A Detroit economics professor is looking to get cordial with Halifax to create a new shipping route to the US Midwest via rail—hoping to transform his city’s crumbling infrastructure into a bustling inland port bringing in trade from Asia.
Armed with a vintage website and big dreams, Michael Belzer, the CEO of the non-profit Great Lakes Global Freight Gateway, claims he could commodore goods to the Midwest cheaper and faster than other routes, envisioning shipments of car parts, chemicals and cherries.
His scheme jives with Halifax Port Authority CEO Karen Oldfield’s fixation on coaxing shippers from China, India and Vietnam to use Halifax as a port of call (making some wonder if she’s ever laid her peepers on a map).
Belzer’s pitch hinges on his claim that a Halifax-Detroit link could reduce cost between $250 and $930 per container, but he hasn’t drawn up the business plan to prove that yet.
He predicts the project would create $11 billion in economic activity and over 200,000 jobs.
The group estimates revamping Detroit would cost $5 billion—$5 billion that he likely won’t find city or state coffers, as both face enormous cuts to services to offset the beleaguered states’ losses. Belzer expects the private sector will come up with the cash. Right now he’s relying on donations.
But they’re not in the building stage yet. First he’s setting out to convince politicians, manufacturers and other captains of industry that his route is peachy—saying he would pay to piggy-back on trade missions to sing Detroit’s praises. Soon he’s going to Michigan state legislators to ask for approval and some promotional funding.
The Lakes Gateway idea hopes to lure in new “Ultra Post-Panamax” ships to Halifax’s natural deep water port, one of two East Coast ports, along with Hampton Roads, Virginia, that can currently accommodate next generation of Hindenburgian liners. But soon we’ll lose that competitive edge as other ports in New Jersey, Florida, and Georgia begin dredging their harbours to get ready for the new ships, due to sail in 2014.
The Halifax-Detroit gateway plan—besides being a far-fetched destination for Asian trade—is well behind the heavyweights who’ve already established quick links to the Midwest.
Hundreds of millions were invested in upgrading rail lines from Baltimore and Virgina to Ohio three years ago for a plan called the National Gateway. On the West Coast, the port of Los Angeles is spending $10 billion to accommodate even more goods from Asia headed to Chicago.
Adding to the implausibility, cargo from just one mega ship requires 40 trains. CN currently runs one train a day out of Halifax. And with trains that shuffle along at a sluggishly uncompetitive 23 miles per hour, it takes just under four days to get to Motown according to HPA numbers. To achieve Belzer’s “faster and cheaper” claim, our railways would need millions in investments—a note left out of his press release.
“It doesn’t need a study. It doesn’t need a massive plan. It doesn’t need much in way of legislative or government approval. The elements need to be linked and coordinated and then managed smoothly. It’s really ready to implement and execute,” Belzer says in his press release.
The HPA is currently spending $108 million on refitting the port—which includes making more room for Post-Panamax ships and new cranes designed for the behemoth ships.
Though, the port is so far silent on the Lakes Gateway idea, “it’s too early to go into an of the details at this point”, explains Lizzie Moore a spokesperson for the HPA.
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 2, 2011.
“claims he could commodore goods”, “His scheme jives”
Please say this was intentional and I’m the only one who ‘gets’ it. ha ha.
I get it too! 😀
Tempting to claim it was intentional – but it would be a miracle if I were that clever. Thanks for the supreme comments, though.
I just think it is awesome that you used the word ‘commodore’ in an article about Detroit.
It’s really too bad the author clearly knows nothing about the shipping industry. The numbers exist and make sense. As for the 23mph claim, even if true, it matters little for most shippers if the price is right. Cost trumps everything.
I find this article disturbingly negative for the sake of being negative. Without seeing the numbers I see no reason to dismiss this idea outright. Shipping from China and India certainly does happen in Halifax, and you can expect to see it increase with the crazy congestion at west coast ports. It’s also doubtful that full cargo ships would be unloaded here. The way it typically works now in Halifax is that ships unload some cargo here for the trains before continuing on to a now-accessible New York thanks to the reduced draft of the boat. But I’m just speculating, and so is this article.
