Shipping in Canada 2010 (preliminary)
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In 2010 the Canadian economy began a nascent recovery from the effects of the global economic slowdown it experienced in 2009. Based on significant increases in both exports and imports, real gross domestic product increased 3.2%, following the 2.8% decline in 2009 1 . In 2010, the nominal value of total merchandise trade increased 10.1% to $818.7 billion. While both exports and imports were higher than their levels in 2009, Canada experienced a widening of the balance of trade deficit to $9.0 billion from a deficit of $4.7 billion in 2009 2 . This occurred as a result of the 10.6% growth in imports exceeding the 9.6% rise in exports.
The recovery from the 2009 recession had a positive effect on Canada's marine activity. The total cargo handled at Canada's ports and marine terminals increased to 450.0 million metric tonnes (Mt) in 2010 up 9.8% over the 2009 level. This healthy growth in Canada's marine shipping activity was the largest year-over-year increase in the last twenty years 3 . The growth in 2010 was the result of strong increases in both international and domestic 4 cargo shipments.
International Marine Traffic
The growth in global trade in 2010, following the 2009 economic recession, resulted in a substantial 10.5% increase in the tonnage of international cargo (movements between Canadian and foreign ports) handled in Canada. Shipments of international cargo reached 333.6Mt, up from the levels recorded in 2008 and 2009.
Significant gains were noted in outbound shipments of coal (up 38.5% to 38.7Mt), primarily to Asia. In addition, the tonnage of both inbound and outbound movements of iron ores and concentrates grew in 2010, resulting in an overall increase of 14.1% to 43.5Mt. Most of the growth in the tonnage of iron ores and concentrates is attributed to cargo arrivals, which rose 65.1% to 8.8Mt in 2010. The majority of the gains were due to shipments from the United States Great Lakes ports. Outbound shipments of this commodity grew 5.8% to 34.7Mt with ports in Europe (15.2Mt) and Asia (10.4Mt) the recipients of most of these departures.
Container Traffic
International container traffic at Canadian ports rebounded from the declines observed in 2009 as gains were reported for both volumes and tonnage. International container volumes increased by 15.2% to 4.5 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) from 3.9 million in 2009, while the tonnage rose 11.2% to 38.7Mt from 34.8Mt. The growth was driven primarily by an increase in inbound shipments from Asia, as well as shipments both inbound from and outbound to Europe.
The majority of the growth in international container traffic in 2010 was concentrated in the country's four primary container ports. These are Port Metro Vancouver; the port of Montréal, including Contrecoeur; the port of Halifax; and the port of Prince Rupert.
Canada – United States Cargo
Canada's marine traffic to and from the United States rose 4.0% in 2010 to 102.9Mt from 98.9Mt in 2009, reversing four years of declines. The growth in 2010 was driven by gains in shipments of both inbound (up 9.7%) and outbound (up 1.4%) freight.
The increase in inbound shipments was due exclusively to a substantial increase (up 19.8%) in cargo arriving in Canada from the United States Great Lakes ports. The tonnages of several commodities from this region grew strongly in 2010. These included iron ores and concentrates (from 4.9Mt to 7.8Mt); coal (from 8.8Mt to 9.8Mt); and limestone (from 2.1Mt to 2.7Mt).
Shipments of marine cargo from Canada destined for ports in the United States grew by a slight 1.4% or 0.9Mt in 2010. The growth was largely attributed to a rise in outbound shipments to ports located in the United States Atlantic and Gulf Region which handled the majority (66.1%) of Canadian marine freight shipments to the United States. Substantial gains were recorded in shipments of fuel oils (up 1.2Mt or 15.0%), iron ores and concentrates (up 0.9Mt or 114.1%), and gasoline and aviation turbine fuel (up 0.6Mt or 10.0%) to this region. However, these gains were almost entirely offset by declines in the shipment of salt (down 1.8Mt or 35.6%) to the ports of the United States Great Lakes Region.
In 2010, ships registered in Canada handled 38.6% of the marine traffic between Canada and the United States, a small decline from the 39.1% handled in 2009. Canadian-flagged vessels continued to be very prominent in the shipments of cargo between Canada and ports in the United States Great Lakes Region where they handled 86.3% of the activity, down from 89.3% in 2009. On the Pacific coast of the United States, Canadian-registered vessels moved 23.9% of the tonnage in 2010, a drop from 26.9% in 2009. In 2010, Canadian-registered vessels were responsible for only 6.6% of marine traffic with United States Atlantic and Gulf ports, off from 7.7% in 2009.
