the Canadian economy continued the revitalization first begun in 2002 following the slowdown experienced in 2001. In 2003, international trade in merchandise with the United States continued the downward trend first observed in 2001, declining 5.3% to $570.2 billion on a balance of trade basis. This was due, in part, to a weak United States economy coupled with a strengthening of the Canadian dollar. However, merchandise trade with the rest of the world grew 2.0% to $171.6 billion on increased demand for both Canadian exports and foreign imports. ¹

The total tonnage of cargo handled by Canadian ports and marine terminals in 2003 increased 8.5% from 2002 to reach a record 443.0 million metric tonnes (Mt). This gain represents the highest level of growth since 1987. Both the international and domestic sectors were responsible for the advance. International cargo (between Canadian and foreign ports) bounced back from a two year slump and was up 8.5% from 282.7 Mt to reach a record 306.6 Mt. Domestic cargo (between two Canadian ports) increased 8.7% from 125.4 Mt to 136.4 Mt. ²

Chart 1
Total cargo handled at Canadian ports and marine terminals

Chart 2
International cargo handled at Canadian ports and marine terminals

Chart 3
Domestic cargo handled at Canadian ports and marine terminals

Container Traffic

International container traffic at Canadian ports experienced a second record breaking year for levels in both volume and tonnage handled in 2003. Container volumes at Canadian ports reached 3.4 million twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) up 10.5% over 2002, while container tonnage climbed to 28.2 Mt as compared to 25.6 Mt in 2002. The growth in tonnage was dominated by higher container activity with Asia where outbound traffic increased 14.7% (up 1.0 Mt to 8.5 Mt) and inbound traffic was up 16.5% (up 0.9 Mt to 5.8 Mt).

International marine cargo

In 2003, outbound shipments to foreign countries, including the United States reached 191.4 Mt from 174.3 Mt, a gain of 9.8%. Increased shipments of crude petroleum, iron ore and concentrates, coal and colza seeds (canola) were partially offset by declines in shipments of other non-metallic minerals and gasoline and aviation turbine fuel. Canadian ports and terminals unloaded 115.2 Mt from foreign ports, including the United States in 2003, 6.2% more than in 2002. Higher inbound shipments of crude petroleum and fuel oils were primarily responsible for the increase.

Canada – United States cargo

Canada’s marine traffic to and from the United States increased 8.0% from 114.3 Mt in 2002 to 123.5 Mt in 2003. Overall, shipments to and from the United States were responsible for 40.3% of international marine traffic. Outbound shipments to the United States accounted for most of the growth reaching 81.2 Mt from 72.9 Mt in 2002. After declining the year previous, cargo arriving from the United States posted a slight gain of 1.9%, from 41.4 Mt in 2002 to 42.2 Mt in 2003.

For a second consecutive year the upsurge in United States bound cargo was propelled by increased shipments of crude petroleum which rose 39.2% from 15.2 Mt to 21.1 Mt. This was as a result of the significantly higher production from Newfoundland and Labrador’s two offshore oilfields, Hibernia and Terra Nova. Also contributing to the growth were increased shipments, primarily from Port-Cartier, of iron ores and concentrates up 24.6% (to 8.2 Mt). Shipments of fuel oils were up 20.2% (to 7.9 Mt) due to an increase in the volume of cargo originating mostly from Saint John and Come-by-Chance destined for United States Atlantic and Gulf ports. These gains were countered by declines in other non-metallic minerals down 14.5% (to 6.3 Mt) while gasoline and aviation turbine fuels dropped 11.1% (to 8.4 Mt).

Coal shipments arriving from the United States remained virtually unchanged (18.9 Mt) from those reported in 2002 (19.0 Mt) but continued to account for the majority (44.8%) of all inbound shipments. A combination of sharp increases and equally strong declines in several commodities resulted in a slight overall upward trend in cargo arriving from United States ports. The growth was led by a strong resurgence in shipments, mostly to the port of Halifax, of crude petroleum which reached 0.9 Mt in 2003 from 76 kilotonnes in 2002. Fuel oils, destined primarily for Halifax and Montréal/Contrecoeur, from the United States Atlantic and Gulf ports also rose 28.9% (to 2.8 Mt). Other inbound commodities reporting increases included coal coke and petroleum coke, up 21.9% to 2.4 Mt and salt up 54.2% to 0.9 Mt. These gains were almost entirely offset by sharp drops in several commodities including limestone, down 14.3% to 2.3 Mt, other basic chemicals down 18.7% to 1.5 Mt and other oilseeds and nuts and other agricultural products down 32.2% to 0.7 Mt.

