Traffic in
The Canadian gates to China overshadow that in the main ports of the eastern coast these days, but officials of the port of Montreal and Galifax see the way to reduce the gap even with an increase in the federal government accent on Asian trade.
Vancouver annually processes the equivalent of 3.5 million. The incoming 20-foot transport containers (TEU), which is seven times higher than 500,000 Teu, included in the Galifax and more than twice in Montreal of the 1.5 million Teu.
The land of Vancouver is largely entered from its relative proximity to Asia and the need for the raw material in this area, the tendency that is behind the proposed project to significant expansion of the port so that it can cope with annual export
Field
But the Executive Director of Vespucci Maritime Lars Jensen said that the balance can bend to the east as trade routes develop.
“Over time, you cannot separate the Canadian east coast from wider trends in the eastern coast of North America,” he said.
Jensen said that there was a gradual shift of imports to the east, and there were bursts in redirecting, when the ports of the Western coast are faced with violations, such as potential blows.
He indicates the expansion of the Panama Canal about 10 years ago as a turning point: larger vessels that could serve North America only through the West Coast can now use all free routes on the east coast, which reduces the gap in terms of the cost between the two coasts.
Jensen said that transit across the east coast is still slower, but the cost of a unit on large ships is lower. For some destination, especially domestic markets, such as Chicago, the use of the port of the east coast in combination with railway substances can become more attractive, despite a longer sea trip, partly because the costs of the environment contribute to moving goods on larger ships and a shorter interior.
PSA Halifax, which controls two terminals in the city, is preparing for this shift. Jonathan Chia, the head of the department of commercial and corporate affairs in PSA Halifax, said that the port has several advantages, starting from the depth of the water.
“Galifax is the only Canadian terminal of the eastern coast equipped for ships, more than 18,000 TEU,” he said.
The port has already acquired large cranes and invested in the equipment of the courtyard to support larger ships, which are expected to “cascaded” in the trading stripes.
But the failures along the Suez Canal – the key delivery route – were a problem for the port, because the ongoing conflict in the Middle East means that larger ships, usually intended for the Halifax, are delayed, and in some cases redirected to Vancouver. Chia seeks to see how the route will completely open again.
“We are trying to prepare if and when it happens,” he said. “When the load begins to flow through the Suez across the East Coast, we will be ready to take it.”
Two main delivery services are already managing the courts of about 16,000 TEU, included in the Galifax. But the processing of larger ships, Chia said, is only part of the story. No less important is the receipt of containers inside the country to places such as Montreal, Toronto and the United States of the Midwest.
To this end, the Galifax currently has two terminals with a total capacity of about 1.4 million TEU, but the port said that he could process an additional 300,000 TEU, who were directed to domestic markets, if an additional railway tank is put forward on the Internet.
Galifax had the largest annual volumetric leap for more than a decade in 2022, processing more than 600,000 TEU. This year, forecasts are about 530,000 to 550,000 Teevs.
Currently controls one daily train connecting the Galifax with Montreal and Toronto, but is able to add more depending on demand.
The leadership of the port of Montreal said that it serves another market than Vancouver, since its main force is transatlantic trade. These are the main gates for trade between Canada and Europe – for example, the processing of about 80 percent of the total cargo between Canada and Italy – especially on internal routes in Quebec and Ontario, strong production regions.
“We are unique; We are about 66 percent of the Canadian population, which is Quebec and Ontario, ”said Julien Bodri, head of the headquarters of the port of the Montreal authority. “We are also almost 35 percent of the country's production facilities between Montreal and (Big Toronto).”
Although the Montreal pier and the internal restrictions hold the sizes of the vessels less than in Galifax or Vancouver, the port officials say that consistent graphs and shorter domestic transport are still offered by many consignors.
“We do not think that we are competing with the western coast,” Bodri said. “We serve markets as corridors.
Montreal is currently working at about 72 percent, and a place for growth before faced with loss of efficiency.
Larger ports on the western coast are concentrated on mega-vasculars, carrying more than 20,000 TEUS, but Montreal uses a different approach.
“Montreal offers a direct, effective route,” Bodri said. “Ships arrive completely unloaded and fully loaded for three days.”
He said that the power of Montreal lies in reliability, low stagnation and reduction of emissions, which are especially valuable for European consignors.
“We are moving in the direction of quality, not just quantity,” he said.
The volume of cargo is restored after the pandemic, and the companies return after recent failures in work, but Montreal does not stand still. It is expected that its main expansion project, Contrecœur, will add more than a million bodies.
“If you need more opportunities, you cannot wait until it is urgent. This is a four-year work, ”Bodri said. “Now we are preparing for the future.”
The port withstood two blows over the past four years, which prompted some consignors to take it to the United States or other Canadian ports.
“But now they want to return,” Bodri said. “They want to use the Canadian port; It creates less friction compared to the United States ”
Friction south of the border includes labor issues, changes in tariffs and threats of six- and seven-digit fees for ships that are not the United States.
The US sales representative introduces a commission to Chinese, built, belonging or operational ships of containers. They include 18 US dollars for a clean ton or $ 120 for each container unloaded (depending on what is higher) from the Chinese court.
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