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Container ships are loaded and unloaded at the TSI Terminal Systems Inc at Deltaport in Delta, BC, August 05, 2010.Lyle Stafford for the Globe and Mail

Containers packed with imported goods are moving through Port Metro Vancouver far faster than a year ago, the result of a program to improve productivity at the crucial trade hub.

Because of discord and poor communication between terminal operators at the port, and the railways that take goods across Canada, containers that arrived often sat on the docks for much longer than other facilities on the West Coast.

The port, backed by the pressure of potential government regulation, helped broker deals between the terminals and the railways last year. The goal was to move at least 90 per cent of containers through the port in three days or less.

A year ago, only half of containers moved that quickly - and almost a quarter of containers sat for six days or more. But since late last year, the port has reached the 90-per-cent mark almost every month, including the most recent result in March.

"It's a huge improvement," said Chris Badger, chief operating officer of the port.

Port Metro Vancouver handles $75-billion of goods each year and more cargo goes through the various facilities than all other ports in Canada combined. Better productivity has become one of the port's main goals, as various levels of government invest billions of dollars to improve infrastructure.

The slow movement of inbound containers was one-half of a problematic reputation for Vancouver, which shippers viewed as less reliable than other ports. Labour relations - and the spectre of lockouts and strikes - was the other problem. Vancouver argues the reputation was exaggerated but Mr. Badger conceded the "reliability-perception challenge."





Improvements at Port Metro Vancouver come as the flow of goods recovers sharply from the 2008-09 recession.

Containers - which carry household goods such as electronics - rose 17 per cent to a record 2.5 million units in 2010. In the first three months of 2011 container traffic has climbed another 10 per cent, which is more than double the full-year growth forecast by the port of 4 per cent.

However, overall tonnage is static. Export gains in potash and lumber barely outweighed declines in commodities such as coal, the movement of which was hampered by bad winter weather in the B.C. Interior.







And Japan is a question, because of the earthquake and tsunami, and general shifts in supply and demand. The port has already seen less coal go to Japan in March, the kind produced in B.C. used in steel-making.





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