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After experiencing strong growth in 2003, Canada’s ports and marine terminals posted a slower growth rate in 2004 in the amount of cargo handled. Several events including a protracted labour dispute in the Canadian iron ore industry were responsible for the sluggish growth. On the strength of increases in both export and import demand real gross domestic product grew 3.3% in 2004 up from 2.0 % in 2003. Despite the continued strengthening of the Canadian dollar in 2004, international trade in merchandise with the United States increased for the first time since 2001 rising 5.3% to reach $601.3 billion. Canada’s merchandise trade with the rest of the world grew 11.3% to $191.5 billion due to higher foreign imports from other countries, ¹  predominately the Peoples Republic of China. ² 

Led by a moderate increase in international cargo, Canada’s port and marine terminals handled a record 452.3 million metric tonnes (Mt) up 1.9% from 2003. For a second consecutive year international cargo (between Canadian and foreign ports) reached record levels rising 2.6%, from 306.7Mt to 314.6Mt. The amount of domestic cargo (between two Canadian ports) handled saw a slight increase of 0.5%. It increased from 137.1Mt in 2003 to 137.8 Mt in 2004. ³ 

Container Traffic

Continuing the trend begun in 2002, the amount of international container traffic handled by Canadian ports reached new heights in both volume and tonnage in 2004. Canadian ports handled 3.7 million twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) in 2004, up 8.6% from 2003. Container tonnage increased 10.7% to reach 31.2Mt in 2004 from 28.2Mt the previous year. While the amount of container traffic with Asia continued to dominate the overall picture, the growth in tonnage in 2004 was due primarily to increased inbound traffic from Europe which rose 10.1% to reach 7.1Mt.

International marine cargo

Buoyed by increased demand, primarily from the Peoples Republic of China, Canada’s ports and terminals loaded 196.1Mt of cargo destined for foreign countries, including the United States, in 2004. This represents an increase of 2.5% from the previous year. The gain in outbound shipments was dampened due to a prolonged labour dispute in the iron ore industry. This resulted in a sharp decrease in international loadings of iron ore and concentrates. In 2004, Canadian ports and terminals unloaded 118.5 Mt of cargo from foreign ports, including the United States, an increase of 2.7% from the previous year. Higher inbound shipments of crude petroleum, iron and steel (primary or semi-finished) and iron ore and concentrates were sufficient to offset the decline in shipments of coal.

Canada – United States cargo

After two consecutive years of growth, marine traffic between Canada and the United States held steady at 123.3Mt, virtually unchanged from the levels reported in 2003. Inbound shipments from the United States declined to their lowest levels since 1997, falling 6.4% to 39.5Mt. In contrast, outbound shipments to the United States continued its upward trend, reaching 83.8Mt in 2004, from 81.2Mt in 2003.

The decline in inbound activity was largely driven by a decline in shipments of coal, which dropped 2.9Mt in 2004. The ports primarily affected by the decline were Nanticoke, Courtright and Port Credit. The decrease was due, in part, to a decision by the Ontario government to phase out the use of coal-fired electricity generation. Despite the decline coal remained the primary commodity unloaded (40.4%) from the United States. Also contributing to the overall drop in inbound shipments were reductions in alumina and fuel oils, down 83.7% and 31.6% respectively. These declines more than offset increases in other commodities including iron ores and concentrates, which were up 19.3% and gasoline and aviation turbine fuel, up 102.4%.

While outbound shipments to the United States continued to be led by increased shipments of crude petroleum, the growth was not as dominant as in the previous two years. Since 2001, crude petroleum shipments to the United States have increased 48%. Other commodities which also experienced increases in 2004 were other non-metallic minerals and stone, sand, gravel and crushed stone. The gains in these commodities were sufficient to offset declines in both iron ores and concentrates and fuel oils.

Ships registered in Canada handled 43.0% of the Canada – United States cargo in 2004 up from 42.0% in 2003. Cargo carried by United States-flag vessels remained at 10.9%, unchanged from 2003. Foreign-flag ships carried the remaining 46.1% of Canada-United States cargo in 2004.

