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Port of Vancouver Sets 2025 Cargo Record as Trade Shifts Toward Asia

New oil capacity plus strong grain shipments lifted volumes to 170.4 million tonnes.

The SeaBus passes a container ship docked at the Port of Vancouver, amid a year of uncertainty due to U.S. tariffs and the rising cost of living, in Vancouver, B.C., on October 20, 2025. (Jennifer Gauthier/The Globe and Mail)
Data from the Port of Vancouver shows that annual freight volumes rose eight per cent in 2025.
An oil tanker heads out on March 9, 2026, after loading at the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby.
Empty and full oil tankers pass in Burrard Inlet on March 9, 2026.

Overview

  • Total throughput rose 8% year over year to 170.4 million tonnes, the highest on record for Canada’s largest port.
  • Crude oil exports increased 95% to 24.4 million tonnes after the Trans Mountain expansion enabled more sailings to Asia, including China and South Korea.
  • Container traffic reached nearly 3.8 million TEUs, up 9% to a new record, with more than 56% of exported boxes moving out empty and over one million TEUs of empties up 21%.
  • China remained the port’s dominant trading partner at 52.6 million tonnes, up 15% from 2024, reflecting a broader pivot toward non‑U.S. markets.
  • The authority expects to choose a preferred builder for the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project this summer, while acknowledging it still trails peers on the World Bank and S&P performance index.