Port of Vancouver USA makes waves in 2017

The Pacific Northwest port increased its net profit and operating revenues as well as set a tonnage record as steel and dry-bulk imports surged.    Port of Vancouver USA posted a net profit of $7.4 million for 2017, up 21.8 percent year-over-year, while operating revenues totaled $36 million, up 0.3 percent. 
   The port handled a record 7.5 million metric tons of cargo in 2017, up just slightly from the 7.49 million metric tons handled in 2016.
   Import tonnage at the port stood at 1.24 million metric tons in 2017, up 6.5 percent year-over-year, while export tonnage totaled 6.26 million metric tons, down 1 percent.
   “Steel and dry-bulk commodities continue to be the largest imports at the Port of Vancouver by volume, and in 2017, these cargoes increased 14.8 percent and 47 percent, respectively,” the port said.
   Looking into this year, at the end of March, a light-industrial facility opened at the port’s Centennial Industrial Park, offering 125,000 square feet of space. A port spokesperson said Thursday the port has no signed leases for the new facility yet.
   The port said it “continues to invest in its Terminal 1 waterfront redevelopment project, which includes plans for a hotel, public marketplace, commercial and retail space, public art and a connection to the city’s Renaissance Trail.”
   Established in 1912, the Port of Vancouver is equipped with five terminals and 13 berths, which lie at the terminus of the Columbia River’s 43-foot, deep-draft shipping channel.