MONTREAL — Containerized cargo through the Port of Montreal reached 6,129,712 tonnes for the first half of this year, up 12.6 per cent from 5,445,878 tonnes a year earlier.

According to a report in The Montreal Gazette, the strongest growth came in container traffic with the Mediterranean and Caribbean regions, up 35 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively. Traffic with Northern Europe rose three per cent year-to-year. The total number of containers (20ft. equivalent) handled was 670,128 TEU.

The paper says liquid bulk cargoes (including petroleum products) showed a decline of 2.9 per cent and dry bulk was up 13.7 per cent, while iron ore handled at the Contrecoeur Terminal was up 376 per cent from the very slow first half of 2009.