Last month, DP World bought the Maher terminal in Prince Rupert, with a 2014 throughput of a little over 600,000 teu for more than a half billion US dollar – just under $1,000 per teu handled, comments Peter de Langen at his “The Analyst” column in Port Strategy.
Two aspects of this deal are interesting. First, the price seems to indicate huge confidence in growing volumes: the terminal is to be expanded to a capacity of about 1.35m teu, with studies on the feasibility of a further expansion to about 2.5m teu.
Second, the fact that the buyer is an independent terminal operator also is of note. The ‘Prince Rupert proposition’ seems to rely deeply on the competitiveness of rail rates from CN Pacific, and one or more shipping lines willing to call Prince Rupert as the first North American port.
Read the The Analyst’s arguments on Canadian container prospects @Port Strategy
