July 9, 2008: Toledo Leaders Explore Nova Scotia Intermodal Transportation Opportunities
July 9, 2008
The delegation from Toledo included: Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur; Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority President James, H. Hartung; St. Lawrence Seaway Administrator Terry Johnson; Port Authority Chairman William Carroll; University of Toledo President Dr. Lloyd Jacobs; Midwest Terminals of Toledo, Inc. CEO Alex Johnson; International Vice-President of the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) John Baker; ILA Canadian Vice-President Pat Murphy; and Hannah Marine Marketing Director Trent Clark.
The Atlantic Gateway Initiative is a privately-funded deep-water container terminal and logistics park on the Strait of Canso, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. The location is linked to Toledo via rail, road and waterways and the Toledo delegation hopes to benefit from the Atlantic Gateway through cargo shipments into the Great Lakes and Toledo via the St. Lawrence Seaway and railway systems.
A Toledo-based inland distribution hub, located near the Port of Toledo, would create an area where inbound goods are quickly off-loaded from ships and moved to inland distribution centers for subsequent handling and redistribution within the country. Because the inland port would be in close proximity to the Port of Toledo, the cargo will have efficient access to logistics services and transportation systems such as rail and roadway. The Foreign Trade Zone in the Port of Toledo will also be advantageous for shippers.
“Toledo is ideally equipped and geographically positioned to access freight coming out of Melford. We have the necessary intermodal infrastructure of rail, road and waterways all located within one site managed by Midwest Terminals of Toledo,” says James H. Hartung, President of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. “It will take the commitment and unified will of the public and private sectors to respond to this opportunity. Though the Melford terminal will not commence operations until late 2010, we must collectively prepare today for what the future holds.”
"We must take advantage of our strategic assets, and intermodal transportation offers just such an opportunity for Toledo. It is such a natural partnership with the Atlantic Gateway in Nova Scotia, says Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. “Plus, I am working hard in Congress to make critical infrastructure improvements to the St. Lawrence Seaway system, which will make the concept even more competitive.”
The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, the University of Toledo, Midwest Terminals of Toledo, Inc. and MITI agreed last week to work towards creating a strategic collaboration in support of the Atlantic Gateway Initiative. The collaboration is intended to provide free and open dialog characterized by shared data, insights, and staff resources and, if mutually agreed upon, shared funding for jointly agreed upon initiatives. The goals are to assist in relieving the anticipated capacity saturation occurring at North American east coast maritime gateways and to create a dependable, predictable, cost effective, efficient, safe, and environmentally responsible routing of international maritime cargo entering and exiting the North American marketplace.
“I believe the Melford Project has the potential to transform Toledo, indeed the entire Midwest,” says Lloyd A. Jacobs, President of the University of Toledo. “The University of Toledo is pleased to lend the support and expertise of Rich Martinko and our Intermodal Transportation Institute to this exciting project.”
Specific, immediate objectives under consideration include performing a detailed market and logistics analysis to identify beneficial cargo owners within a targeted distribution catchments area defined by a single day’s drayage from Toledo. The collaboration also hopes to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the infrastructure, equipment and space needs required to assure cost effective, time sensitive handling of cargos at maritime and rail facilities associated with the Port of Toledo. In addition to these two immediate objectives, the collaboration will also work to facilitate the incorporation of a feeder service for the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System and also strive to unite the Great Lakes maritime industry in support of this service expansion initiative.
“We have the facilities, the personnel, the land and the intermodal assets right here. Our rich maritime history and robust waterfront is an intermodal key to capitalizing on the potential that the Melford project offers Toledo. Toledo must now prove to the Melford International Terminal group that we have the willpower to bring all of these resources together to be the partner they are seeking,” states Alex Johnson, CEO of Midwest Terminals of Toledo, Inc.
The Melford project makes perfect business sense as many North American ports are at capacity and unable to meet the rising cargo handling demands due to the growth of imports to the region. The route from the Suez Canal to the Strait of Canso, where Melford is located, is also the most time and fuel-efficient route for the Asia-Pacific marketplace to reach North America via the Suez Canal. European shippers will also find that the Melford location has the ability to quickly handle cargo, allowing for the best use of resources when sending goods into North America.
“Few marine projects in the history of the St. Lawrence Seaway have offered an opportunity to significantly expand the waterway’s marketing potential as profoundly as the proposed Melford International Terminal,” stated Terry Johnson, Administrator, Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. “All Great Lakes Seaway System ports and terminals could benefit from the Melford project which will provide a real opportunity to increase cargo tonnage as well as the overall utilization of the Seaway System.”
