b'MARCH 2024PACIFIC COAST PORTS 29(TRAJECTORYcontinuedXotta has taken over thein2022. Assuch,thesefig- moved last seasons bumperthe first half of 2023. Automo-from page 28) helm with considerable expe- ures do not reflect any cargocrop to international marketstive was up almost one-third, 2022. In January of this year, itrience and inside knowledge ofimpactsstemmingfromthethrough the Pacific gateway. followingstrongterminal handled 262,800 TEUs com- the Port of Vancouver. He mostJuly 2023 labour disruption. Grain was up 106% over- throughputinearly2023,as pared with Decembers outputrecentlyservedasvice-pres- allcomparedtothesamesupplychainandproduction of 274,323 unitsbut importsidentoperationsandsupplyperiodlastyear,increasingissueseased,bringingthe at 148,035 TEUs were supe- chain for the port authority sharplybecausethisyearssectorintolinewithtradi-rior to the previous month. where he was responsible forbumper crop season was pre- tionalvolumesafterseveral Commentingonthelandandmarineoperations,cededbyadrought-affectedyears of volatility. ports container performancehealth,safetyandsecurityseason. This included a 121%Container volumes through lastyear,JuliaKuzeljevich,andsupplychainoptimiza- increaseforbulkgrainandthePortofVancouverfell director of policy and regula- tionactivities.Amongother28%increaseforcontainer- inthefirsthalfof2023,in toryaffairsoftheCanadianthings, too, he has been heav- ized grain. linewithtrendsbeingseen InternationalFreightFor- ily involved in working withCanola volumes were upthroughoutNorthAmerica, warders Association (CIFFA)local partners to secure fund- 124%,whilebulkspecialtyas a slowing economy meant recalledthatsomecargoing for infrastructure projects.crops such as lentils increasedfewerimports.Overallcon-diversionsresultedfromaMeanwhile,availablestatis- Peter Xotta, president and CEO,89%.Bulkwheatwasuptainervolumesweredown two-weekstrikeofdockerstics for the first half of 2023Port of Vancouver 144%, with 17% of the wheat14%comparedtothefirst in British Columbia ports inshow cargo volumes throughBut strikingly enough, itexported through the Port ofhalf of 2022, as imports (or July and from the uncertaintythe Port of Vancouver increas- was the second largest mid- VancouvergoingtoAfricainbound laden) dropped 18%. prior to the work stoppage. ing by 11% compared to theyearvolumeofcargoeveras world markets continue toThedecreasewaspartially There was also a generalsameperiodin2022.Thehandled by Port of VancouverevolveinthewakeofRus- offset at the Port of Vancou-trend towards container trafficmid-yearstatisticslistedaterminal operators (the recordsiasinvasionofUkraineinver by recovering container-declining as inflation rose andtotalof75.9millionmetricof76.4MMTwassetin2022. Japan and Algeria wereizedexports,withoutbound consumers were not spendington (MMT) of goods moving2021) andrepresented a newthetop-twoexportmarketsladenup14%asCanadian asheavilyone-commerce,through Port of Vancouver ter- record for the bulk sector atfor Canadian wheat. exporterstookadvantageof Kuzeljevichsaid,adding:minals between January 1 and55.5 MMT. This followed aThe automotive and cruiselower container freight rates AswellsomeretailershadJune30,2023,versus68.6significantreboundingrainsectors also showed significantandincreasedavailability builtaconsiderablelevelofMMTforthesameperiodvolumesasPrairiefarmersincreasesover2022duringpost-pandemic.inventory and did not need to import as much.a dvanCinGrBt2 C ontainert erminalP rojeCtRegarding developments on the planned Roberts Bank Terminal2project(RBT2) designedtoaccommodate anticipatedgrowthoftrade withAsia,theVFPAnoted that it received approval from thefederalgovernmentand an environmental assessment certificate from the provincial government in 2023, follow-ingarigorousenvironmen-talassessmentprocess.We are advancing the project in line with our mandate to sup-port Canadas trade in a way thatprotectsandminimizes effectsontheenvironment, is reflective of First Nations priorities,andconsidersthe needs of local communities.Thereareseveralkey stepsweneedtocomplete before construction can begin. Thisincludesobtainingper-mits (such as a Fisheries Act Authorization), ongoing con-sultationandcollaboration withFirstNations,assessing marketconditions,undertak-ingprocurement,andpre-paring for a final investment decision.Thisyear,weare focusing on submitting a Fish-eries Act Authorization to the DepartmentofFisheriesand OceansandcontinuingFirst Nation consultation.Ifallgoesaccordingto plan for the long-delayed proj-ect,terminaloperationsare expected to start in the early 2030s. The new container ter-minal would add an additional 2.4 million TEUs of capacity, boosting the Port of Vancou-vers box capacity by nearly 50% and increasing CanadasMake the connection. west coast container capacity by approximately 30%. Integrated infrastructure and digital applications x ottat akeso verh elm that keep you in the know and freight on the move.Spearheading progress on RBT2 is a major task now forportvancouver.comPeter Xotta, who last Decem-ber succeeded Robin Silvester as president and CEO.'