Cargo surging at Canada’s leading West Coast ports

by Leo Ryan Sep 16, 2025 | Published in Issue 781 on page 26

Despite geopolitical tension, Canada’s West Coast port volumes are growing as is optimism for the future.

At Canada’s leading ports on the West Coast, an optimistic outlook prevails despite persistent world geopolitical tensions and slowing global growth. This is a reflection of current cargo volume growth numbers in both bulk products and containers combining with ongoing infrastructure projects to develop competitive supply chains.

Port of Vancouver

Following a record performance in 2024, cargo trends in the first half of 2025 at Canada’s biggest port point to another robust performance this year. Thus far, there appears to have been a limited negative impact on the port of the ongoing global tariff war ignited by US President Trump.

Shri Madiwal, Vice-President Operations and Supply Chain for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA), reports “an increase in the total volumes of cargo coming in.”

“In the first six months of 2025, the volumes are very strong- partly due to the tariffs happening down south, and also partly due to all the international demand for grain, potash and energy products,” he indicated.

On the container front, cumulative statistics to end July showed a total of 2.2 million TEUs – versus 2.07 million TEUs a year earlier.

The port handled a record 158 million metric tons (MMT) of cargo in 2024, a 5% increase year-over-year that was led by strong performances in the auto, bulk and container sectors.

Container trade recovered throughout 2024, with the Port of Vancouver returning to pre-pandemic growth trends following several tumultuous years that included a pandemic-era surge in consumer demand and numerous supply chain disruptions. The port’s four container terminals handled 3.47 million TEUs in 2024—up 11% compared to 2023 and 2% compared to 2019.

Imports (laden inbound) grew 14%, as retailers restocked inventories and volumes shifted to the west coast due to disruptions to the Red Sea trade route. Exports (laden outbound) grew 5% as Canadian businesses continued to rely on containers to ship their goods to markets across the globe. Containerized exports through the port went to 128 different countries in 2024.

“The Port of Vancouver continues to drive Canadian prosperity—enabling seamless trade with up to 170 nations across the globe and supporting countless well-paying family jobs across the nation,” commented Peter Xotta, President and CEO of the port authority, when the annual statistics were released.

Almost as much cargo moved through the Port of Vancouver in 2024 as was handled by Canada’s next five largest ports combined, and approximately 80% of the international trade it enabled was Canadian trade with countries other than the US.

“The strength of our gateway shone bright last year with the port moving record volumes despite a challenging environment that included numerous disruptions,” Xotta said, adding: “in 2024 our supply chain flexed but never broke.”

Challenges faced by the port community in 2024 included impacts from climate change and extreme weather such as wildfires, increasing local and global geopolitical tensions, and labour disputes.

The bulk sector’s strong performance led the way, with volumes up 8% to 117.9 MMT, including record liquid bulk exports, up 203% to 17.1 MMT, and near-record exports of Canadian grain, up 1% to 29 MMT.

The Port of Vancouver handles North America’s most diversified range of cargo, and in 2024 the top trading partners that moved goods through the port were China (46 MMT), Japan (19 MMT) and South Korea (18 MMT). Trade to the US through the port increased to 7% of total cargo moved (10 MMT), driven by increased petroleum exports via Westridge terminal.

Key infrastructure projects at the Port of Vancouver in 2024 included the expansion of Active Vessel Traffic Management’s centralized scheduling system in First Narrows. Densification and modernization at Global Container Terminal’s Vanterm terminal increased its container handling capacity, enabled larger container ships to berth and reduced its greenhouse gas emissions. Trans Mountain’s expanded pipeline and Westridge terminal came into operation in May. Cascadia bulk grain export terminal, owned by Viterra and Richardson, expanded its railyard to increase the track by approximately 1,500 metres and allow for assembly of 2,600m-long trains.

Meanwhile, this past July the VFPA announced it has started its search to find the best qualified team to advance construction planning and build the landmass and wharf component of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project. The port intends to shortlist three teams this fall who will then be invited to submit a proposal. Upon potential completion in the mid-2030s, the long-delayed facility adding 2.4 million TEUs of container capacity is now expected to cost about C$2 billion.

Port of Prince Rupert

Following a one percent decline of total traffic in 2024, the Port of Prince Rupert has seen a solid growth trend shaping up in 2025, as suggested by cumulative cargo figures to the end of July for both bulk and container shipments.

Looking at all terminals, throughput for the first seven months of 2025 totalled 15.2 million metric tons, 1.5 million tons above a year earlier. This was sparked by increases in grain and coal shipments. Box volume through the DP World Fairview Container Terminal added up to 5.1 million tons compared with 4.7 million tons.

Some 23.1 million tons of cargo moved through the Port of Prince Rupert in 2024, while intermodal volumes at Fairview Container Terminal rose five percent year-over-year to 7.4 million tons. Performance was impacted by the realignment of carriers’ transpacific trade routes, two labour disruptions, and the brief suspension of rail service due to wildfire that paused terminal operations.

The northern British Columbia port is actively diversifying through the development of new terminal and logistics capacity and building greater resiliency against market fluctuations. In 2024, the Port marked considerable progress on multiple strategic projects setting the stage for long-term growth and sustainability. These projects represent over $2.5 billion in capital investment and are deemed essential to strengthening and diversifying exports, maximizing supply chain efficiency, and restoring cargo volumes.

Major Project Milestones

Construction commenced on the Ridley Island Energy Export Facility (REEF), a large-scale LPG and bulk liquids export terminal. The $1.35 billion AltaGas and Vopak joint venture reached a final investment decision in Q2 2024. REEF will significantly strengthen Canadian energy exports to the Asia Pacific, with an initial development phase that includes approximately 55,000 barrels per day of LPG export capacity and 600,000 barrels of LPG storage.

The Canada Infrastructure Bank reached financial close on a $150 million loan to PRPA for the first phase of CANXPORT in Q2 2024 and construction is well underway. The large-scale export logistics and transloading facility will be constructed and operated by Ray-Mont Logistics to provide 400,000 TEUs of annual capacity for forestry, agricultural, and resin products.

Trigon Pacific Terminals (bulk and LNG) made progress on construction of its second marine berth. The Berth Two Beyond Carbon project will add significant vessel berth capacity to the terminal. This marine infrastructure is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Leo Ryan

CANADA CORRESPONDENT

Contact Author

Based in Montreal, the historic biggest Canadian gateway for North Atlantic trade, veteran journalist Leo Ryan has extensive experience as a reporter on national and international shipping, trade, political and economic developments – with strong focus in recent years on Canada-US relations and maritime/multimodal developments on Canada’s East, West and Arctic coasts as well as the binational Great Lakes-St. Lawrence corridor.

While completing a post-graduate degree in Eastern European history amidst the expansion of the Soviet Bloc, he began his career with The Montreal Star as general reporter before moving to Paris where he spent 17 years - first as Africadesk editor for the English service of Agence France Presse. Then, he built a substantial freelance network among English-language newspapers – including The Globe and Mail - as a special foreign correspondent, on a wide variety of reporting assignments in Eastern and Western Europe as well as Africa.

It was during this period, too, that he began writing on European port and economic subjects for New York’s Journal of Commerce. The latter subsequently hired him to establish in Montreal the first full-time JOC bureau in Canada, which remained open for 14 years. A highlight was an exclusive interview in 1988 with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement.

As well Canada Correspondent for AJOT, Leo Ryan is today Editor of Maritime Magazine, a bilingual Canadian quarterly. He is the recipient of the Medal of Merit of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities.