The Port of Vancouver moved 158 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo in 2024, a 5% increase from the 150 MMT recorded in 2023, driven by performances in the auto, bulk, and container sectors despite challenges like climate change, wildfires, geopolitical tensions, and labour disputes, according to the company's release.
The port facilitated trade with 170 nations, with 80% of its international trade involving Canadian exports to countries other than the U.S., led by China (46 MMT), Japan (19 MMT), and South Korea (18 MMT).
Bulk volumes rose 8% to 117.9 MMT, with liquid bulk exports increasing 203% to 17.1 MMT, including petroleum exports at 15 MMT (up 282%) and canola oil at 0.9 MMT (up 74%), while dry bulk fell 4% to 96.0 MMT, with grain at 29.0 MMT (up 1%), sulphur at 3.3 MMT (up 8%), coal at 41.9 MMT (down 2%), and potash at 8.2 MMT (down 8%).
Container volumes grew 11% to 3.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), with imports up 14% to 1.8 million TEUs and exports up 5% to 794,724 TEUs, while empty containers rose 11% to 857,343 TEUs.
Auto volumes increased 3% to 469,000 units, and cruise passenger visits hit 1.33 million, up 7% from 1.24 million in 2023, despite a 2% decrease in cruise vessel calls to 327. Breakbulk volumes dropped 18% to 15.3 MMT, with foreign breakbulk at 1.9 MMT (down 2%).
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, manages Canada’s largest port, overseeing 16,000 hectares of water and 1,500 hectares of land, and facilitates trade with over 170 countries.
Trans Mountain, a Canadian government-owned corporation, operates the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which expanded in 2024 at a cost of $34 billion, nearly tripling its capacity to transport crude oil from Edmonton to Burnaby.