Montreal port traffic jumps 9%, fifth year in a row of record volumes
Posted January 23, 2019 2:58 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MONTREAL — The free-trade deal between Canada and the European Union continues to boost container shipping, with the Montreal Port Authority citing the fifth straight year of record volumes.
The volume moving through the gates of the country’s second-largest port jumped nine per cent in 2018, reaching the equivalent of more than 1.6 million 20-foot containers.
The port authority attributes much of the heightened container traffic to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement signed by Canada and the European Union, in effect since September 2017.
In the first seven months of this year, container imports increased at a much higher rate than exports, with the bulk of traffic coming from Europe.
The Maritime Employers Association said last fall that the surge stems largely from food and metal imports that range from wine and cheese to steel girders, with work on Montreal’s new Champlain Bridge being a major driver.
The port authority says Asian, African and Latin American markets also saw growth last year.
The Canadian Press