Canada Overseas Cargo
International marine tonnage handled between Canada and countries other than the United States increased 13.7% to 230.7Mt in 2010 from 202.8Mt in 2009. Both outbound and inbound shipments contributed to the increase.
International marine cargo destined for countries other than the United States was dominated by shipments to Asia (up 11.8Mt or 16.3%), which accounted for over half of the outbound cargo. Other regions which reported notable gains included Europe (up 4.5Mt or 14.4%), South America (up 3.6Mt or 57.1%), and Central America and Antilles (up 2.2Mt or 39.4%).
Several commodities were primarily responsible for the increase in international departures in 2010. These included shipments of coal (up 10.1Mt or 37.0%), potash (up 3.9Mt or 157.5%), logs and other wood in the rough (up 2.0Mt or 91.1%), and lumber (up 1.4Mt or 43.2%).
The tonnage of international cargo arriving in Canada from countries other than the United States increased in 2010, from 73.1Mt in 2009 to 79.8Mt. Most notable were shipments from Asia and South America, each up 2.2Mt. Gains in inbound cargo were also recorded from Africa (up 1.7Mt); and the Middle East (up 1.3Mt). These increases were partially offset by declines from ports in Europe, and Central America and Antilles, (each down 0.3Mt); and Oceania, (down 0.2Mt).
Vessels registered in Canada continued to carry a very small proportion of the marine cargo moved between Canadian and international (excluding the United States) ports in 2010. Canadian-flagged vessels accounted for only 0.2% of the international tonnage handled, compared with vessels registered in Panama (26.6%), Liberia (10.7%), Hong Kong (9.5%) and Greece (7.9%).
Domestic Cargo
In 2010, the tonnage of domestic cargo handled at Canadian ports and marine terminals rebounded to 116.5Mt over the 108.2Mt handled in 2009. There were several commodities which accounted for the majority of the tonnage increase experienced in 2010. These included shipments of iron ores and concentrates (up 3.7Mt), limestone (up 1.8Mt), other metallic ores and concentrates (up 1.2Mt) and coal (up 1.0Mt). These gains were partially offset by declines in shipments of salt (down 2.5Mt) and wheat (down 1.0Mt). In addition, crude petroleum, the commodity responsible for the largest domestic tonnage handled, was essentially flat in 2010, up only 0.4Mt over 2009.
All regions of Canada experienced an increase in the tonnage of domestic cargo handled in 2010 with variances occurring by region and commodity.
The Atlantic Region saw a modest 1.2% or 0.5Mt annual growth, aided by a substantial 126.0% or 0.6Mt rise in its movements of limestone. Countering this growth was a decline in salt shipments of 31.1% or 0.8Mt.
The St. Lawrence Region experienced the largest growth in shipments of domestic cargo in 2010, up 20.4% or 4.4Mt over 2009. This region reported an increase of 161.5% or 2.6Mt in the tonnage of iron ores and concentrates handled. Also rising significantly in 2010 were shipments of other metallic ores and concentrates (up 25.6% or 1.2Mt). This region realized a decline in shipments of salt, down 32.5% or 0.8Mt, and wheat, off 12.9% or 0.5Mt, over 2009.
In 2010, tonnages handled in the Great Lakes Region grew 2.0Mt (up 7.4%), augmented by an increase of 1.1Mt (up 62.4%) in the shipments of iron ores and concentrates. The level of limestone shipped also rose by 0.5Mt (up 14.8%). However, as was observed in other regions of Canada, declines were noted in 2010 in the shipments of salt. This region saw a drop of 0.9Mt (down 23.5%) in salt shipments. Tonnages handled of wheat also were lower in 2010, down 0.4Mt (down 9.1%).
The Pacific Region experienced a growth of 6.2% in shipments in 2010, aided by a substantial 633.8% growth in the coal shipments, up 0.8Mt to 0.9Mt. In addition, the tonnage handled of logs and other wood in the rough grew 10.5% or 0.6Mt.
Port Authorities
The total cargo handled by the 17 Canadian Port Authorities 5 (CPAs) rose to 268.6Mt in 2010 from 234.6Mt in 2009. In addition, their share of the total cargo handled increased to 59.7% in 2010 from 57.2% in 2009. This is the third consecutive year that this share has risen.