Ships registered in Canada handled 42.0% of the Canada – United States cargo in 2003 down from 44.1% in 2002. The majority of this activity occurs in the Great Lakes where Canadian-flag ships continued to dominate handling 80.5% of the cargo exchanged with the United States’ Great Lakes ports. The amount of Canada-United States cargo carried by United States-flag ships rose to 11.0% up from 9.0% in 2002. Foreign-flag ships carried the remaining 47.0% of Canada-United States cargo in 2003.

Canada – Overseas Cargo

Canada’s marine traffic to and from overseas ports rebounded in 2003 to 183.2 Mt after posting declines in each of the two previous years. Cargo shipped to overseas ports rose 8.7% to 110.2 Mt while cargo arriving from overseas ports increased 8.9% to 73.0 Mt.

The growth in traffic to overseas ports was led by an increase in shipments of iron ore and concentrates up 16.6% (up 3.1 Mt), predominantly from Sept-Îles/Pointe-Noire to ports in Asia and Europe. In addition, overseas loadings of coal and colza seeds (canola), climbed 1.5 Mt and 1.0 Mt respectively. Increased demand for coal coupled with an improved growing season for crops on the prairies prompted the upswing in shipments, from primarily Vancouver, to overseas markets in Europe and Asia.

After sharply declining in 2002, shipments of crude petroleum arriving from overseas ports bounced back in 2003 to reach a record 33.3 Mt up 5.0 Mt. While the gain was primarily centered in Port Hawkesbury, up 4.2 Mt, overseas shipments to Come-by-Chance were raised 1.0 Mt. Several other commodities also contributed to the increase in cargo arriving from overseas ports including, fuel oils up 0.7 Mt, alumina up 0.5 Mt and fertilizers (excluding potash) up 0.4 Mt. Shipments of iron and steel – primary or semi-finished declined 31.9% (down 1.1 Mt).

Canadian-flag ships handled just 0.1% of the cargo exchanged with overseas ports in 2003, about the same as in 2002. The top three flags handling overseas cargo were Panama (20.9%), Greece (11.4%) and Liberia (9.2%).

Domestic cargo

Led, almost exclusively, by the continued growth in shipments of crude petroleum Canadian ports handled their highest quantity of domestic cargo, 136.4 Mt, since 1988.  Domestic shipments of crude petroleum reached 40.1 Mt. The increase in crude petroleum shipments was equal to 85.2% of the total increase in domestic shipments. Activity in crude petroleum is heavily concentrated in the Atlantic region, particularly at Come-by-Chance and Newfoundland Offshore, the primary destination points for crude oil production arriving from Hibernia and Terra Nova. The port of Halifax also experienced strong gains of 0.7 Mt to reach 1.1 Mt.

After experiencing back to back declines from 2000 to 2002 domestic shipments in the St. Lawrence region improved slightly in 2003 to reach 25.7 Mt up 1.8 Mt. Mostly responsible for the gain were increased shipments of fuel oils up 39.7% to 3.3 Mt and wheat, up 31.4% to 3.7 Mt.

For a second consecutive year domestic shipping activity in the Great Lakes declined, to fall a further 1.1 Mt to 27.8 Mt in 2003. This decrease was felt in the, primarily Hamilton based, steel industry where a weakening in worldwide prices combined with increased competition from overseas producers’ prices led to a reduction in total steel shipments from Canadian producers. As a result, in 2003 shipments of iron ore and concentrates in the Great Lakes region were down 0.8 Mt to 4.4 Mt, and coal shipments were reduced 0.7 Mt to 1.5 Mt. The decreases were partially offset by increased shipments of wheat which improved in 2003 to reach 4.6 Mt up 0.6 Mt.

In 2003, domestic shipments in the Pacific region rose slightly, up 1.0 Mt to reach 31.9 Mt. Impressive gains in shipments of several commodities did occur, particularly, wood chips (up 1.1 Mt to 15.8 Mt), non-metallic waste and scrap (up 0.5 Mt to 1.0 Mt) and newsprint (up 0.3 Mt to 1.8 Mt). However, the majority of commodities, representing 41% of the total domestic shipments in the Pacific region experienced declines.

Canadian port traffic

Nineteen Canadian Port Authorities ³ (CPAs) were created under the Canada Marine Act of 1998 based on their potential to be financially self-sufficient. In 2003 the 19 CPAs handled 58% of the total international and 36.4% of the total domestic cargo handled by Canadian ports and marine terminals. ⁴ The proportion of domestic cargo handled by the CPAs has dropped considerably since 2001 when they handled 45.2%. This decline is a direct consequence of the phenomenal rise in shipments of crude petroleum from several non-CPA ports over this time period.

