Benefits and traffic
With 35.41 million tonnes of goods handled at the Port of Montreal in 2024, overall tonnage rose slightly by 0.2% compared to the previous year. This result, despite the uncertainty and turbulence faced throughout 2024, including the labour dispute and geopolitical issues around the world, is a testament to the resilience of stakeholders in the marine industry and the extent of the Port of Montreal's importance in North America's supply chain.
The Port of Montreal is a versatile port that handles a wide range of goods, including containerized freight, dry bulk, liquid bulk and non-containerized cargo. Its facilities consist of five container terminals, a cruise terminal, 12 berths for dry bulk, six liquid bulk terminals, one grain terminal and a terminal specializing in grain containerization. Due to this diversity of infrastructure and services, the Port plays a key role in streamlining trade and supplying numerous economic sectors, all while furthering its efforts to innovate and boost operational performance.
Containers
Dry bulk
Liquid bulk
Cruises
In 2024, the Port of Montreal welcomed a total of 2,028 commercial vessels, down 7% from the previous year.
Dockside, the modal split remained stable compared to 2023, with 60% of transportation by truck and 40% by rail.
On average, 1,707 trucks circulated daily on port terminals, down 5.4% compared to last year. This decline is mainly due to the work stoppage related to the labour dispute and the reduction in the volume of containerized goods.
As for rail, close to 600,000 TEUs were transported by train, and the average dwell time was 5.6 days.
In 2024, the proportion of imports over exports gained 3% and the trade balance reached 54% imports to 46% exports.
Northern Europe remains the Port of Montreal's main trading partner, accounting for 36% of the volumes handled, up 4% on 2023.
Conversely, traffic from Asia fell behind by 12% and now accounts for 25% of the volumes handled. For its part, traffic from the Mediterranean posted a 6% downturn, for a total 22% of overall traffic.
Trade with the Middle East, Latin America and Africa accounted for 8%, 5% and 4% of volumes respectively.
Domestically, Quebec remains the main market, accounting for 53% of trade, followed by Ontario (29%), the rest of Canada (10%) and the US Midwest (8%).