Port's Annual review highlights growing trade, future opportunity

The Annual review of the state of the Prince Rupert Port Authority took place yesterday, as Chairman and CEO Don Krusel along with a string of other port officials highlighting the developments of the last year and offering up a steady as she goes approach for the future.

The Annual Public meeting delivered a string of statistical overview, which noted that while total tonnage was down in 2014, it was  a record year in a number of areas.

A trend that provided a strong indication as to the importance of the diversification of imports and exports through the port facilities.

The Port increased its presence as one of the key economic engines for Northern British Columbia, with Mr. Krusel noting that in the last five years, direct jobs related to port operations have doubled to 3,220, providing for over 200 million dollars in wages.

Over those five years, the Port has become the third largest port in the nation by revenue.

Bud Smith, the Chair of the Prince Rupert Port Authority Board noted that the volume of Canadian exports flowing through the Ports facilities amounted to over five billion dollars annually.

Beyond the success of the container facility which continues to increase its throughput, most recently by 15 percent other port terminals are recording positive trends as well.

Prince Rupert Grain provided stellar numbers for 2014 and during the course of the  Thursday review
the opportunity for new markets that the Westview Wood Pellet Terminal is starting to provide for was reviewed.

The Port acknowledged some of the challenges that the development of the Westview Terminal provided for, offering up the success of the implementation of an adaptive management plan for the terminal that has found some success with concerns related to dust and noise.

As for future development, the port outlined its continued engagement with proponents of LNG development for the region and expressed encouragement with some of the advancements that are being found through the CEAA process.

Coal continues to be the one area that isn't performing very strongly at the moment, with shipments down over 40 percent from last year, and for the moment the industry remains stalled in its current malaise.

The Port however notes that it is poised for a recovery in that market, with the recent expansion of the Ridley Terminals storage area, which has added to the potential capacity of the terminal to up to 18 million tonnes.

Included in Thursday's presentation, was an announcement of the contribution of $125,000 towards the cost of roof repairs for Lester Centre of the Arts in Prince Rupert.  The funding comes through the Port Authority's Community Investment Fund which has provided funding for a number of local initiatives over the years.

You can get a sample of some of Port President And CEO Don Krusel's talking points from a video presentation included as part of the online version of the Annual report made available yesterday.



The full overview of Thursday's presentation can be found on the Prince Rupert Port Authority website.

As we outlined on the blog yesterday, the newly redesigned online presence for the Port provides a wealth of information and makes much larger use of social media options for those looking for more background on Port activities.

For more items related to Port developments see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review