Vancouver, Canada’s busiest port, handled 67.9 Mt of marine cargo in 2003, a gain of 4.8 Mt from 2002. The increase represents the first positive turnaround in total cargo handled at Vancouver since 2000. Leading the recovery was a sharp increase in grains ⁵ handled which jumped 1.5 Mt to 6.7 Mt. In particular, shipments of colza seeds (canola) alone were up 80.4% (up 1.2 Mt) to 2.8 Mt. The primary reasons for the increase overall grain handled in 2003 are twofold. First and foremost, crop growing and harvesting conditions on the prairies were markedly improved in 2003 as compared to the extremely poor weather conditions which prevailed in 2002. Second, grain shipments out of Vancouver in late 2002 were hampered by a three month labour dispute involving grain handlers which cut the flow of grain from the port. Coal continued to be the ports major commodity at 23.8 Mt a gain of 1.2 Mt from 2002, this represents the first increase in coal shipments since 2000. Higher demand from Europe and South America, each up 0.8 Mt were chiefly responsible for the growth. Despite increased demand from the Peoples Republic of China (up 0.6 Mt) overall shipments to Asia, traditionally the primary market for coal, declined slightly (down 0.2 Mt) as demand from both Japan and South Korea dropped, 0.6 Mt and 0.2 Mt respectively.

With a record 1,539,368 TEUs, accounting for almost 46% of all containers handled in the country, Vancouver continued to lead the nation in international container traffic. In 2003, their tonnage of international containerized loadings rose by 6.4% to 7.1 Mt while unloadings were up 5% to reach 4.8 Mt. In both instances the majority of the growth can be attributed to cargo outbound to and inbound from Asia, which were up 0.6 Mt (up 8.5%) and 0.3 Mt (up 6.3%) respectively, of mostly manufactured and miscellaneous goods.

The tonnage handled at the port of Saint John, New Brunswick increased 0.6 Mt to 25.9 Mt. Shipping at the port is dominated by activity in several commodities, crude petroleum, gasoline and aviation turbine fuels, fuel oils and potash which together account for over 90% of the shipments. By far the largest commodity is crude petroleum at 12.3 Mt (up 0.3 Mt). While the majority of the crude inbound to the port is still received from overseas ports (10.0 Mt in each of 2002 and 2003) the proportion derived from the domestic market, specifically the Atlantic Region, continues to grow, rising from 2.0 Mt in 2002 to 2.2 Mt in 2003. Total shipments of fuel oils rose 0.2 Mt (to 5.3 Mt) and potash grew 0.1 Mt (to 0.9 Mt), while gasoline and aviation turbine fuels remained unchanged at 5.3 Mt.

Sept-Îles (including Pointe-Noire) handled 22.7 Mt in 2003 an increase of 12.8% (up 2.6 Mt) from 2002. The growth resulted from a jump in international shipments which rose to 19.1 Mt up 19% (up 3.0 Mt) while domestic shipments fell to 3.6 Mt down 11.5% (down 0.5 Mt) over 2002. Higher overseas outbound shipments, of primarily iron ores and concentrates, to Asia up 1.7 Mt (to 3.6 Mt) and Europe up 1.3 Mt (to 7.5 Mt) were offset by declines in traffic to United States down 0.2 Mt (to 5.0 Mt).

The total tonnage handled at Québec (including Lévis) increased from 17.9 Mt in 2002 to 20.3 Mt in 2003. Higher shipments of both international (up 13.3% to 16.3 Mt) and domestic cargo (up 16.9% to 4.1 Mt) each contributed to the gain. Leading the international growth were increased inbound shipments of crude petroleum from Africa and Europe. In addition, higher transshipments ⁶ of iron ores and concentrates arriving from South America destined for United States Great Lakes and other oil seeds and nuts and other agricultural products arriving from United States Great Lakes bound for Asia and the Middle East also contributed to the increase. Higher shipments of fuel oils and other metallic ores and concentrates were primarily responsible for the increase in domestic cargo.

Montréal (including Contrecoeur) handled 20.3 Mt in 2003 up 10.8% from 2002. The 2.0 Mt increase in shipments represents a strong upswing after two successive years of declines which began after 2000, the last time the level of shipments at the port broke 20 Mt. Leading the recovery were significantly higher shipments of petroleum products, ⁷ which accounted for 76% (1.5 Mt) of the gain, of which fuel oils showed the most impressive increase up 1.2 Mt (up 125.3% to 2.1 Mt). In 2003, the port handled a record number of international containers, 1,020,965 TEUs, up from 979,840 TEUs in 2002. Further, the tonnage of international cargo shipped using containers rose to 9.4 Mt (up 0.3 Mt).

