As noted throughout this submission, the Government of Canada has emphasized that the steady growth of Asian markets has yielded many economic opportunities for North America business, including for North America’s ports. Between 2000 and 2010, for example, East and West Coast container ports in Canada, Mexico, and the US experienced average annual growth rates of 5%, 11%, and 3% respectively. Additional details are located in Annex B.
While this growth in containerized trade has impacted all three countries, the vast majority (74%) of containerized maritime cargo gained by North American ports over the last decade, was captured by US ports (Figure 4). This is not unexpected given the relative size of the US market, which is five times that of Canada and Mexico combined. Looking more closely at the West Coast, given it is of particular interest to this NOI, California ports alone captured nearly half of all containerized cargo gained over the past decade (Figure 5). On the East and Gulf coasts, US ports accounted for more than 80% of all gains.
Figue 4 - Distribution of Containerized Cargo Gains by Country, 2000-2010 (TEU)
Source: AAPA and CPAs; see Annex B
Figure 5 - Distribution of Containerized Cargo Gains among East (including Gulf) and West Coast Ports By percentage of TEUs 2000-2010
Source: AAPA and CPAs; See Annex B
Contrary to any assertion that Canada is experiencing a “diversion” of US cargo to its ports, the level of US containerized cargo imports via Canadian ports as a share of total US port traffic remains marginal, averaging less than 2.5% over the past decade. Meanwhile, Canadian imports transiting through US ports represent a higher proportion of Canada’s domestic cargo; at least 3 times the average of US cargo moving through Canadian ports. Simply put, US ports handle a substantially higher percentage of Canada-bound containerized cargo than Canadian ports handle US-bound cargo. Additional details are included in Annex C.
The fact remains that Canadian and US ports have been, and remain, key players in an integrated North American marketplace. To varying degrees, our seaports handle a portion of each others’ containerized cargo (inbound and outbound) and, as such, provide trade-oriented North American businesses and international shipping companies with a host of options to diversify their supply chains, minimize risk, avoid congestion, and achieve the most efficient and effective path to their desired marketplace.
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