Have you heard? The Port of Vancouver is the largest port by cargo tonnage on the entire North American West Coast. In fact, the Port of Vancouver handles almost as much cargo by volume as Canada’s next five largest ports combined! This dynamic gateway to international trade offers shorter transit times to/from Asia than southern California ports. With its fast, reliable trains, a focus on low dwell, and best-in-class customer service, CN can deliver your goods quickly and efficiently.

Vancouver’s four container terminals have increased their combined capacity by 40% in recent years. For instance, DP World Centerm increased its container handling capacity by two-thirds from 900,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 1.5 million TEUs. And Vancouver has exciting plans to grow even more. GCT Deltaport, which is already “big ship ready,” intends to invest $2 billion to add a fourth berth and 2 million TEUs of annual capacity. GCT Vanterm completed a modernization project that increased capacity by approximately 25% with the addition of new container handling equipment including two ship-to-shore cranes. DP World Fraser Surrey has begun redeveloping part of the terminal into a canola oil transload facility with a yearly throughput capacity of 1MMT.

Port of Vancouver in Numbers

The Port of Vancouver serves as a critical hub for the transportation of essential commodities, connecting Canadian producers with international markets. Approximately 70% of Canada’s grain exports move through Vancouver, highlighting the port’s strategic importance in global food supply chains. Beyond grain, CN supports the movement of other key commodities such as coal, potash, and finished vehicles, ensuring efficient supply chain operations and meeting the needs of diverse industries.

To accommodate growing demand, the Port of Vancouver continues to expand its capacity for handling bulk commodities:

• Two new grain export terminals have allowed our customers to collectively expanded their West Coast grain export handling capacity by 50%.
• Neptune Terminal on Vancouver’s North Shore has almost doubled potash capacity from 6 million metric tonnes (MMT) to 11.5 MMT, and CN has invested to handle 205-railcar unit trains.
• Neptune has also made improvements to its metallurgical coal operations, including a new dumper building, new conveyors, and a modern ship loader. The upgrades have increased throughput capacity from 12.5 MMT to 18.5 MMT, or the equivalent of one additional unit train per day.

CN has significant rail infrastructure in the Vancouver area, where over 900 CN employees live and work. For example, we have a distribution centre for forest products, two for metals, three for automotive products, and a CN CargoFlo® bulk handling centre. Over the past decade, CN has invested more than $3.3 billion to build and maintain a safe and efficient network in B.C. and to support our supply chain partners. Expansion projects in the region included the construction of new and extended sidings to accommodate longer trains as well as double-tracking sections of our mainline to improve throughput.

Port of Vancouver Terminals

DP World Centerm

DP World Fraser Surrey

GCT Vanterm

GCT Deltaport

As a key partner of Canada’s largest import/export gateway, CN facilitates seamless, integrated and cost-effective transportation to/from diverse overseas markets via the Port of Vancouver. We can do the same for you.

Explore new opportunities with CN — reach out today to learn how our capacity can fuel your business expansion.