b'32American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comCanadas West Coast ports handle largest portion ofCANADA PORTS 2024Canadian maritime cargoCanadas West Coast ports with their proximity to Asia handle more than 350 million tons, with the Port of Vancouver leading the way.By Leo Ryan, AJOTOn Canadas port network,would add an additional 2.4 mil-the17membersofthelion TEUs of capacity and boost AssociationofCanadianPortCanadaswestcoastcontainer Authorities(ACPA)handlecapacity by approximately 30%.morethan350millionmetricThe Vancouver Fraser Port tons of maritime cargo, with theAuthorityqualified2023as great bulk sparked by trade withamixedyear,withgrowthin Asia and the Port of Vancouversomesectorsandsofteningin alone accounting for over 40%others.Bulkandcontainerized of total throughput. exports, auto imports and cruise AtCanadaslargestport,all grewincluding near-record totalfreighttrafficincreasedgrainexportswhilecontainer by6%in2023,asterminalimportssoftenedinlinewith operatorsandsupplychaintrendsseenacrosstheWest partners moved a record 150.4Coast.Theportscontainer million tons of cargo. This was atraffic declined by 12% in 2023 big jump from 2022s volume of(HANDLEcontinued on 141.4 million tons. page 37) Completed DP World Centerm Terminal at Port of Vancouver boosts its capacity to 1.5 million TEUs.Photo: DP WorldAlmostasmuchcargo movesthroughthePortof Vancouverasmovesthrough Canadas next five largest ports combined.Vancouverarguably handlesNorthAmericasmost diversifiedrangeofcargo encompassingbulk,containers,Sharing data today creates breakbulkandautomobiles,as wellasoverseeingsubstantial Alaska cruise activity. faster turn times tomorrow.Thelatesteconomicstudy released by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority found that the port and its supply chains sustain more than132,000jobsandcontrib-ute C$32.7 billion in economic output.OurlatestEconomic Impact Study confirms the grow-ingstrengthoftheVancouver gateway,affirms VictorPang, chief financial officer.To reinforce its competitiveness and meet future demand, several keyportcapacityandoptimiza-tion projects have progressed, high-lighted by the completion in 2023 ofthe$350millionCenterm container terminal expansion in partnership with DP World. The newlyexpandedterminalcan handle 1.5 million TEUs a year, compared to 900,000 TEUs pre-viously,whileadding15%to the terminals overall footprint. The Centerm facility reduces the terminals environmental impactThe Port of Vancouver has some of the by adding capacity for container shipstoconnecttoelectricalbest truck turn times in North America. shore power and converting itsThanks to the Ports Truck Licensing diesel yard cranes to electric. ItSystem, GPS data is tracked allowing further reduces greenhouse gas emissionsbyeliminatingwaitfor efficient transport and reduced wait times for vehicles at train cross- times. This is one delivery of the Port of ings and building to LEED andVancouvers Connect+ program.Envisioncertificationsustain-ability standards.Alltold,Vancouverhasportvancouver.comfourcommon-usercontainer terminals with total capacity of nearly3millionTEUs.They provideleadingworldcarriers whoconnectVancouverwith portsinAsia,Europe,Latin America and Oceania.Another important develop-ment has come from federal and B.C.provincialenvironmental approvals (with many conditions) oftheRobertsBankTerminal 2(RBT2)project.Ifallgoes according to plan for the long-delayed RBT2 project, terminal operations are slated to start in the early 2030s. The new con-tainer terminalnow expected tocostclosetoC$2billion-'