Posted on August 6, 2025
The pulse sector expects to be a big winner once the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 is completed in the mid-2030s
SASKATOON — Canada’s container demand is going to outstrip capacity in the coming years, but help is on the way, says a senior executive at the Port of Vancouver.
“Our projections show that we will face a shortfall,” said Devan Fitch, program director of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (RBT2), a project that will greatly expand the port’s container capacity.
“There’s going to be a few years where you’re going to start to see some supply chain capacity constraints, which is unfortunate.”
But if RBT2 stays on its current trajectory, that should minimize the impact on supply chains and the Canadian economy, he said.
RBT2 will be Vancouver’s fifth container terminal and will increase the port’s total container capacity by 50 per cent.
It is expected to move $100 billion of goods per year once operational in the mid-2030s.
Ten per cent of the Canadian grain that moved through the port in 2024 was shipped in containers. The total volume was 3.2 million tonnes, including 1.85 million tonnes of pulses and specialty crops.
The port recently announced that it has begun the process of selecting the construction company that will build the land mass on top of which the RBT2 terminal will be built. It expects to have a final candidate selected by mid-2026.
Jeff English, vice-president of marketing and communications with Pulse Canada, said that is music to the ears of the pulse industry, which makes good use of containers.
“Obviously, this development has been a long time in the making, so it’s encouraging to see them get closer towards shovels in the ground,” he said.
“It can have a big impact in terms of improving our export efficiencies and reducing delays, so it’s definitely a step in the right direction.”
He said a good rule of thumb is that one-quarter to one-third of Canada’s pulses move to export markets in containers every year, so the industry will disproportionately benefit from the new terminal compared to cereals and oilseeds.
It could also be disproportionately hurt by the looming capacity constraints prior to the opening of the new terminal because that will drive up costs.
“Obviously, the pandemic put a big strain on containerized freight and we saw record prices,” said English.
Prices have since somewhat normalized, but if demand starts to exceed supply in the coming years, they could start climbing again.
Fitch said the island the port is building will be 700 metres deep and 1.7 kilometres long.
It will require 12 million cubic metres of sand, four million cubic metres of manufactured rock and 32 concrete caissons that are each the height of an eight-story building.
“It’s a very impressive, massive structure,” he said.
It will increase the total land mass of the port by 20 per cent.
RBT2 will have the deepest berth access of any terminal at the port at 18.3 metres. The existing ones are 15 metres or less.
“It can accommodate the largest, newest, most modern container ships that are plying trade across the globe,” he said.
That will make the terminal more attractive and cost-effective for shipping lines.
Another selling feature is that they will have direct access to three Class 1 railroads — Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian National Railway and BNSF Railway.
Construction on the island is expected to begin in 2028. Once that starts, the port will turn its attention to finding a company that will lease the land and build and operate the terminal.
That firm will build the pavement, rail structure, buildings and fixed and mobile equipment needed to operate the terminal.
“We then become a landlord for that site,” said Fitch.
Global Container Terminals and DP World operate the other four container terminals at the port.
They will be invited to bid on the new terminal, but it will be an open and competitive process involving other companies as well.
Container demand at the port has been growing by four per cent per year for the past two decades. Last year it climbed by 11 per cent.
“We can’t rest on our laurels,” said Fitch.
“There is a sense of urgency to get this container terminal built.”
It took nearly a decade to get regulatory approval from the federal and provincial governments to proceed with the project.
A decision on the final major permit application is expected no later than October 2026.
The port has signed agreements with 27 First Nations that have provided their consent and will participate in the economic prosperity of the project.
RBT2 will generate 18,000 construction jobs and another 17,000 long-term jobs annually once operational.
Fitch said the project is going to “move the needle” on Canada’s ability to ship goods around the world and comes at a time when Canada is desperate to diversify trade.
He said some economists are forecasting that the Indo-Pacific region will account for 50 perc ent off the world’s gross domestic product by 2040.
English said the new container terminal is an exciting project, but it is just one link in a complicated transportation supply chain that includes railways.
“This is a step in the right direction,” he said.
“But we continue to push forward on transportation on a number of fronts.”
