Thank you very much, the maritime industry in Quebec is doing very well despite the current upheaval in the economy.
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“The maritime industry is heavily dependent on the general economic situation. When consumption falls, the impact on our activities is delayed because contracts are awarded in advance. But even if stocks fall, the movement of goods is guaranteed,” comments Mathieu St-Pierre, President and CEO of the Société de développement économique du Saint-Laurent.
The latter notes that the expected slowdown does not appear to materialize in certain sectors of the economy. For bulk liquids (especially hydrocarbon products), 2022 shows a 5.4% increase in ship movements compared to 2021. And this trend does not seem to be slowing down this year.
“In bulk solids, we’ve gone from 70 million tons of minerals in 2021 to 80 million tons this year,” he said. Grain is on the rise: We can see the effects of the war in Ukraine as this country is one of the largest grain exporters in the world. Under these circumstances, Canadian grain has an attractive value internationally. »
The transport of iron ore has increased since the pandemic, as has the transport of goods such as grain, sugar, cocoa …
Container transport is also very dynamic. It represents 10% of the tonnage of goods handled on the Saint Lawrence River, with 15 of the 150 million tonnes annually handled; 40% of containers pass through the Port of Montreal.
MAIN PORTS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE
(Million tons handled in 2022)
| Harbor | million tons in 2022 | Change 2021-2022 | Change 2010-2022 |
| Montréal | 36.0 | 5.9% | 39.0% |
| Sept-Iles | 33.3 | 3.7% | 32.7% |
| Quebec | 27.6 | -3.2% | 12.7% |
| Port Cartier | 26.7 | 6.8% | 48.3% |
| Three Rivers | 4.3 | 10.3% | 53.6% |
Percentage of ships on the river
Canadian Pavilion 34.1%
Foreign Pavilion 65.9%
movement of merchant ships
2021 to 2022 +5.7%
SOME PRINCIPAL GOODS TRANSPORTED ON THE ST. TRANSIT LAWRENCE
- Cereals (wheat, corn, soy)
- iron ore
- Salt
- container
- Machinery and equipment
- oil products
- sugar and cocoa
- chemicals