Canadian ports assess impact of natural resources boom

摘要

At the 53rd annual conference of the 17-member Association of Canadian Port Authorities (ACPA), held in the Quebec North Shore port city of Sept-Iles; delegates focused their attention on the implications for ports of the tremendous surge in development of Canada's natural resources responding to foreign demand, led by China. Such ports as Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Quebec, and Sept-Iles are meeting new challenges in bulk-handlingThe significance of shipping Canadian commodities has sometimes been overshadowed by the public visibility of container movements since they involve large volumes of high-value consumer and manufactured goods. Yet, containerized cargo represents less than 10% of the total volume of cargo handled in Canada's ports. A noted academic commented on the impact of mega container vessels as well as bulk vessels on Canadian ports. Also reviewed was the slow evolution of the proposed Quebec-Ontario Continental Gateway and Corridor within the context of Canada's three-gateway strategy. And the veil was lifted on an ambitious Marine Intermodal Industrial Park planned by the Saguenay Port Authority in the St.