The total cargo handled at the port of Halifax increased 10.3% climbing to 14.2 Mt in 2003. Both international and domestic shipments contributed to the increase after each declined in 2002. International shipments experienced a turnaround rising 6.6% (to 11.2 Mt) in 2003 after falling to their lowest level in a decade in 2002 (10.5 Mt). Partially responsible for this gain was a sharp increase in shipments of fuel oils, primarily from United States Atlantic and Gulf region and the Central America and Antilles region, which rebounded 225.7% to reach 0.8 Mt (up 0.5 Mt) in 2003. Domestic shipments rose 26.7% (to 3.0 Mt) on the strength of a sharp increase in crude petroleum shipments which were up 167.8% (to 1.1 Mt). The port of Halifax continued as the third busiest international container port in the nation handling 498,572 TEUs in 2003 as compared to 486,389 TEUs (up 2.5%) in 2002. In addition, international container tonnage at the port reached a record 4.3 Mt in 2003 up 6.6% (up 0.3 Mt) from 2002.

Fraser River Port handled 13.7 Mt in 2003 up 9.0% over 2002 due to increased international shipments, particularly containerized cargo. Over the last two years the port has increasingly become more of a destination point for overseas cargo as international traffic rose to 43.5% (to 5.9 Mt) of total shipments in 2003 up from 37.3% (to 4.7 Mt) in 2002. This increase in international shipments can be attributed to the upsurge in international container cargo where the port handled a record 264,415 TEUs (up 178.9%) containing 2.2 Mt of cargo up 162% from 2002. The strong gain in international containerized cargo was led by higher shipments of other manufactured and miscellaneous goods and wood pulp. Domestic shipments in 2003 fell slightly (down 1.9% to 7.7 Mt); the decrease represents the first decline in domestic shipments since 1997.

The total handled at the port of Hamilton in 2003 dropped to 10.8 Mt (down 7.5%) from 11.7 Mt in 2002 as both international and domestic shipments fell. In 2003, international shipments decreased 8.2% (to 5.3 Mt) from 5.8 Mt in 2002. Primarily responsible for the decline were reductions in inbound shipments of iron and steel – primary or semi-finished (down 29.2% to 0.8 Mt) and iron ore and concentrates (down 3.9% to 1.4 Mt). Domestic shipments were also lower, dropping 6.9% to 5.5 Mt in 2003 from 5.9 Mt in 2002 as inbound shipments of iron ore and concentrates fell 10.1% (down 0.5 Mt) to 4.0 Mt in 2003.

The total cargo handled at the Port of Thunder Bay continued to decline in 2003 falling a further 4.8% to 7.8 Mt from 8.2 Mt in 2002. Traffic at the port is dominated by shipments of grains which account for over 60% of their activity. Shipments of grains from the port have been gradually losing ground, falling to 4.8 Mt in 2003, since last peaking at 9.2 Mt in 1997. As a result international shipments experienced another setback in 2003 dropping an additional 11.8% (down 0.4 Mt to 2.9 Mt) in 2003 from 3.3 Mt in 2002. Shipments of domestic cargo were virtually unchanged at 4.9 Mt. 

Tonnage handled at North Arm Fraser River port dropped to 4.7 Mt in 2003 from 5.2 Mt in 2002.The three main commodities handled at the port were logs and other wood in the rough (2.4 Mt), wood chips (1.5 Mt) and stone, sand, gravel and crushed stone (543 kilotonnes). The North Fraser river is the major port for tug and barge and log boom traffic on the Pacific coast. Some of this traffic is loaded and unloaded within the port while some of it is transported through the port to other points on the Fraser River. There are significant differences between the statistics reported by the North Fraser Port Authority and this publication. ⁸

The total amount of cargo handled at the port of Windsor (Ontario) continued its downward slide as shipments decreased another 6.3% falling to 4.3 Mt in 2003, their lowest level in almost a decade. Domestic activity at the port was reduced to 43.5% (1.9 Mt) of the total handled, falling below the 10 year average of 47.8% of shipments. In particular, shipments of the ports primary domestic commodities, salt and stone, sand gravel and crushed stone experienced declines of 17.5% (to 0.8 Mt) and 14.5% (to 0.6 Mt) respectively. International cargo handled rose slightly to reach 2.4 Mt (up 1.7%) as shipments of salt destined for the United States Great Lakes rebounded climbing to 1.0 Mt (up 40.4% or 0.3 Mt).

