DP World’s Fairview Container Terminal at the Port of Prince Rupert has handled its millionth container for the first time in a single calendar year.

According to DP World, the millionth TEU was loaded onto the COSCO Africa by International Longshore and Warehouse Union members. It was loaded with dimensional lumber from Canfor’s Plateau mill at Canadian National’s Prince George Transload Facility before arriving in Prince Rupert by rail.

“DP World is proud to have achieved the million-TEU milestone,” said Maksim Mihic, general manager of DP World (Canada) Inc. “We congratulate and thank the men and women whose hard work and dedication made this achievement possible. This accomplishment is also a testament to the strong collaboration and support amongst the supply chain and community partners. We are pleased to share this historic milestone together with our partners, First Nations, ILWU, City of Prince Rupert, Prince Rupert Port Authority and CN Rail. DP World Prince Rupert is a vital link in enabling Canadian trade and this achievement reflects the potential of the port and is a sign of many more to come.”

The Fairview terminal handled 182,523 TEUs during its first full year of operation in 2008 but has since experienced exponential growth. Laden exports in 2018 have increased 25% year-over-year.

“Reaching one million TEUs in a calendar year is a significant milestone for the Port of Prince Rupert which demonstrates the success we and our partners have had in building a strategic gateway for trans-Pacific trade, making Prince Rupert one of the fastest growing gateways in North America,” said Shaun Stevenson, president and CEO of the Port of Prince Rupert. “Reaching this milestone would not have been possible without the investment in expanding terminal capacity from DP World, and the strong partnerships with CN and the local ILWU in working together to continue to grow capacity while maintaining the speed and fluidity our shippers have come to expect.”

Fairview Container Terminal currently handles four weekly services from all three shipping alliances. The terminal utilizes on-dock rail infrastructure to move goods from Asia to major North American markets and brings Canadian products to Asian markets.

The original design capacity for the terminal was 500,000 TEUs. With the completion of the Phase II North expansion, its current capacity is 1.35 million TEUs. The next expansion project begins in 2019 and will bring the terminal’s effective capacity to 1.8 million TEUs by 2022, according to DP World.