A soaring 2010 for the Port of Halifax

HALIFAX — The Port of Halifax is reporting significant increases throughout most of its cargo divisions in 2010.

According to a report it released on Wednesday, the port experienced a 26 percent hike in container cargo.

This is credited to new shipping lines and an increase in transactions with shippers.

Spokeswoman Michele Peveril told the Telegraph Journal that the increase is considerably larger than many other North American ports such as New York (16% growth), Virginia (10%), Montreal (7%) and Vancouver (17%).

Break-bulk cargo has saw growth that was up 23.7 percent from last year, and roll-on roll-off cargo jumped 16 percent.

But the port did see declines in some areas — oil and gypsum were down 14 percent this year.

Peveril says the recent figures are an indication the port is recovering well after the recession, but it’ll take a few more years to get back to equilibrium.

The port handled 435,000 containers in 2010 compared to 500,000 in 2007. And the port still has two thirds of its capacity to spare.