Voice of Commonwealth

Port of Vancouver ranked among the worst following ‘negative feedback loop’

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(CU)_The supply chain disruptions reported from across the world over the past couple of years are now characterising the economic recovery from the pandemic, and port efficiency had taken a new level of urgency as a result. Back in March 2021, a container-laden ship ran aground in the Suez Canal, blocking the sea-level waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea for the better part of a week. The incident, which led to ripple effects that lasted much longer, happened at a time when supply chains were disrupted by the pandemic, owing to lockdowns, border closures and labour shortages.

Now as countries begin to reconfigure supply chains, amid debate over what is causing the fastest inflation in decades, ports are facing fresh scrutiny. The World Bank has published a report in collaboration with S&P Global Inc. on the performance of ports from across the globe. In the report, the Port of Vancouver, the main gateway for consumer imports to Canada, is among the worst performers, ranking 368th out of 370.

The ranking is based on data gathered in 2021, a year during which global demand recovered swiftly from the effects of the global health crisis. According to experts, even some of the most efficient ports in the world struggled last year to meet growing demand for goods during the pandemic. Accordingly, the report is considering whether ports on the North America’s West Coast, such as Vancouver, Long Beach and Los Angeles, experienced congestion, underperformed or were merely overwhelmed by a faster than expected recovery in global demand for consumer goods.

According to Nathan Strang from logistics firm Flexport Inc., the impact of COVID-19, together with unexpected demand for consumer goods led to a congestion at ports on the West Coast. “If you have a cup that can hold 12 ounces of liquid, and you pour 13 ounces in, it’s going to spill over until you can reduce the volume in that cup,” Strang, Flexport’s director of ocean trade lane management, said.

This unusual fluctuation in port traffic as a result of the pandemic led to what he described as “negative feedback loop” as soon as West Coast ports reached capacity. “The more congestion there was, the more desire there was to move the cargo quicker, and the more likely those ships were going to the West Coast because of that shorter transit time,” Strang said.

At the port of Vancouver, despite mudslides from wildfires having limited rail service out of the port, 60 ships were reportedly waiting to berth in December. Subsequently, the port saw a 30 per cent growth in inbound container laden traffic between January and April. The “ranking in this report reflects an analysis of a unique point in time that includes impacts from last summer’s wildfires in B.C. and the severe flooding in November, which cut off the Port of Vancouver from national supply chains fully for eight days and partially for an additional nine days,” the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said in a statement in response to the port’s poor performance.

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