SIMIC

Canada's largest port released its midyear statistics, saying it handled 68.3 million tonnes of cargo in the first six months of 2022, compared with 76.4 million tonnes for the same period in 2021.

Global freight rates have plunged after hitting record highs last year, and now economic uncertainty is clouding the shipping outlook for the rest of 2022.

Flooding and mudslides in the British Columbia interior and the Fraser Valley severed highways and rail lines in and out of Vancouver last November.

Globally, shortages of dockers contributed to the longer preparation required to set sail, disrupting delivery schedules on trade routes. Within Canada, there have been inland delays at warehouses, triggering other freight bottlenecks, including ships having to wait longer than usual for a berth.

"Grain was really down and that was really all about the poor harvest on the Prairies last year," said Vancouver port authority chief Robin Silvester. "Grain volumes are starting to move back up again, so that's obviously an important boost for the economy."

In sharp contrast to the grain slump, coal deliveries rose 23 per cent year on year to 21.9 million tonnes. Cruise ships returned in April, after the lifting of Covid restrictions.

On the container side, business has slowed and freight rates have tumbled. London's Drewry Shipping Consultants World Container Index has plummeted 57 per cent over the past 12 months, falling to US$4,472 for transporting an FEU this week.

More than 1.8 million TEU of exports and imports went through Vancouver in the first half, down seven per cent compared with the first six months of 2021.

In 2021, a strong showing as measured by TEU marked the fifth consecutive year that a new annual record was set for container traffic at the port.

Vessels loading and unloading in the Vancouver area typically have room for each to carry between 6,000 to 13,000 TEU, depending on a ship's size.

The port is touting its plans for a new C$3.5 billion (US$2.5 billion) container terminal to be located near Delta, BC, about 30 kilometres south of Vancouver. The project, called Roberts Bank Terminal 2, or RBT2, would be completed by 2030.

The port believes it would be a much-needed expansion of container capacity on the west coast.