Canadian flagged vessels accounted for the majority (80.5%) of the Canada- United States cargo activity on the Great Lakes and an increasing amount on the Pacific Coast. Cargo handled by Canadian-flag vessels destined for United States Pacific ports has rebounded from 5.6% in 2001 to 8.2% in 2004.

Canada – Overseas Cargo

Canada’s marine traffic to and from overseas ports climbed 4.3% from 183.3Mt in 2003 to a reach a record 191.3Mt in 2004. This gain was due, almost exclusively, to increases in cargo arriving from overseas ports which rose 8.0%. The growth in cargo shipped to overseas ports rose marginally from 110.2Mt in 2003 to 112.3Mt in 2004.

The growth in inbound overseas cargo was fueled by a second consecutive year of record shipments of crude petroleum. In 2004, inbound crude petroleum grew to reach 37.0Mt up from 33.5Mt reported a year earlier. The majority of the crude petroleum arrived from ports in Africa which surpassed Europe as the primary source of overseas crude petroleum. Also contributing to the overall rise in cargo arriving from overseas ports was a sharp increase in shipments of iron and steel (primary or semi-finished) which rebounded 42.2% (up 1.0Mt).

A combination of sharp increases coupled with equally strong declines in several commodities resulted in an overall slight increase in cargo destined for foreign ports. Outbound shipments of grains ⁴  rose 3.3Mt to reach 17.7Mt. This growth was due, almost exclusively, to a surge in shipments of wheat to Asia which more than doubled to 6.1Mt up 3.4Mt from 2.7Mt in 2003. Also, destined primarily to ports in Asia, were increased shipments of potash up 1.2Mt to 6.8Mt and sulphur up 0.9Mt to 6.4Mt. These gains were sufficient to offset declines in several commodities, most notably iron ore and concentrates and coal. Labour disputes at two mining companies resulted in a sharp drop of 3.9Mt (down 18.0%) in overseas shipments of iron ore and concentrates which fell to 17.8Mt. In particular, cargo destined for Europe plunged 2.8Mt (down 19.1%) to 11.8Mt, its lowest levels in since 1988. Outbound shipments of coal were also reduced in 2004 falling 1.0Mt (down 4.0%) to 24.5Mt.

The amount of cargo handled by Canadian-flag vessels which was exchanged with overseas ports held steady at 0.1%. Ships registered to the following countries Panama (20.2%), Greece (10.4%) and Liberia (9.3%) continued to handle the majority of the overseas cargo.

Domestic Cargo

In 2004, Canada’s ports and terminals handled 137.8Mt of domestic cargo, essentially unchanged from the levels reported a year earlier. While the majority of commodities experienced positive growth in the amount of domestic cargo handled, there were a few significant exceptions. Leading the pack of declines was crude petroleum which tumbled 4.5 Mt to 35.6Mt. Output of oil from the fields off the Grand Banks fell from a record 123.0 million barrels in 2003 to 115.0 million barrels ⁵  in 2004, the first decline in output since production began in 1999. The impact of the drop in domestic shipments of crude petroleum in 2004 was centered primarily at several ports in the Atlantic region, specifically Come by Chance (down 10.8%) and Saint John (down 41.2%), where the majority of the crude produced domestically is handled. Other commodities which exhibited large decreases in domestic shipments included wheat and newsprint. Most notable among those commodities whose domestic tonnage increased were stone, sand, gravel and crushed stone (up 1.5Mt to 6.9Mt) and limestone (up 1.3Mt to 8.3Mt).

Despite lengthy strikes at two of the region’s three iron ore mining operations, domestic shipments in the St. Lawrence Region continued to trend upward in 2004, rising 0.8Mt to 26.6Mt. Domestic activity in the region is heavily influenced by shipments of iron ore and concentrates which account for 25.2% of the region’s shipments. Increases in domestic cargo shipped through Port Cartier (up 0.8Mt to 5.1Mt) and Montréal (up 0.6Mt to 5.1Mt) were sufficient to overcome the decline in shipments at Sept-Îles (down 1.3Mt to 2.3Mt).

