By Adam Griffith-Zahner
Since its opening, the port has proven to be an important aspect of Prince Rupert's economy and has provided many jobs for Prince Rupert's unemployed. It continues to be a successful port and is one of the fastest growing container ports in the world.
When one examines the performance reports provided on the Prince Rupert Port Authority website, they will notice that the number of TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalency unit, or standard container box) seems to have decreased steadily since July 2010. In fact, this fluctuation is no more than a yearly trend, and has occurred in 2009 as well. The port's numbers have been improving overall.
A press release was published by the port on January 20, 2011 stating that the port has "handled a record 16,424,512 tonnes of cargo in 2010, up 35 per cent over 2009 volumes and the first time it has surpassed 13 million tonnes since 1997".
As of September 2010, the annual container port overview reported the "Port of Prince Rupert as the fastest growing container port in North America and the eighth fasted in the world".
Since 2008, the port has seen steady growth. In fact, the number of TEUs being shipped has almost doubled from 19,590.0 in July 2008 to 38,538.8 in July 2010.