Cargo diversions to Canada ‘only temporary’

Speaking to Port Strategy, Mr Silvester explained that while the port had seen “short term spikes”, a lack of spare capacity at both Port Metro Vancouver and Prince Rupert means that the opportunity to accept extra business is currently limited.

Instead, Mr Silvester described the benefits as “longer term” as shippers and lines fundamentally re-think delivery options. “People are increasingly seeing that they need another option and that Canada provides a very compelling option,” he said.

“There’s a holistic development programme going on here to create connecting infrastructure, private sector operators are investing in terminals and there is collaboration between terminal operators and railways to increase the efficiency of the supply chain. That is increasingly being noticed given the problems in the US.

“I think we will see more of the sophisticated logistics operators in the US choosing to continue to ship a proportion of their business through Canada. They effectively have the tap open and they can turn it up if they need to in the future.”

Mr Silvester also addressed US port concerns that Canadian ports are looking to ‘steal’ volumes from their southern competitors.

“We don’t see that dynamic in the same way as they do at all,” he said. “US business is part of what we handle – typically between 10%-15% – but in our projections we are not assuming that share grows. For us, it’s very much about building capacity for Canada, where we are the pre-eminent gateway port with a strong competitive advantage and thus a compelling business case.”