Shipments from the port of Prince Rupert fell a further 9.7% (to 4.0 Mt) in 2003, compared to 4.4 Mt in 2002. Activity at the port slowed as shipments of wheat slumped an additional 45.5% (down 0.9 Mt) falling to 1.0 Mt, their lowest level in more than a decade. Further, shipments of colza seeds (canola) retreated to 68 kilotonnes (down 81.3%) from last year's high of 363 kilotonnes. Offsetting these declines were higher loadings of coal (up 0.3 Mt to 1.7 Mt) and coal coke and petroleum coke (up 0.2 Mt to 0.5 Mt) coupled with the reappearance of iron ores and concentrates (165 kilotonnes).

The amount of cargo handled at the port of Belledune held steady at 2.2 Mt in 2003, virtually unchanged from levels recorded in 2002. Sharp reductions in shipments of other basic chemicals (down 53.4% to 88 kilotonnes) and other non-metallic mineral products (down 25.5% to 182 kilotonnes) were offset by the almost doubling in shipments of coal coke and petroleum coke (up 98.9% to 244 kilotonnes) coupled with a moderate increase in coal (up 7.7% to 1.1 Mt). The port handled 2.0 Mt of international cargo and 204 kilotonnes of domestic cargo.

Nanaimo handled 2.1 Mt of marine cargo in 2003 compared to 2.3 Mt in 2002 as both domestic and international activity decreased. Domestic cargo at the port fell to 1.0 Mt (down 0.2 Mt) as woods chips, and logs and other wood in the rough, which account for almost all of the domestic traffic (95.4%) both declined, falling 61 kilotonnes to 877 kilotonnes and 57 kilotonnes to 45 kilotonnes respectively. International tonnage decreased 2.4% to 1.2 Mt in 2003, primarily as a result of lower shipments of other non-metallic mineral products, and logs and other wood in the rough.

The port of Trois-Rivières handled 1.8 Mt in 2003, down 24.5% from 2.4 Mt in 2002. International and domestic cargo were each reduced by 0.3 Mt, falling to 1.6 Mt and 264 kilotonnes respectively. The bulk of the overall decline (55.7%) can be attributed to a substantial drop in shipments of wheat which dwindled to 61 kilotonnes (down 84.5%) from 393 kilotonnes in 2002. As a result, the top three commodities at the port in 2003 were alumina (448 kilotonnes), other non-metallic minerals (392 kilotonnes) and other basic chemicals (115 kilotonnes). Shipments of fuel oils also showed a large downward movement sliding to 27 kilotonnes (down 81.9%) from 148 kilotonnes in 2002.

The total amount of cargo handled at Toronto increased 12.5% over 2002 to reach 1.8 Mt in 2003. Domestic traffic at the port rose to 1.0 Mt (up 30.4% or 0.2 Mt) for the first increase in over a decade and this was sufficient to offset a 5.3% decrease (to 748 kilotonnes) in international cargo. With the notable exception of iron and steel–primary or semi finished which dropped 89.3% to 22 kilotonnes, shipments of most commodities were up. Specifically, shipments of the top two commodities recorded strong gains, sugar rose 14.6% to 586 kilotonnes and salt was up 55.3% to 532 kilotonnes.

The port of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, handled a record 1.5 Mt of marine cargo in 2003, an increase of 14.1% over 2002. Activity at the port is predominately domestic (96.7%) and continued increases in offshore oil activity are responsible for most of the overall growth. The primary cargo handled at the port includes manufactured and miscellaneous goods (0.7 Mt), fuels and basic chemicals (0.5 Mt) and agriculture and food products (0.2 Mt).

The total amount of cargo handled at Port Alberni was up 50.3% to 711 kilotonnes in 2003 from 473 kilotonnes the year previous. Domestic traffic at the port accounted for most of the shipments (503 kilotonnes) and 71.5% (210 kilotonnes) of the growth. Cargo activity at the port remains focused in the area of forest and wood products.

Saguenay Port (Chicoutimi) handled 439 kilotonnes in 2003, virutually unchanged from 2002. Reductions in international shipments, declining to 335 kilotonnes (down 16 kilotonnes), were offset by equally sizeable gains in domestic shipments, which jumped to 104 kilotonnes (up 20 kilotonnes). All of the major commodities handled at the port experienced losses, wood pulp (down 6.9% to 113 kilotonnes), salt (down 15.8% to 70 kilotonnes) and newsprint (down 45.5% to 51 kilotonnes).