Bo, you’re right, cost trumps everything. So in order for this scheme to make sense (in fact, in order for most of HPA’s schemes to make sense), shipping by rail through the Atlantic provinces must be very cheap. Otherwise ship to Baltimore + rail to Detroit from Baltimore, where Baltimore is much closer to Detroit than we are, would be more expensive than ship to Halifax + rail to Detroit from Halifax. And ship to Montreal + rail to Detroit from Montreal, where Montreal is also much closer to Detroit, would also have to be more expensive than the Halifax option.
Maybe it’s just me but I thought ships were cheaper than rail. And I doubt that the rail routes used from Montreal to Detroit or Baltimore to Detroit are outlandishly more expensive than the ones in Atlantic Canada. So what are those sensible numbers that you mentioned?
In response to Mairin Prentiss in this article, the notion of Detroit as a “bustling inland port” deserves some defense.
Halifax is not a “far-fetched destination for Asian trade.” As it is, 46% of the freight coming into the Port of Halifax comes from Asia, according to Port of Halifax trade data.
Detroit is the busiest northern border crossing in North America. U.S. trade with Canada averages $1.6 billion per day, more than the U.S. trade with the entire European Union, and Michigan alone accounts for more than half of that. Almost all of that trade is handled in Detroit and Port Huron.
The Detroit region’s infrastructure assets are hearty and tangible. The vital international border crossing is a start, featuring bridges, rail tunnels, truck ferries and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. The region has four Class I railroads with more than 3,600 miles of track in Michigan and 5,200 miles of track in Ohio, supported by nine intermodal freight facilities. The road system is robust, with 11 interstate highways reaching from Canada to Mexico while connecting the region to both the east and west coasts. The world-class Detroit Region Aerotropolis is integral, with nine airports providing nonstop service to more than 160 destinations. Capacity exists for warehousing and distribution centers. Cost is low to do business. With over 100 years of supply chain expertise through the auto industry, the Detroit region has qualified skilled labor as well, supported by top value education programs which include the number one supply chain management program in the U.S. at Michigan State University.
The Detroit region’s access to Canadian ports like Halifax is just one facet of a much broader strategy to bolster the Detroit region’s already strong logistics and supply chain industry. The southeast Michigan, northwest Ohio and southwest Ontario region has been growing as a global inland port for several years partly as a result of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Translinked initiative. Translinked has an action plan focused on engaging the private sector. They’re talking to companies that move freight, particularly companies who would benefit from our region’s value proposition. They’re engaging stakeholders from Detroit and Windsor, Port Huron and Sarnia, Toledo, Ann Arbor, Lansing and Flint. They’re developing a center of talent and workforce development around the transportation sector. They’re working with local governments and the State of Michigan’s economic development office to connect and coordinate the region’s assets to make this all come to fruition.
In itself, the volume of Canadian-U.S. freight supported by the Detroit region is telling. The region plays a necessary role in international trade, and that role is expected to grow as freight volumes increase. One major function of Translinked is to raise the profile of the Detroit region as a formidable logistics center and to educate the public in this topic.
The Detroit Regional Chamber visited Halifax during their Halifax Port Days festival earlier this year and had a great time seeing your city. We invite you, before you consider posting more photos like the wrecked car above, to come here to Detroit to see for yourself what it’s really like. You’ll find a bustling, historic downtown with beautiful buildings and a developed waterfront. You’ll find the second largest theater district in the U.S. and 130 bars and restaurants within one square mile. You’ll find entrepreneurs, artists, and businesspeople all living, working and playing in the city and loving it here. It’s true that we’ve had challenges which have been public and documented. Those challenges are real. But for every challenge here, we have opportunities to grow and build. The thing that defines the Detroit region is its resiliency to address those challenges. Take a look at where our region is going with its logistics assets as an example of this resiliency.
While the title of your section indicates “Reality Bites,” reality also educates. Hopefully this will help to correct some misconceptions.