Recent reports from the Port of Vancouver show marked increases in cargo handling for the first three quarters of 2007.
This year has given the port its share of challenges, most notably the August failure of a $78 million development levy. But port Executive Director Larry Paulson still calls it a good year.
“It’s been a challenging year for the Port of Vancouver, but I think sometimes we forget that we really do run, in a lot of respects, a business here,” Paulson said in a press statement.
And business is doing well at the port, which is paced to handle more than 5.5 million tons of total cargo this year. That’s up 21 percent from 2006, and there were similar percentage increases during the third quarters of the last few years.
Significant contributors to that growth have been the imports of wind turbine components and exports of copper concentrate, according to Nelson Holmberg, the port’s communications manager.
The port is on track this year to handle parts for 305 wind energy turbines – up 240 percent from 2006 – plus parts for 120 wind energy towers.
For copper concentrate exports, the port is about to exceed last year’s all-time high of nearly 309,000 metric tons. Nearly 270,000 metric tons have been exported thus far in 2007. This is the port’s best year yet for copper concentrate, according to Holmberg.
As the West Coast port of entry for Subaru, the local port has received more than 31,000 vehicles for U.S. distribution this year, and exported nearly 1,000 Indiana-built Subarus to Japan. Comparative numbers for 2006 were not available at press time.
United Harvest operates the port’s grain elevator, which exports 16 percent of all U.S. wheat. The third quarter report showed the port is already nearing last year’s total exports of 3.2 million metric tons.
Total exports for 2007’s first three quarters are at nearly 3.5 million metric tons of cargo, about 384,564 a month. Total imports thus far are at 754,300 metric tons, or 83,811 per month. The port has handled a combined total of more than 4.2 million metric tons of cargo this year, or 468,375 metric tons monthly.
Vessel calls are up 11.9 percent over 2006. So far this year, 409 ships have called on the port, about 45 monthly. About 170 ships are expected for the remainder of the year.
All of the port’s industrial space is currently leased, and has been mostly at capacity since 2006.
