Sustained Growth at Port Saint John
SAINT JOHN (NB) – This has been a year of growth for Port Saint John, growth that has been sustained as the year progresses.In May, 2012, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) began calling Port Saint John. Later that year, the second-largest shipping company in the world increased their visits to a weekly service.MSC, paired with Tropical Shipping, have made the Port City a hub for container traffic on Canada’s east coast. At this year’s mid-way point, the Port doubled container statistics with 258,000 tonnes over 129,000 tonnes in 2012. Container TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) have grown concurrently, with 47,527 so far in 2013.This trend continued into July with 311,000 tonnes of container cargo moving through Port Saint John, up 156,000 tonnes from 2012. This marks a 101 per cent increase.“We release these numbers every month and every month I’m proud to say together with our partners Tropical Shipping and MSC, we’ve sustained growth in our container market. This is a world class port and businesses are recognizing it by bringing their business here. This isn’t just a good news story for the Port, it is positive for this entire region and province,” Jim Quinn, president and CEO of Port Saint John said.Port Saint John has also seen sustained growth in the dry bulk sector.For the period ending Jul. 31, dry bulk at the Port saw continued growth with a 32 per cent increase overall in products like potash, salt and recycled metal.Port Saint John is Eastern Canada’s largest port by tonnage and has a diverse cargo base, including dry and liquid bulk, break bulk, containers, and cruise.
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Media contact:Hilary Paige SmithCommunications AssistantPort Saint Johnhpsmith@109.199.110.97(506) 636-5400c. (506) 608-2576#portcity