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Originally Posted by MonctonRad
Port Saint John being served both by CP (to Maine) and CN to Moncton is truly a powerful advantage. Halifax is served by only one single lonely track which makes this route vulnerable to disruption (as we saw in the recent flooding event). Port Saint John should be driving this point home every time they meet with seaborne container lines to discuss business.
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There is also the direct access to eastern US markets from CSX once that rebuild is complete. CSX has prioritized that project and as of mid July was laying 136 lb (heavy duty mainline) continuous rail right up to the renewed NBSR interchange point. AFAIK, they have never moved any containers from NBSR to CSX over their CPKC connection. They have moved regular freight over that way. I would also expect the port's foreign trade zone status would add value for CSX especially.
On Aug. 10, Hapag Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen commented on the current status of containerized shipping worldwide stating "a lot of new vessels are coming, which partly will be absorbed by increased scrapping and slow-steaming, but certainly not all of that, and I think it is fair to say that supply growth will likely outpace demand growth in the remainder of this year, but also in 2024, which means we actively need to manage costs again, as we were used to in the past.”
All shipping companies are currently being forced to look at their fleets to produce higher efficiencies. Without doubt, the "increased scrapping" is going to come from older, smaller ships. They need bigger ships for the efficiency gains they need to meet market demand. Bigger ships need deeper water and the deep water at Saint John is a huge selling point as well.