Friday, November 4, 2016

N.S. should support port of Halifax over container facilities in Canso, Sydney: study

CTV Atlantic News: "The study raises a number of red flags for the Port of Halifax's future, saying that the shipping industry may be about to go through a period of consolidation and Halifax is considered a "discretionary" harbour in comparison to competitors along the U.S. northeastern coast and Montreal. The raising of the Bayonne Bridge in New York will increase the harbour's ability to admit large ships and "this will likely erode some of the Port of Halifax's business as it will no longer have the same advantage over New York/New Jersey for accommodating ships over 8,000 TEUs," it says. The lack of a large local market also creates headwinds for the success of Halifax, as ships tend to prefer to unload at larger centers where they can increase profits by offloading close to the final destination, says the report."