Montreal sees record container volumes

The Port of Montreal said it handled about 1.46 million TEUs in 2008, 7.2 percent more than 2007.

   Patrice M. Pelletier, president and chief executive officer of the Montreal Port Authority, said it was an exceptional result in light of the economic slowdown that affected the port in the last two months of 2008. Total traffic at the port will be about 26.6 million tons, up about 2.5 percent compared to 2007.

   The port said all main shipping routes experienced growth in container traffic last year.

   Just when West Coast ports were hit by adverse economic impacts from Asia's emerging markets, and China in particular, the Port of Montreal was fortunate to see its diversify," Pelletier said. "The number of TEUs handled from the Mediterranean route grew by 31.6 percent and the number of TEUs from the Caribbean by 26.9 percent, reducing our dependence with regard to Northern European markets.

   The Port of Montreal expects containerized cargo to drop 3.7 percent against 2008. However, it said tonnage would still be 2.7 percent higher than in 2007. 

Patrice M. Pelletier, President and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority, recently honored Capt. M.H. Rossiter, master of the Maersk Patras.

   Pelletier said he hoped the government would soon move ahead with plans to invest $2.1 billion in the trade gateways, primarily in the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes corridor. The port said the investments would “create jobs during the trying economic period, and will then contribute to the economic upswing and prosperity across the country by ensuring better fluidity in the logistics chain, which is essential to the smooth functioning of our economy."

   Pelletier made his remarks as he presented the Gold-Headed Cane to Capt. M.H. Rossiter, master of the Maersk Patras, the ship that was the first oceangoing vessel to enter the Port of Montreal without a stopover in 2009. The port has held the ceremony for 170 years -- today it serves as a reminder that the port is open year-round to oceangoing vessels.

Source: American Shipper