MITI plans to break ground in October on the $300 million container handling facility on the mainland side of the Strait of Canso in Nova Scotia on Canada's East Coast. It is anticipated that the facility will begin to operate by late 2010 and, when fully operational in 2013, will handle up to 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year.
The Atlantic Gateway Initiative is a privately-funded deep-water container terminal and logistics park on the Strait of Canso, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. The location is linked to Toledo via rail, road and waterways and the Toledo delegation hopes to benefit from the Atlantic Gateway through cargo shipments into the Great Lakes and Toledo via the St. Lawrence Seaway and railway systems.A Toledo-based inland distribution hub, located near the Port of Toledo, would create an area where inbound goods are quickly off-loaded from ships and moved to inland distribution centers for subsequent handling and redistribution within the country. Because the inland port would be in close proximity to the Port of Toledo, the cargo will have efficient access to logistics services and transportation systems such as rail and roadway. The Foreign Trade Zone in the Port of Toledo will also be advantageous for shippers.
“Toledo is ideally equipped and geographically positioned to access freight coming out of Melford. We have the necessary intermodal infrastructure of rail, road and waterways all located within one site managed by Midwest Terminals of Toledo,” says James H. Hartung, President of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. “It will take the commitment and unified will of the public and private sectors to respond to this opportunity. Though the Melford terminal will not commence operations until late 2010, we must collectively prepare today for what the future holds.”
"We must take advantage of our strategic assets, and intermodal transportation offers just such an opportunity for Toledo. It is such a natural partnership with the Atlantic Gateway in Nova Scotia, says Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. “Plus, I am working hard in Congress to make critical infrastructure improvements to the St. Lawrence Seaway system, which will make the concept even more competitive.”
The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, the University of Toledo, Midwest Terminals of Toledo, Inc. and MITI agreed last week to work towards creating a strategic collaboration in support of the Atlantic Gateway Initiative. The collaboration is intended to provide free and open dialog characterized by shared data, insights, and staff resources and, if mutually agreed upon, shared funding for jointly agreed upon initiatives. The goals are to assist in relieving the anticipated capacity saturation occurring at North American east coast maritime gateways and to create a dependable, predictable, cost effective, efficient, safe, and environmentally responsible routing of international maritime cargo entering and exiting the North American marketplace.
“I believe the Melford Project has the potential to transform Toledo, indeed the entire Midwest,” says Lloyd A. Jacobs, President of the University of Toledo. “The University of Toledo is pleased to lend the support and expertise of Rich Martinko and our Intermodal Transportation Institute to this exciting project.”
Specific, immediate objectives under consideration include performing a detailed market and logistics analysis to identify beneficial cargo owners within a targeted distribution catchments area defined by a single day’s drayage from Toledo. The collaboration also hopes to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the infrastructure, equipment and space needs required to assure cost effective, time sensitive handling of cargos at maritime and rail facilities associated with the Port of Toledo. In addition to these two immediate objectives, the collaboration will also work to facilitate the incorporation of a feeder service for the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System and also strive to unite the Great Lakes maritime industry in support of this service expansion initiative.“We have the facilities, the personnel, the land and the intermodal assets right here. Our rich maritime history and robust waterfront is an intermodal key to capitalizing on the potential that the Melford project offers Toledo. Toledo must now prove to the Melford International Terminal group that we have the willpower to bring all of these resources together to be the partner they are seeking,” states Alex Johnson, CEO of Midwest Terminals of Toledo, Inc.
The Melford project makes perfect business sense as many North American ports are at capacity and unable to meet the rising cargo handling demands due to the growth of imports to the region. The route from the Suez Canal to the Strait of Canso, where Melford is located, is also the most time and fuel-efficient route for the Asia-Pacific marketplace to reach North America via the Suez Canal. European shippers will also find that the Melford location has the ability to quickly handle cargo, allowing for the best use of resources when sending goods into North America.
“Few marine projects in the history of the St. Lawrence Seaway have offered an opportunity to significantly expand the waterway’s marketing potential as profoundly as the proposed Melford International Terminal,” stated Terry Johnson, Administrator, Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. “All Great Lakes Seaway System ports and terminals could benefit from the Melford project which will provide a real opportunity to increase cargo tonnage as well as the overall utilization of the Seaway System.”
MITI plans to break ground in October on the $300 million container handling facility on the mainland side of the Strait of Canso in Nova Scotia on Canada's East Coast. It is anticipated that the facility will begin to operate by late 2010 and, when fully operational in 2013, will handle up to 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year.