August wasn't just a good month for Prince Rupert's Fairview Terminal, it was a record month.
The terminal shipped 75,460 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) last month, an increase of 17 per cent compared to last month and the highest single volume recorded since the terminal opened in 2007. Fairview, which was recently purchased by DP World, imported 41,965 TEUs compared to 36,762 last August. While exports were up 22 per cent to sit at 33,496 TEUs, the number of loaded containers being exported actually dropped 25 per cent, from 15,267 TEUs last August to 11,520 TEUs this August.
This year the terminal remains well on target to shatter its record tonnage, having moved 527,037 TEUs during the first eight months of 2015 compared to 409,683 TEUs in the same time period of 2014, an increase of 29 per cent. Imports through Fairview Terminal are up 21 per cent to sit at 295,346 TEUs and exports are up 39 per cent to sit at 231,879 TEUs. However, the number of loaded containers being exported so far in 2015 is down four per cent, sitting at 105,005 TEUs compared to 109,772 TEUs through to the end of last August.
Cargo being moved through the Prince Rupert Harbour is also up significantly. Last August the terminal moved 56,580 tonnes compared to just 6,721 tonnes last year, an increase of 742 per cent. SO far this year, tonnage through the harbour is up 30 per cent, climbing from 233,217 tonnes during the first eight months of 2014 to 3012,219 tonnes at the end of this August.
While pellet shipments through Westview Terminal dropped 34 per cent year-over-year in August, falling from 77,540 tonnes to 51,114 tonnes, the terminal has seen its year-to-date exports increase 48 per cent, from 313,702 tonnes in 2014 to 464,576 tonnes in 2015.
Both Prince Rupert Grain and Ridley Terminals Inc. continue to see volume declines this year.
Prince Rupert Grain saw its tonnage drop 32 per cent this August compared to last, having moved 442,203 tonnes of product, while tonnage so far this year has fallen 11 per cent, from 4.5 million tonnes to 4 million tonnes.
Ridley Terminals experienced a 46 per cent drop in tonnage this August compared to last, moving 247,775 tonnes of coal, while the year-to-date number is down 45 per cent, falling from 5.4 million tones to 3 million tonnes.
Overall tonnage for the Port of Prince Rupert fell 16 per cent this August compared to last, sitting at 1.55 million tonnes. So far this year tonnage has fallen 10 per cent compared to 2014, falling from 14.6 million tonnes to 13.1 million tonnes.