After back to back declines in the two previous years, shipping activity in the Great Lakes rebounded in 2004 to reach 31.0Mt, up 2.7Mt from 2003. The majority of the increase was attributed to an increase in shipments of stone, sand, gravel and crushed stone which climbed 1.7Mt to 3.6Mt.

In 2004, the level of domestic activity occurring in the Pacific region improved slightly, rising 1.3% to reach 32.4Mt. Increased shipments of limestone (up 1.0Mt to 2.8Mt) mostly offset declines in newsprint (down 0.7Mt to 1.1Mt). Canadian newsprint production continued to be hampered by a number of factors including sluggish demand, primarily from the United States, and the impact of a higher Canadian dollar. As a result, several newsprint producers in Canada revealed their intentions to substantially scale back production in the face of such economic conditions

Canadian port traffic

Nineteen Canadian Port Authorities ⁶  (CPAs) were created under the Canada Marine Act of 1998 based on their potential to be financially self-sufficient. In 2004, the 19 CPAs accounted for 59.7% of the total international and 36.2% of the total domestic cargo handled by Canadian ports and marine terminals. ⁷ 

Shipments of marine cargo from the Port of Vancouver were 75.0Mt, up 7.1 Mt from 2003. This rise in shipments, the port’s largest since 1987, was spurred by increased demand from Asia, primarily the Peoples Republic of China. For the second consecutive year the overall growth in cargo handled was led by grains ⁸  which surged upward 2.0Mt to 8.6Mt. Increased shipments of wheat accounted for most of the gain rising 1.7Mt to 5.1Mt. In addition, impressive gains were noted in the amounts handled by the port of potash (up1.3Mt to a record 5.9Mt) and sulphur (up1.0Mt to 6.4Mt). Demand for both these commodities is heavily influenced by the production of fertilizers for which they are key ingredients.

Vancouver remained the nations leading container port handling 1,665,000 TEUs surpassing the record 1,539,000 TEUs set a year earlier. Burgeoning trade with Asia resulted in the port handling 45% of the nation’s container traffic. Overall, the level of containerized cargo reached 13.3Mt, up 1.4Mt from 2003. The gain was primarily due to increases in outbound containerized wood pulp and lumber, which rose 19.4% and 15.1% respectively. Also contributing to the rise in containerized cargo were increased inbound shipments of other manufactured and miscellaneous goods which rose 6.0%.

The tonnage handled at the port of Saint John, New Brunswick, remained essentially flat at 26.2Mt. The port experienced sharp drops in fuel oils (down 0.6Mt to 4.8Mt), other refined petroleum and coal products (down 0.2Mt to 0.2Mt) and potash (down 0.1Mt to 0.7Mt). Offsetting these declines were increases in crude petroleum (up 0.7Mt to 13.1Mt) and gasoline and aviation turbine fuel (up 0.3Mt to 5.6Mt). Although the overall level of shipments of crude petroleum increased, the proportion derived from the domestic market plummeted from 2.2Mt in 2003 to 1.3Mt in 2004 in response to the drop in production from the oilfields in Newfoundland .

In 2004, the port of Montréal/Contrecoeur handled 23.3Mt (up 3.0Mt) of cargo, its highest level of shipments since 1984. The gain resulted, in large part, from sharp increases in shipments of iron ore and concentrates (up 0.8Mt to 2.0Mt), petroleum products ⁹  (up 0.5Mt to 5.0Mt), other basic chemicals (up 0.3Mt to 1.5Mt) and salt (up 0.2Mt to 0.8Mt) which were more than sufficient to counteract the drop in fertilizers (excluding potash) (down 0.1Mt to 0.4Mt). The volume of international containers handled continued to grow as the port handled a record 1,146,000 TEUs in 2004 compared with 1,021,000 TEUs in 2003. In 2004, containerized cargo accounted for 10.5Mt of the shipments either destined for or arriving from foreign ports.

