1.75 million TEUs
Sixth consecutive year of growth
Growth in the container sector in Montreal continued unabated, resulting in a sixth consecutive record year. The Port of Montreal firmly relied on two key assets: diversification and intermodality.
With 15.1 million tonnes of containerized goods and 1.75 million TEUs, 2019 is the sixth consecutive year of growth in the number of containers handled. August 2019 saw the Port of Montreal set an all-time record for the number of containers handled, at 163,000 TEUs handled in a single month.
Still buoyed by the positive effects of CETA, traffic with Europe remained our main market, representing 57% of the container sector for a total of 8.6 million tonnes of containerized cargo. Since the agreement came into effect in 2017, the annual growth rate has remained stable, with a 2.3% growth in 2019.
Like 2018, Asia’s share of our international traffic kept growing, with trade increasing 7.8% to reach 27% of our container market. Meanwhile, Latin America also had sustained growth of 7.3% and Midwestern markets enjoyed an 11% upswing.
The main products exported by container remained forest products, grains and cereals, while the main products imported were manufactured goods, food products, metal products and construction materials.