The Port of Vancouver’s continued strong showing in the volume of cargo it handles is encouraging for B.C.’s transpacific trade economy and the country’s vital Asia-Pacific Gateway.
But the challenges in maintaining that robust cargo movement momentum, which is a critical factor in the country’s trade competitiveness, are intensifying.
According to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s 2019 mid-year statistics, the port handled 72.5 million tonnes of cargo during the first six months of 2019 – a 0.5% increase over the same period in 2018. That’s good news for the port and its management. But major changes are coming in the global marine cargo sector.
Top international shipping lines like A.P. Moller-Maersk are increasing their investment in digital technologies to improve efficiencies and sharpen competitive edges in what is an extremely capital-cost-intensive industry. The connectivity and digital efficiency of major ports and their operations is therefore becoming a critical differentiator in attracting and maintaining business from major shipping lines.
The newly updated United Nations Conference on Trade and Development liner shipping connectivity index (LSCI) shows Canada moving in the wrong direction in its rankings.
The LSCI measures container port performance to determine where countries rank within global ocean liner shipping networks based on several data streams, including the number of ships deployed to and from each country’s seaports.
Canada’s 2019 ranking dropped to 37th from 32nd in 2018 and is well down from its ranking of 23rd in 2006 and below smaller economies such as Colombia (34th). The United States ranks fifth overall.
Canadian ports can’t do much about the political issues affecting the country’s trade with major economies like China and the U.S., but they can do a lot about the efficiency, connectivity and competitiveness of the container terminals and other infrastructure global shipping lines rely on to remain competitively afloat. In B.C. that is going to require a concerted co-operative effort from government, maritime employers and employees.