Total shipments at Québec (including Lévis) reached a record 21.7Mt in 2004, up 6.3% from the previous year. Since 2001, the total cargo handled at the port has risen 6.5 Mt, (up 42.7%) boosted primarily by higher levels of international shipments. In 2004, the increase in international cargo (up 7.4%) was primarily due to a rise in shipments of iron ores and concentrates, coal and fuel oils. Domestic cargo rose slightly (up 2.1%) as gains in several commodities including metallic waste and scrap, wheat and other refined petroleum and coal products offset sharp declines in crude petroleum and gasoline and aviation turbine fuel.

The tonnage handled at Sept-Îles (including Pointe-Noire) plummeted to 17.0Mt from 22.7Mt in 2003. The port experienced declines in shipments of both international and domestic cargo, which fell 4.4Mt (to 14.7Mt) and 1.3Mt (to 2.3Mt) respectively. Activity at the port was severely impacted by prolonged labour disputes at both Iron Ore Company of Canada and Wabush Mines, of 10 weeks and 14 weeks respectively. As a result, shipments of iron ore and concentrates fell 26.7% to 15.2Mt, their lowest levels since 1982.

A total of 14.9Mt of cargo was handled at Fraser River Port in 2004, up from 13.3Mt in 2003. Increased levels of both domestic and international cargo contributed to the growth. Among the major domestic commodities handled at the port, only shipments of newsprint and coal declined. The amount of international activity, in particular, the levels of containerized cargo at the port continued to trend upward. The port handled 321,000 TEU’s surpassing the previous year’s record of 264,000 TEU’s. The volume of containerized tonnage rose 25.7% (up 0.6Mt) to reach 2.8Mt

The amount of cargo handled at the port of Halifax held steady at 14.2Mt, as domestic activity decreased slightly while international cargo remained virtually unchanged. Crude petroleum remains the largest commodity handled at the port, 3.8Mt in 2004. The decline in domestic cargo (down 4.6% to 2.9Mt), was due almost exclusively to a 27.4% drop in inbound shipments of domestic crude petroleum. This decline was offset by an increase in international inbound shipments of crude petroleum from South America and Europe. Halifax retained its position as the third busiest container port in the country despite a decline in container traffic, which fell to 492,000 TEUs in 2004 from 499,000 TEUs in 2003.

Cargo handled at Hamilton rose 1.1Mt to reach 11.9Mt in 2004, a manifestation of the improved conditions affecting the steel industry. Increased world demand for steel, primarily from the People’s Republic of China, led to a rise in prices and production of steel. At the port, these changes were reflected in shipments of iron ore and concentrates and coal which are primary inputs in the production of steel. The tonnage of inbound international shipments of iron and steel (primary or semi-finished) rose 0.2Mt (to 1.0Mt). Further, inward shipments of iron ore and concentrates registered a net gain (up 0.6Mt) as a rise in cargo from the United States-Great Lakes more than offset a decline from Sept-Îles (including Pointe Noire). In addition, inbound domestic shipments of coal also increased 41% to 0.5Mt.

After declining in each of the two previous years, the total tonnage handled at the port of Thunder Bay rebounded in 2004 to reach 8.5Mt. The turnaround was sparked by an increase in shipments of colza seed (canola) which pushed the overall tonnage of grains ¹⁰  to 5.1Mt. Other commodities which experienced increases include potash, which achieved its highest levels since 1998, and fresh, chilled or dried vegetables. These gains were sufficient to overcome a sharp decline (down 0.2Mt to 0.4Mt) of other oilseeds and nuts and other agricultural products.

In 2004, the amount of cargo handled at the port of Windsor (Ontario) began to show signs of recovery rising 0.5Mt to reach 4.8Mt. Higher shipments of both domestic (up 0.3Mt to 2.2Mt) and international cargo (up 0.2 to 2.7Mt) each contributed to the gain. Leading the upturn in domestic shipments were increased shipments of both colza seeds (canola) and stone, sand, gravel and crushed stone which each rose 0.2Mt. The slight rise in international cargo (up 0.2Mt to 2.7Mt) was due primarily to increased inbound shipments of iron and steel (primary or semi-finished) from Europe and Africa in addition to limestone from the United States-Great Lakes.

The total tonnage reported for the North Arm Fraser River port dropped 2.7% to 4.6Mt from 4.7Mt in 2003, all of which was domestic traffic. The three main commodities handled at the port were logs and other wood in the rough (2.4Mt), wood chips (1.5Mt) and stone, sand, gravel and crushed stone (0.5Mt). 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. ¹¹ 

In 2004, the port of Prince Rupert posted an increase in overall tonnage handled as the level of shipments reached 4.4Mt, up from 4.0Mt in 2003. Owing to the closure of the Bullmoose mine, which reached the end of its 20 year expected lifespan, no coal was shipped from the port in 2004. This resulted in an overall reduction of 1.7Mt in cargo handled. Despite this, activity at the port benefited from a surge in outbound shipments of wheat and barley which each more than doubled to reach 2.9Mt and 0.3Mt respectively. In addition, the port handled an increasing amount (0.3Mt) of iron ore and concentrates arriving from Minnesota destined for Asia.

After falling to 1.8Mt in 2003, the level of shipments at Trois Rivières bounced back to reach 2.4Mt in 2004. Both international and domestic shipments rose, 0.3Mt and 0.2Mt respectively, primarily on the strength of increased transshipments ¹²  of sugar (up 537.3% to 0.3Mt). In addition to alumina, the main commodity handled at the port, other commodities which recorded gains were coal and other non-metallic mineral products. Although shipments of grains ¹³  rose substantially in 2004 (up 26.2% from 2003) the cargo handled remains far below the historical ten year average of 0.4Mt. Among those commodities where tonnages fell, the most noteworthy were coal coke and petroleum coke, other non-metallic minerals and fertilizers (excluding potash).

Slight increases in the level of international and domestic cargo resulted in the port of Nanaimo handling a total of 2.2Mt in 2004 up from 2.1Mt in 2003. With the exception of wood pulp, which experienced a decrease in tonnage handled, shipments of the ports other major commodities, logs and other wood in the rough and wood chips, all increased.

The amount of cargo handled at Belledune dropped to 2.1Mt in 2004 from the 2.2 in 2003. The fall was due to lowered shipments of other metallic ores and concentrates and coal which were each down 0.1Mt. Together these commodities accounted for 66.8% of the total tonnage at the port. The port handled 1.9Mt of international and 0.2Mt of domestic cargo in 2004.

Tonnage handled at Toronto continued to climb in 2004 reaching 2.0Mt, its highest level of shipments since 1980. For a second consecutive year the increase in total cargo handled (up 0.2Mt from 1.8Mt in 2003) was driven by the growth in domestic activity. In particular, there were substantial increases in the amount of stone, sand, gravel and crushed stone (up 986.4% to 0.2Mt) and sugar (up 177.1% to 0.3Mt) shipped domestically. In contrast, international activity continued to decline, falling a further 1.7% (to 0.7Mt) from the levels reported the year earlier.

At St.John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, the total cargo handled reached 1.6Mt exceeding the record 1.5Mt set in 2003. Domestic shipments, which account for the majority of the activity at the port, rose 4.2 % (to 1.6Mt) on the strength of increased shipments of manufactured and miscellaneous goods, fuels and basic chemicals and agriculture and food products.

The port of Port Alberni handled 694 kilotonnes of cargo in 2004 as compared to 701 kilotonnes the year previous. The transportation of commodities from the forest and wood products industry, specifically logs and other wood in the rough and lumber accounted for all the traffic at the port.

The total amount of cargo handled at Saguenay Port (Chicoutimi) was 391 kilotonnes in 2004 down from 462 kilotonnes in 2003. Decreases in both international (down 19.2%) and domestic shipments (down 5.5%) were responsible for the decline. The reduction in international activity was due, almost exclusively, to the closure of a newsprint mill in late 2003.