Port of the Month: Prince Rupert
“The City of Rainbows” on the northern Pacific coast of Canada
The Port of Prince Rupert, in the Canadian province of British Columbia, is the fastest-growing port for transpacific trade in North America. In 2017, for example, it increased its handling by 26 percent over the previous year. Operated by the Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA), the port has been part of Hapag-Lloyd’s network since April 21. Due to its favorable location on the Pacific coast, it offers a convenient port of call that shortens the transit times between Asia and North America.
This small city on Kainen Island, located almost 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) north of Vancouver, is named after Prince Rupert of the Rhine. It has had its own container terminal since 2007. Prince Rupert is famous not only for being a city surrounded by pristine wilderness, but also as the “City of Rainbows” due to its high precipitation level. The scenery there is truly breathtaking, with steel-blue waters of the Pacific set against a backdrop of hills covered by green forest.
About one out of every four of the city’s roughly 15,000 residents works in the port, and many more of them work in the associated service sector.
What makes the port particularly well-suited to container handling is its proximity to Asia. For example, the crossing from Shanghai to Prince Rupert is about a day shorter than the one to the port city of Vancouver. Due to this promising starting position, the Port of Prince Rupert will continue to pursue a strategy of growth. And thanks to the well-developed intermodal sea-rail connections provided by Canadian National Railway – or CN, for short – cargo delivered here can be transported onward into the Canadian hinterland or into the United States.
These shortened transit times are an especially large advantage when it comes to goods that need to be transported as quickly as possible – as the onward transportation to Calgary only last three days, and only five days to Montreal. Additional direct connections to Chicago, Memphis and Toronto are ensured by CN.
The main imports are electronics, furniture and other consumer goods, while the main exports are forestry and agricultural goods.
© Hapag-Lloyd AG