World Bank/S&P report delivers poor results for BC's Ports

The hits seem to keep coming of late for the Container industry and in particular for the BC foothold in the global shipment of them.

The first quarter of 2023 for cargo transiting through the DP World facility in Prince Rupert has seen a significant change from last year in shipment volumes through the Northwest Gateway.  

Though there does appear to be some improvement in those numbers as we move towards summer.

May throughput data for DP World Prince Rupert from PRPA

This week comes word that the Port of Prince Rupert continues to hover near the bottom of the annual rankings from global shipping watchers at the World Bank and Standard and Poors.

In the most recent report on Port Performance results the DP World facility at Prince Rupert remains in much the same place in the standings as it was a year ago.

For this years review Prince Rupert has placed fourth from the bottom of the North American Ports, ranked at 342 world wide with Vancouver placing a few additional rungs below and 347th overall in the Global Shipping review of 348 world ports.

The main focus for the publication is the time span from berthing at a terminal until the last container is taken off or put on and the vessel departs. The overall wait time for vessels or dwell time, with  Port time distribution also going into the final rankings. 

A range of parameters can have an impact on those findings.  

Including supply chain issues beyond the control of the facilities and localized issues at each port that contribute to the overview for the facilities.

It's those ports that can address those challenges and have the efficiencies that move cargo quicker that make their way to the top of the list. 

Most of those are on the Asian side of the global shipping world or in the Middle East, with automation and other features at those ports that are not in place in North America, seemingly making for the edge in movement of cargo.

There are a range of options available to download the full report which you can review here.

The North Coast Review has forwarded a request for comments to both the Prince Rupert Port Authority and DP World Canada, though so far no reply has been received.

Should comment come along we'll update our notes on the story.

While improvement on performance would seem to be a focus for local port operators, of more immediate concern is the status of labour negotiations between the Port Employer BCMEA and the ILWU, as we noted yesterday port workers delivered a resounding strike vote mandate for its negotiating team.

Those talks continue with a potential work stoppage date later this month looming.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority is hosting its Annual Public Meeting this Thursday, so perhaps some note of the Global overview may be part of the Port's forecast for the year ahead. 

More on the Prince Rupert Port Authority and the terminals of the Northern Gateway can be reviewed here.