By Leo Ryan, AJOTThroughout the Canadian ports on the Atlantic Coast, the St. Lawrence River and on the Great Lakes, the recession is past history. Cargo volumes are either approaching or exceeding 2008 levels. In some cases, the 2010 bounce-back reached double digits, and the growth pattern remains sustained this year despite some headwinds in the United States and Europe impacting on the global economy. Certain changes in cargo trends are accelerating, as shown by the rising Mediterranean component of Montreal’s container trade and the expansion of Halifax trade with Southeast Asia via the Suez and Panama Canals. In its latest forecast, the International Monetary Fund revised upward its 2011 growth forecast for Canada to 2.9% while reducing its outlook for the U.S. economy to 2.5% from a previous 2.8%. St. Lawrence River Ports On the St. Lawrence River, the Port of Montreal continues to show dynamic growth, notably in its dominant container sector. Bolstered by a significant growth in business with the Mediterranean region, Montreal’s box traffic should recapture its 2008 record level of 1.5 million TEUs by the end of this year, according to Sylvie Vachon, President and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority. Already, in 2010, the volume of Montreal container traffic with the Mediterranean rose by 33% to represent 20% of total box throughput of 1.3 million TEUs. “This reflects the importance of hub ports in the Mediterranean that receive cargo from Southeast Asia via the Suez Canal, and that we are in business with,” Vachon said following the MPA’s annual meeting earlier this year. “In five years, the tonnage on services with the Mediterranean has increased by a whopping 89%.” Northern Europe and the United Kingdom account for half of Montreal’s container activity today versus 85% two decades ago, Vachon pointed out while noting that Asia now accounts for 7% of container cargo and represents a noteworthy broadening of the port’s foreign markets. In the first half of 2011, Montreal’s total cargo was up 12% from a year earlier and box throughput was up about 2% . “Our Mediterranean volumes are quite strong and Europe is holding its own,” Kevin Doherty, CEO of Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership, told AJOT. “Vessels are generally full in both directions and the last quarter of this year looks pretty good.” In an interview, Doherty said the US Midwest remains a major market, thanks to Montreal’s excellent intermodal connections, but at the same time “we are seeing more Canadian content, with both the Ontario and Quebec markets showing strength.” The port’s corporate plan calls for maximizing existing facilities to bring container capacity to 2.2 million TEUs by 2016. At the same time, developing a new container terminal at nearby Contrecoeur on the St. Lawrence River remains high on the radar screen for the longer term, with technical, financial and environmental studies proceeding along with identification of future partners. At the Port of Quebec, the cargo trend remains on a strong recovery path. In the first four months of 2011, total traffic stood at 6.65 million metric tons compared with 5.3 million tons at the end of April 2010. Dry bulk totaled 1.74 million tons versus the year earlier 1.43 nillion tons. This follows an excellent performance in 2010, when overall volume rose by 11% to 24.5 million tons. In fact, nearly half of the tonnage lost between the record year of 2008 and the 2009 recession was recovered in 2010. However, at an annual meeting in June, Mario Girard, who took over on Jan. 1 as President and CEO of the Quebec Port Authority from Ross Gaudreault, evoked the scope of pressing capital investments required for infrastructure improvements despite the more than C$250 million of various expenditures in recent years. “The status quo is not an option,” Mr. Girard said, underlining a vital need for government financial support. Such elements as growing world demand for commodities and free trade agree