B14 - Sunday, June 29, 1983 - North Shore News

Prospects for the Port are rated ‘bullish’

ONE THIRD of all the tonnage handled by the
Port of Vancouver passes through North Shore
terminals and facilities -- and the good news is
that we're doing much better than most of the

world’s other major ports.

Last year the Port's ton-
nage figures -- 49.1 million
metric tonnes -- came within
a single percentage point of
matching the 49.5 million
tonnes record set in 1981.

-By contrast, tonnage
through most other major
world ports dropped by
between 10 and 30 per cent.

Coal and coke shipments
again dominated the tonnage
figures. Shipments totalling
15.7 million tonnes were half
a per cent higher than in
1981.

But clearly the biggest in-
dividual growth commodity
was grain which, at 10.02
million tonnes, established a
new record. The increase
over 1981 was more than 10
per cent.

Despite extremely poor
conditions in the forest in-
dustry 1982 lumber and
woodpulp shipments both in-
creased over the previous
year -- by 2.2 per cent and
5.3 per cent respectively.

Minor exports, ton-
nagewise, which showed
decreases in 1982 included
sulphur, potash = and
pulpwood chips.

Among imports that drop-
ped off in 1982 as against
198! were phosphate rock
(due to a weak fertilizer
market) and iron and steel
products. Balancing these
were salt and sugar which
both registered healthy in-
creases.

General cargoes were also
down slightly (by 3.8 per

cent) as a result of un-
favorable exchange rates
and import restrictions.
And, reflecting a worldwide
trend, the total number of
containers handled in the
Port decreased by 14 per
cent in 1982.

Total tonnage through the
Port in the first five months
of 1983 was 19.5 million ton-
nes, down six per cent from
the 21 million tonnes in the
corresponding period of
1982. But this still leaves
Vancouver in a healthy posi-
tion relative to many other
world ports and, as the up-
turn from the recession
gathers momentum, Port of-
ficials describe the outlook
from now onwards as
“bullish”.

Meanwhile, two days from
now, on July {, the Port of
Vancouver achieves in-
dependent status as a local
port corporation.
Henceforth it will have full
local autonomy-in property
management, contracting
and tendering, setting of

rates, personnel and day-to-

day administration.

These functions were
formerly the preserve of the
National Harbours Board
which was replaced, under
new federal legislation last
year, by Ports Canada. The
latter is primarily a national
policy-making body, charg-
ed with handing over local
control to individual ports
that qualify. Vancouver had
no difficulty in so qualifying.

ry

GRAIN

SHIPMENTS: provided the hi

*

iggest

crease in tonnage handled last year by the Port of Van-
couver, one third of whose traffic passes through North
Shore terminals. Above, North Van's Saskatchewan Wheat

Pool.

Local chairman of the new
Vancouver Port Corporation
is Marian Robson, a former
NHB member _with wide ex-
perience in western trans-
portation matters.

Vice-chairman is Cecil
Cosulich, president of Riv-
tow Straits Ltd., Canada’s se-
cond largest towboat opera-
tion.

Directors are Vancouver
lawyer Alan Campney: Nor-

man Cunningham, president
of the B.C. Maritime
Employers Association;
Donald Garcia, president of
the Vancouver International
Longshoremen’'s’ and
Warehousemen's Union:
Robert Lee, president of
Prospero International Real-
ty Inc.; and Paul Plant,
president of the forest pro-
ducts wholesalers firm of
that name.

a

percentage in

“Hard times good

FROM PAGE B12

Palm, director of the
Business Finance Division of
the B.C. Development Cor-
poration.

“We participate with small
businesses in all regions of
B.C. and although it may just
seem to be a few jobs here
and a few jobs there, opera-
tions like this help
Strengthen the industrial
base of the entire province,

and they mean a great deal
to local economies.”

The B.C. Development
Corporation provides financ-
ing for business start-ups and
expansion in the manufac-
turing, processing. high
technology, and_ related
fields. In addition to its own
funds, the corporation ad-
ministers the LILA program
and the recently announced
Small Business Development
Fund on behalf of the pro-
vince.

ve made a lot of changes since this picture
was taken over 5O years ago. We now offer:

32 modern rooms

Coffee Shop

After Seven Lounge (nightly entertainment)

Canuck Lounge

Tavern

THE LYNNWOOD

1515 Barrow St.
North Vancouver

INN

988-6161