The July numbers for the Prince Rupert Port Authority are in, and they indicate that the different facets of the PRPA continue to grow as we enter the second half of 2011.
The number of TEUs handled at Fairview Terminal this July are up 20.3 per cent compared to last July, climbing from 38,598.8 in 2010 to 46,433.3 in 2011, with imports and exports seeing increases of 18 and 23.3 per cent respectively. The export of goods through Fairview continue to lead the growth with a 94.5 per cent increase in the number of loaded TEUs, from 5,420 last year to 10,543 this year, while the number of containers being imported through Fairview climbed from 22,066 to 26,043.8.
Year to date the traffic through Fairview is up one per cent, with the number of loaded containers up 16.5 per cent and the number of empty containers being handled down 39.4 per cent. Imports are up 1.3 per cent, sitting at 114,887.3, while the number of full containers being exported is up 82.3 per cent compared to 2010, climbing from 28,520 to 51,992.5.
The numbers for Ridley Terminal were down this July compared to last, but the terminal remains on track to shatter last year's record. Ridley Terminals handled 14.9 per cent less tonnage that last July, but the terminal has now surpassed the five-million tonne mark and is up 21 per cent so far in 2011 compared to 2010.
“We are achieving stronger throughput numbers as we continue to improve our equipment and our customers, RTI, and CN work as team developing greater efficiency across the logistics chain. As we grow our capacity we can expect those through put numbers will continue to rise,” said RTI chair Bud Smith.
“Net earnings we're deriving from the increased through put is being reinvested at the terminal in Prince Rupert and creating permanent jobs in the process.”
Log shipments through the harbour are also 14.4 per cent year-to-year while the year-to-date numbers are up significantly from 158,489.9 last year to 290,283.6 this year. Prince Rupert Grain's July numbers are down 36.2 per cent, but the terminal is seeing a better 2011 than 2010 with tonnage up from 2.85 million last year to 2.99 million this year.
Overall tonnage through the port of Prince Rupert was down 12 per cent this July compared to last, but is up 13.1 per cent in 2011 compared to 2010 and sits at 10.78 million tonnes.