Port Stats Down -again, but there is (hidden) good news

The Port of Halifax has issued its most recent cargo statistics and it shows a drop in container traffic again, but does confirm that the G6 Alliance is adding a port call and another line will start to call here (the line is not named).

The drop in container traffic should not come as a surprise in view of changing world trade patterns, a near-recession in Canada, the low state of Canada's dollar and the ferocious winter we had.

None of these issues are the fault of the Port of Halifax and it is a little unfair for the press (official and unofficial) to land all the blame on the Halifax Port Authority, and to criticize the bonuses paid to certain employees.

Any organization can improve itself, but the bonuses paid to key employees are incentives intended to encourage, despite discouraging outcomes, not just as a reward for results.

Persuading the G6 and the other line to add Halifax port calls may have been as the result of the Port Authority's marketing effort and the efficiencies and performance of the port itself and its 'partners' such as CN, labour unions, trucking, etc., or to totally unrelated factors.

The increase in break bulk traffic through the newly expanded Richmond Terminal (Pier 9C) is also good news and seems to confirm the good sense in making that investment.

It does seem to be a case of blame the messenger on the part of those who gleefully report bad news and willfully belittle good news, and very little concern about an equitable balance.

Now if they could just do something interesting with the grain elevator - how about some fresh paint, some colorful lighting and even some projected images?

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Port Expansion continues

1. Connors Diving with a core drilling scow off Fairview Cove, June1.

A tender ad published on June 12 announced another major construction project for the Port of Halifax. With completion of the extension to the Halterm container terminal in the south end of the port, it is now time for an extension to the Fairview Cove container terminal in Bedford Basin. The tender is for  dredging and concrete crib- the same kind of construction used in the ongoing Pier 9 C extension.

2. When Fairview Cove opened there were no fixed cranes, only one mobile- and lots of empty space.

The Fairview Cove terminal, the port of Halifax's second container pier, was first opened for business in 1981 and has been extended twice since. With the introduction of larger cranes in 2007 the pier is capable of handling the current crop of post-Panamax ships. However as the size and number of larger ships is expected to increase, the need to accommodate two post-Panamax ships at the same time has become necessary. The extension to the Fairview Cove terminal will allow this. It also likely that more large cranes will be needed too. The recent arrival of larger ships, which could just barely berth under the current smaller cranes points to that need, but no announcement has been made yet.

3. Parts for the first crane were brought in by J.A.Z. Desgagnés in December 1981.

For the past many months fill has been accumulating at Fairview, most of it from the excavation for the new World Trade Centre. Last week Connors Diving had a core drill working at Fairview a sure indication that something was going to happen.

4. Big cranes for big ships at the west end of the pier, but smaller cranes for smaller ships at the east end. (April 6 , 2013 photo)

5. Fill operations continue today.

Bulk down, rest up

In 2010, the Port of Halifax recorded a remarkable recovery in most areas over 2009.

Containers: up 26%

Breakbulk: up 23.7%

RoRo: up 15.9%

Cruise passengers: up 14.7%

The only area to show a decline was bulk (primarily oil and gypsum) down 14%

All the details now available on the Port's website. You really have to search hard for it, so here is a direct link: www.portofhalifax.ca/english/about-us/statistics/index.html

Halifax is no longer a major grain exporter, so scenes like that above are unlikely to be repeated. The Adriatik, 18,328 gross tons, 30,832 dwt, built in 1973 by the 3 Maj shipyard in Rijeka (now Croatia, then Yugoslavia) flying Panamanian flag, leaves pier 28 with assistance of tug Point Vigour, with a cargo of grain. In 1983 the ship was renamed Kupa for Juogolinija. It arrived in Alang, India in July 28, 1998 for scrapping.

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Port of Halifax Year End Report

1. Grey ship, grey day. Post-panamax OOCL Kaohsiung arrives after a storm delay. Container traffic in Halifax seems to be doing very well ( to this observer.)

2. Gypsum is still weak, but oil is strong. The bulker Alice Oldendorff is inbound to load gypsum on January 10, while the tanker Acor waits her turn for bunkers.

3. The tug Whitby moves the dredge Canadian Argosy out of the way while the K-Line post-Panamax container ship Glen Canyon Bridge berths at Halterm on January 11. A crane on shore is set up with a pile driving leader, ready to start driving tubular steel piles for the pier extension.

The Halifax Port Authority was characterised in today's paper as only cautiously optimistic about the current level of port activity. On a strictly statistical basis this may be the right mood, but in my opinion the Port of Halifax is doing extremely well.

The major tonnage drop in bulk commodities due to a low demand for gypsum in the US construction market, certainly keeps the overall numbers for Halifax low - but only on a tonnage basis. Gypsum is not the major money maker for the regional economy that some other sectors may be.

Weak break bulk cargo activity is nothing new either - occasional spikes in rail imports and low numbers for railway locomotive exports and project cargoes (inbound and outbound) are typical of this sort of "one off" market. Newsprint demand is also way down , but this has never been a huge item for Halifax.

The two other major business areas seem to me to be doing quite well. Petroleum - both incoming crude and outgoing refined product remain strong.

Containers, while they may show lower in tonnage statistics, are really the main focus of the port and this area is doing extremely well - particularly in comparison to such ports as Montreal, which has experienced very sluggish recovery. Containers contribute more to port employment, spin offs and the regional economy than gypsum (for example) so the improvement in this sector is significant beyond strict tonnage terms.

While the final stats for 2010 will not be out until next week, I remain upbeat about the current state and the future.

Major investments in port infrastructure (which are being scaled back in Montreal) seem to be forging ahead here and that is also good news. An example is the Halterm expansion, which is now becoming visible. Preparatory dredging has been going on for some time, and now work has started on driving tubular steel piles. These will be flushed out and filled with concrete. For the next several months, there will be almost daily evidence of the expansion. Similarly the pier 9B face renewal is nearly finished, and the pier 9D work should be starting soon.

All these improvements will make Halifax ready for more traffic (instead of having to catch up as was the case in the past.) While US ports compete with each other for dredging money and no decision is in the offing for the Bayonne Bridge in New York/New Jersey (not to mention the Montreal retrenchment) Halifax seems to be in a strong position and is moving forward, with very good evidence of increasing demand.

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