bCbUSiNeSS.CA September 2014 BCBusiness 23
I
n January, Fraser Wharves closed its
vehicle import lot, the entry point
for 98 per cent of Toyotas imported
into Canada. Blighted by a gradual
slip in the number of vehicles
brought into this country, the smaller
of B.C.'s two automobile import docks
went out of business. That was good
news for Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logis-
tics' Canadian division, B.C.'s biggest
import dock for automobiles.
Wallenius, 10 kilometres up the
river from the former Fraser Wharves,
has become B.C.'s sole port of entry
for Asian-made vehicles, and stands to
profi t from a newly minted free trade
deal with South Korea. Korea repre-
sents roughly one-third of the dock's
business, a fi gure that's expected to
grow with the deal.
Over the next three years, Canada
will gradually phase out its 6.1 per cent
tariff on vehicles imported from South
Korea, cutting the costs of Korean-
made subcompacts and entry-level
vehicles. While the trade deal comes as
good news for importers and export-
ers, Canadian automakers have fretted
about Kia and Hyundai entering the
low end of the auto market, where
profi t margins can be razor thin.
"There is going to be an adjust-
ment, and the automobile industry
has legitimate concerns," says Eugene
Beaulieu, a professor of economics at
the University of Calgary. "But in some
sense they have time, and we'll have
access to their auto sector."
Canada's agreements with South
Korea could stimulate further trade
deals, such as the prospective Trans
Pacifi c Partnership. "This will help us
in our situations negotiating with Japan
and India, and hopefully convince
other Asian countries that we're seri-
ous about this," says Beaulieu.
•
Free Ride
Wallenius Wilhelmsen
Logistics' Annacis Island
auto terminal—Canada's
gateway for Asian auto-
mobiles—has seen imports
slump over fi ve years. New
free trade agreements,
with South Korea and
other Asian nations, could
change that
by Jacob Parry
T R a n S P O R T a T I O n
The closure of Fraser Wharves
had another positive bene t: the
vacant lot offered temporary
relief from the port's industrial
land shortage, serving as a
sorting site to clear the backlog
of containers from the 2014
trucker strike.
OLD WORLD CHARM
As indicated in this rendering, the YVR
mall will feature an open-air plaza with
room for live outdoor entertainment.
Known as a "RoRo"—or roll-on, roll-
off—these vessels are designed to
carry up to 8,000 vehicles, from auto
manufacturing hubs like Nagoya in
Japan or Incheon in South Korea to
the west coast of North America.
Motor vehicles are Canada's
largest import and second-
largest export. Most of that
trade, however, occurs along
the Toronto-Detroit corridor,
where large automakers like
Ford and GM shuttle vehicles
from plant to plant.
The port expects auto
volumes to decrease in 2014
and remain at over the next
year, continuing a long-term
downward trend. The port
imported 45,000 fewer vehicles
in 2013 than it did in 2006.
