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The Port of Halifax is a multi-service port with five areas of business: Breakbulk, Bulk, Containerized and Roll on/Roll off cargo plus cruise activity.

• Snapshot of 2011
• Year-by-year
• 5-year Summaries
• Long-term Trends

Snapshot of 2011

Snapshot:

• Strong financials; diversity is key.  HPA's Standard & Poor's 'A' Rating Affirmed; Outlook Stable;
• Infrastructure reinvestment in 2011:
  • Construction on over $100 million in capital projects at Richmond & South End terminals was underway in 2011 and continues in 2012, cost-shared with federal government,
  • $8 million in HPA reinvestment into breakbulk and container terminals, Grain Elevator, environmental and facility improvements;
• Overall port tonnage for 2011 was down by 0.3% compared to 2010 (in metric tonnes);
• Containerized cargo experienced a 5.3% drop in 2011 (in MT).  Total containerized throughput for 2011 was 410,649 TEUs (a drop of 5.7% in TEUs);
• Breakbulk cargo (e.g.: machinery, metals, forest products) fell by 11.1% compared to 2010 (in MT);
• Bulk cargo (e.g.: oil and grains) grew by 3.1% over 2010 (in MT);
• Roll-on/Roll-off cargo (e.g.: vehicles) declined by 1.3% compared to 2010 (in MT);
• 243,577 cruise passengers aboard 122 vessels called at the Port in 2011 compared to 127 vessels in 2010, with five scheduled vessels diverted due to weather this year.
  
  

Commentary:

The Port of Halifax has an increasingly diverse business, handling four types of cargo year-round and cruise ships for seven months a year. Cargo grew for seven consecutive quarters at Halifax following the 2008/2009 global recession. For instance, containerized cargo recovered strongly in 2010 with 26% year-over-year growth at Halifax then began declining in the summer of 2011 in both the North American trade region and at the Port of Halifax.

As noted in the table below, North American port volumes rose in the first half of 2011 and dropped in June 2011 onwards:

North American Port Traffic

(from Drewry Maritime Research - Freight Shipper Insight, January 2012)

Port of Halifax cargo trends reflected the North American trend in 2011 with the latter half of the year bringing annual cargo volumes down year-over-year. The port has had positive results in diversifying its cargo mix, for example with bulk imports of grains and exports of agricultural and forestry products, machinery and heavy equipment exports, wind turbines and telephone poles. Despite this, softness in exports out of Halifax of both containerized and breakbulk cargo contributed to declines in those categories in late 2011.

Sluggishness in the world economy impacted the Port of Halifax’s cargo throughput volumes in 2011 and industry forecasters expect 2012 to remain volatile. “Our container demand forecast for 2012 is less optimistic than it was in early September, since the global economic picture has worsened and there are more doubts about the ability of Europe and the US to drive consumption growth.” (from Drewry Maritime Research, Freight Shipper Insight, January 2012).

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Historical Data

• Year-by-year
• 5-year Summaries
• Long-term Trend

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