b'8American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comPort of Montreals market diversification rises amid Trump-driven trade warBy Leo Ryan, AJOTAs the Trump-ignited globalnotablyforcocoaimports), trade war continues to hit key sec- andLatinAmerica,withves-tors of Canadas economy, latestsels 54% heavier on arrival than Port of Montreal cargo data citedin2024.VolumestoNorthern byJulieGasconsuggestCana- Europe were also higher, climb-dianexportersarestrivingmoreing 10%.and more to diversify in overseasSpecializedproductshave markets and rely less on the giantperformedwell.Fruitimports USmarket.Addressingabusi- soared29%,aluminum42%, nessaudienceinMontreal,theand the pharmaceutical trade a President and CEO of the Mon- noteworthy 18%.trealAuthoritypointedtosharpGasconstressesthatthe increases in shipments to China,Contrecoeurcontainerterminal Spainand Africaandstressedproject, the biggest infrastructure that the current complex geopoliti- undertakingintheportshis-cal and economic environment hastory, has reached a turning point. heightened the urgency to proceedAlready receiving broad support with significantly expanding con- fromalllevelsofgovernment, tainer capacity. constructionoftheterminal In times of economic vol- (DIVERSIFICATIONcon-atilityallovertheworld,ourtinued on page 42) Aerial view of the Port of Montrealmissionisclearerthanever: provideCanadiantradewith stable, efficient and diversified accesstointernationalmar-kets, Gascon stated.Our growth in trade flows to Asia, Europe and Latin Amer-ica shows how the Port of Mon-treal acts as a lever for economic sovereignty,connectingour businessesmorethaneverto global supply chains.Julie GasconLast year, the Port of Mon-treal handled 35.2 million metric tons of total cargo and 1.5 mil-lion TEUs.Whiletotalthroughputto the end of May of 14.4 million tons was down 2.1% from a year ago,containervolumewasup nearly4%.AndsinceMarch, monthlycontainerizedtonnage has exceeded the previous years monthly average by 14%. Com-pared to the first two months of the year, volumes jumped 34%.Bulktrafficalsogrew strongly, mainly driven by grain. In the past five months,1.95 mil-liontonsweremoved,mark-ingan16%upswing.Thisis arecordvolume,supported byCanadasthird-bestgrain harvest of the century.B ig increase in Trade wiThc hina , s Pain anda FricaAs trade tensions cause com-paniestoreassesstheirexport markets, the Port of Montreal is emergingasacrucialleverfor diversification, port officials say. OutflowstoChinarose22%, making China the MPAs second-largest trading partner after India, which retained its lead with close to 200,000 tonnes exported since the year began.Growth was also significantly higher for Spain (+147%), the Neth-erlands (+11%), Africa (+29%,'