PRPA Achieves Cargo Milestone in 2024 During Expansion Phase

According to PRPA, intermodal volumes at DP World Prince Rupert’s Fairview Container Terminal rose 5% year-over-year. “Performance was impacted by the realignment of carriers’ transpacific trade routes, two labor disruptions, and the brief suspension of rail service due to wildfire that paused terminal operations,” PRPA noted.

Strong demand for western Canadian energy products saw AltaGas’ Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal ship 2.3 million metric tons of liquified petroleum gas (LPG), representing a 15% increase year-over-year. Pembina’s Watson Island LPG Bulk Terminal handled 502,800 metric tons; and Drax’s Westview Wood Pellet Terminal shipped 1.2 million metric tons of biofuel to markets in Europe and Asia.

Following a strong crop year, Prince Rupert Grain Terminal saw a 26% increase in exports, handling more than 4.5 million metric tons of western Canadian agricultural products. Total coal export volumes fell 23% at Trigon Pacific Terminals, with metallurgical and thermal coal exports down 29% and 22%, respectively. Cruise passenger volumes decreased 27% compared to 2023, with more than 59,400 cruise passengers transiting through Prince Rupert in 2024.

“Despite this slight decrease in annual volumes, the Prince Rupert Gateway is improving competitiveness and actively diversifying through the development of new terminal and logistics capacity, building greater resiliency against market fluctuations,” PRPA said. In 2024, the Port marked considerable progress on multiple strategic projects that “set the stage for long-term growth and sustainability,” PRPA added. These developments total more than $2.5 billion in capital investment and are “essential to strengthening and diversifying exports, maximizing supply chain efficiency, and restoring cargo volumes,” the Port noted.

“The 2024 results highlight the critical nature of the ongoing projects that will advance Prince Rupert as a full-service port and affirm our position as a key player in global trade and energy security,” said PRPA President and CEO Shaun Stevenson. “An historic period of expansion is taking place at the Port of Prince Rupert, and 2024 was a pivotal year of development as we made strides towards enhancing services, capacity, and capabilities and diversifying markets to maintain our competitive edge and support our trade partners.”

Beyond terminal performance, multiple major project milestones were met in 2024, “building the foundation for future growth and diversification of the trade gateway,” including:

• “Construction commenced on the Ridley Island Energy Export Facility (REEF), a large-scale LPG and bulk liquids export terminal. The $1.35 billion AltaGas and Vopak joint venture reached a final investment decision in Q2 2024. REEF will significantly strengthen Canadian energy exports to the Asia Pacific, with an initial development phase that includes approximately 55,000 barrels per day of LPG export capacity and 600,000 barrels of LPG storage.
• “The Canada Infrastructure Bank reached financial close on a $150 million loan to PRPA for the first phase of CANXPORT in Q2 2024 and construction is well underway. The large-scale export logistics and transloading facility will be constructed and operated by Ray-Mont Logistics to provide 400,000 TEUs of annual capacity for forestry, agricultural, and resin products, and significantly increase competitiveness and container movements, while bringing greater stability to intermodal trade.
• “Trigon Pacific Terminals made significant progress on construction of its second marine berth. The Berth Two Beyond Carbon (B2BC) project will add significant vessel berth capacity to the terminal. The marine infrastructure is expected to be completed in 2025.”

Trigon handled 9.1 million metric tons of dry and liquid bulk products in 2024, “maintaining its position as the largest terminal by volume within the Port of Prince Rupert and accounting for almost 40% of its total exports.”

A multi-commodity bulk terminal on Canada’s west coast, Trigon is a Canadian commodity export hub, handling steelmaking and thermal coal, petroleum coke and iron ore pellets. Trigon also provides rail unloading and berth services for LPG exports. Ninety percent of products exported through Trigon in 2024 were destined for Japan, China, and South Korea, in addition to Southeast Asia and Europe.

“Reliable and competitive open access to international markets from Canada’s west coast is vitally important—especially in light of the US trade tensions,” said Trigon CEO Rob Booker. “We’re proud to support our customers as their gateway for global trade as we work to deliver even greater market access through our terminal diversification projects.”

Trigon continued to advance three such major projects in 2024, including the ongoing construction of its new B2BC second berth project and the Trigon Pacific LPG project, as well as site preparation for what is known as the “Area A” lands. These lands are anticipated to be the site of a future low carbon energy export hub focused on hydrogen-as-ammonia exports.

“The Trigon team excelled in 2024, delivering very high customer service, safety and environmental standards. This is what performance is all about,” added Booker.

“Sending a Supply Chain Salute to the Port of Prince Rupert for achieving an impressive milestone of moving 23.1 million [metric tons] of cargo in 2024 during a historic expansion phase. With major projects in full swing, the Port is driving growth, sustainability, and supply chain efficiency,” CN said in a LinkedIn post.

“CN is proud to partner with PRPA to connect North American good to global markets, supporting jobs, innovation, and prosperity,” the Class I added.