WASHINGTON: Container traffic at the Port of Halifax is spiking this year as it grabs a growing share of the market due to its newfound ability to receive bigger cargo ships coming through the new Suez and Panama Canals. In the first six months of this year, container traffic at the Port of Halifax jumped 19.6 per cent over the comparable period in 2015. Halifax has the highest percentage growth in container traffic for the first half of this year compared to other North American ports.
During the comparable period, the Port of Vancouver saw a 5.5 per cent drop and the Port of Montreal saw a 2.3 per cent hit in the number of containers. In the United States, the ports of New York and New Jersey saw container traffic slide by 1.7 per cent. And while there has been growth at some ports, like Miami which saw an increase of 5.5 per cent, the biggest percentage jump so far this year has been in Halifax.
Industry insiders are chalking it up to three things: a low Canadian dollar; fast and efficient turnaround of container cargo in Halifax; and the port being ready to handle the new, big ships coming from Asia through the newly-widened and lengthened Suez and Panama canals. Asian cargo already accounts for roughly half the Port of Halifax’s container cargo.
“The Suez has been widened and the Panama has been extended and is open, so you can now have all-water service coming from Asia to Halifax,” said Ruth Snowden, executive director of Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association, in an interview. In 2015, the Port of Halifax deepened and lengthened its piers to be able to handle the bigger new Panamax ships which are capable of handling the equivalent of 13,000 20-foot long containers. In the shipping industry, container traffic is measured in terms of these formerly-standard containers, or TEUs.
“Vessels upwards of 12,000 TEUs can now use the Panama Canal, but not all ports can handle [the new larger vessels],” said Lane Farguson, a spokesman for the Halifax Port Authority. It was only a few years ago that the Port of Halifax was limited to vessels in the 4,000 TEU range. Now, the port can handle container vessels three times as large. “We worked with our key tenants and stakeholders to develop the infrastructure to accommodate vessels three times that size: longer and deeper piers; upgraded truck gates, and marshalling areas for efficiency,” said Farguson. “The terminal operators invested in super post-Panamax cranes.”