Port Metro Vancouver, Canada's largest port by tonnage handled, experienced strong growth as shipments rose 15.9% to 104.7Mt in 2010. The overall gain in shipments was led by a sharp increase in international shipping activity, up 17.1% from 2009 to 94.3Mt in 2010. Domestic activity also rose 6.3% to 10.4Mt. The port's overall growth in tonnage was primarily driven by increases in four commodities. These were coal (up 6.5Mt or 27.2%); potash (up 3.3Mt or 141.8%); logs and other wood in the rough (up 1.1Mt or 29.8%); and lumber (up 0.9Mt or 31.4%).
The port remains Canada's leading container facility 6 and in 2010 saw gains in both its volume and tonnage of international containerized cargo. The container volume rose to 2.5 million TEUs from 2.2 million TEUs in 2009. During the same period the tonnage of containerized cargo increased 8.9% to 20.7Mt in 2010 from 19.0Mt in 2009. This rise in tonnage handled was entirely attributed to the shipments of inbound cargo as outbound shipments dropped 0.2% from the levels recorded in 2009.
In 2010, the port of Saint John, New Brunswick experienced a healthy 16.0% increase in tonnage handled over the 2009 level, rising 4.2Mt to 30.6Mt. This growth was split almost equally between inbound (up 16.3%) and outbound (up 15.7%) shipments. After remaining relatively stable for the previous three years, shipments of the port's primary commodity, crude petroleum, rose 11.1% to 14.7Mt in 2010. Other commodities which registered gains were other refined petroleum and coal products, up 58.3% to 2.7Mt. In addition, shipments of potash increased by over 300% to reach 0.8Mt in 2010 after falling to 0.2Mt in 2009. The volume of international containerized cargo rose 6.4% to 47,013 TEUs and the associated tonnage handled increased 5.1% to 0.3Mt.
The port of Montréal, including Contrecoeur, handled 24.8Mt in 2010, an increase of 4.2% from the levels in 2009. Cargo arrivals at the port rose 8.3% while departures declined 0.8%. The volume of international containerized cargo also grew in 2010, rising 6.1% to 1,212,354 TEUs. Furthermore, the tonnage of international containerized cargo rose by 7.2% to 11.7Mt from 2009 levels, and now accounts for almost half of the tonnage handled at the port.
In 2010, the port of Sept-Îles, including Pointe-Noire, realized a substantial 22.6% gain in the tonnage of cargo handled (to 24.6Mt) as activity at the port recovered from the 2009 slump. Almost all of the increase was attributable to a 24.5% rise in shipments of iron ores and concentrates, which rose from 17.3Mt in 2009 to 21.6Mt. This commodity was primarily shipped to ports in Asia or Europe. In 2010, outbound shipments of iron ores and concentrates were responsible for 87.6% of the total tonnage of cargo that passed through this port.
Total cargo handled at the port of Québec, including Lévis, in 2010 grew to 24.6Mt, a gain of 10.4% over 2009. Responsible for the rise in shipments was the sharp increase (up 63.8%) in the tonnage of iron ores and concentrates, up to 3.7Mt in 2010 from 2.3Mt in 2009. Inbound shipments of this commodity from ports in the United States Great Lakes Region and those in South America were primarily responsible for the increase in tonnage handled.
In 2010, the port of Prince Rupert handled 15.0Mt of cargo, up 33.2% from 11.3Mt in 2009. For the past two years the overall level of shipping activity at the port was driven primarily by the tonnages of coal and wheat handled. In 2010, shipments of coal increased 3.3Mt to 6.5Mt. However, the growth in coal shipments was dampened by a decline in shipments of wheat to 3.4Mt from 4.6Mt in 2009. The majority of the outbound coal was destined for ports in Asia whose shipments grew in 2010 to 5.8Mt from 2.9Mt the previous year. In 2010, the tonnage of international containerized cargo handled at the port rose 37.2% to 2.5Mt while the number of TEUs reached 341,979, up from 264,714 in 2009.
The tonnage of cargo handled at the port of Hamilton in 2010 rose sharply by 38.8% to 11.4Mt. Primarily responsible for the gain was an increase of 80.5% in the shipments of domestic cargo, which reached 5.2Mt. Activity at the port was heavily influenced by the improvement in the steel market. The industry experienced dramatic growth following the severe economic downturn in 2009. Iron ores and concentrates, and coal are the primary commodities handled by the port with the former up 38.7% to 5.1Mt and the latter rising 32.4% to 2.8Mt in 2010.
The tonnage handled at the port of Halifax in 2010 was virtually unchanged (down 0.2% to 10.2Mt) from 2009 levels. Increases in outbound shipments (up 9.5% or 0.5Mt) were completely offset by declines (down 9.1% or 0.5Mt) in inbound cargo. The port experienced sharp declines in both crude petroleum (down 0.5Mt) and other non-metallic minerals (down 0.4Mt). Partially countering these declines were increases in shipments of newsprint (up 0.2Mt) and fuel oils (up 0.1Mt). In 2010, there were increases in both the volume and tonnage of international containerized cargo handled by the port. International containerized volumes were up 24.7% from 314,599 TEUs in 2009 to 392,328 TEUs.
The port of Thunder Bay experienced a decline of 6.4% to 6.8Mt in the tonnage of cargo handled in 2010. This represents the third consecutive year that tonnage has decreased at the port. Principally responsible for the drop were lower outbound domestic shipments of wheat (down 0.7Mt).
The tonnage handled at the port of Windsor, Ontario increased 12.5% to 5.3Mt in 2010. The growth in shipping activity resulted from higher international inbound shipments of limestone, which more than doubled to 1.1Mt, from 0.5Mt in 2009.
Shipping activity at the port of Trois-Rivières in 2010 showed an increase of 18.2% from the previous year, reaching 2.9Mt. Over half of this increase was attributed to shipments of corn, which rose to 239,533 tonnes in 2010 from 6,600 tonnes in 2009.
After two years of gains, shipments at the port of Belledune fell to 2.1Mt in 2010 from 2.6Mt in 2009. Both international and domestic shipments contributed to the decline. Domestic activity at the port was negatively impacted by the sharp drop (down 87.5%) in shipments of other non-metallic mineral products. In addition, international shipments of coal declined 14.0%.
Cargo handled at the port of Toronto dropped to 1.5Mt in 2010 from 1.6Mt in 2009, a decline of 8.3%. This was due to a 0.3Mt reduction in international cargo handled at the port which was not offset by the 0.2Mt increase in domestic shipments. The tonnage of salt handled decreased 37.6%, from 0.6Mt to 0.4Mt, due to reduced demand resulting from a mild winter.
Marine activity at the port of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador experienced a 3.5% growth as tonnage handled in 2010 rose to 1.5Mt. This increase was entirely attributed to a 65,499 tonne growth in domestic shipments handled as international shipments declined 16,564 tonnes over their level in 2009.
In 2010, the port of Nanaimo experienced a strong gain (up 71.9% to 1.3Mt) in its tonnage handled over the 2009 level. This was a reversal of the declines observed over the previous four years. The growth was largely due to international departures which rose 210.7% and represented the majority (83.1%) of the total tonnage handled at this port in 2010. International shipments of logs and other wood in the rough increased 527.2% over 2009 to 0.7Mt from 0.1Mt. About 90% of the tonnage of logs and other wood in the rough handled at the port were destined for ports in Asia.
Port Alberni handled virtually the same tonnage in 2010 as in 2009, down just 1.3% or 13,448 tonnes to 1,042,590 tonnes. During this period, domestic shipments declined by 231,664 tonnes while international tonnage handled increased by 218,217 tonnes. The port saw growth of 46,988 tonnes to 105,479 tonnes in lumber, and a decline of 61,071 tonnes to 926,036 tonnes in logs and other wood in the rough. While the tonnage handled of logs and other wood in the rough declined slightly there was a substantial 92.0% growth to 434,175 tonnes in the tonnage of this commodity departing for Asia in 2010. Further, there was a 79.8% increase in the tonnage of lumber destined for Asia, which in 2010 received the bulk (99.6%) of all the lumber handled at this port.
The port of Saguenay experienced an increase of 27.0% to 383,303 tonnes in cargo handled over 2009. The rise in marine activity was driven entirely by international shipments, which rose 42.4%. With the exception of wood pulp, which remained virtually unchanged, shipments of the port's principal commodities reported gains. These included other non-ferrous metal – primary or semi-finished (up 20,142 tonnes), other non-metallic minerals (up 14,894 tonnes), other basic chemicals (up 14,755 tonnes), and coal (up 12,668 tonnes).
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