40 American Journal of Transportation American Journal of Transportation ajot.com CCS/CES/MCS/MES points available. REGISTER NOW AT CONECT.ORG! Angela Ellard Senior Adviser, Center for Strategic and International Studies Commissioner Robert Harvey Federal Maritime Commission Alan Murphy CEO & Founder Sea-Intelligence Diane Sabatino, Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations (OFO), U.S. CBP CONECT’s T&T brings together global leaders, hands-on workshops, and unmatched networking opportunities. Conference Highlights Include: • Keynote speakers Angela Ellard, Former Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Federal Maritime Commissioner Robert Harvey • AI Strategy to Workflow Reality - How to Move from Pilot Projects to Real Operational Impact • “Off the Record” with Peter Friedmann • Ocean Carrier & Freight Market Insights: perspectives from industry leaders including Felix Lo (Executive Vice President, OOCL) and Alan Murphy (CEO & Founder, Sea-Intelligence) • Practical workshops on Trade Lane Updates, Freight Audits, CTPAT updates, and more • Intermodal & Rail Operations Update: Strategic rail and supply chain infrastructure insights featuring Adam Weiskettel of BNSF • Direct Government Access & Roundtables: Exclusive one-on-one networking and Q&A sessions with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Partner Government Agencies (PGAs) PLUS: Celebrate 30 years of T&T conferences at Thursday evening’s Harborside Reception and Dinner overlooking Narragansett Bay! Felix Lo, North America Executive Vice President, OOCL Peter Friedmann, FBB Federal Relations; CONECT Counsel CONECT’S 30TH ANNUAL Navigating Today’s Supply Chain: Intelligence, Compliance, & Connection NORTHEAST TRADE & TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE www.conect.org Oct. 21-23, 2026 • Newport, RI CONECT Coalition of New England Companies for Trade key inland markets in one to three days. The port’s annual statistics showed a 10.4% decline in total traffic to 8.6mil- lion tons and a marginal drop in container cargo to 502,000 TEU in 2025. Port officials indicated that global geopolit- ical pressures, shipping alliance shifts and economic uncertainties continued to impact results. This past May, two new electric rail-mounted gantry (RMG) cranes were delivered at PSA Halifax’s Atlantic Hub terminal, introducing the first remotely operated yard equipment at the Nova Scotia port. The cranes fall within a multi-year C$105 million Inter-Terminal Rail Solution Project spearheaded by the HPA and Transport Canada’s National Trade Corridors fund. Greater automation at Halifax terminals is presently a major sensitive subject under contract discus- sions between the local unit of the Inter- national Longshoremen’s Association and the Halifax Employers Association. Port Saint John Container Growth Accelerates At New Brunswick’s Port Saint John in the Bay of Fundy, Craig Bell Estabrooks, president and CEO, has expressed much enthusiasm over recent developments. When last year’s full results were recently released, he declared: “2025 was a defining year for Port Saint John. With our West Side Modernization Project complete, we have the capacity, partner- ships, and diversified cargo base needed to support long-term growth and help move Canadian trade to global markets.” The completion of the $247 million West Side Modernization Project delivered expanded terminal capacity, a new berth, strengthened intermodal connections, and the ability to handle more than four times the previous container volumes. In 2025, containerised cargo han- dled by DP World Saint John surged by nearly 30% to 239,364 TEU alongside 25.4 million metric tonnes of liquid bulk, 1.3 million metric tonnes of dry bulk. Five years ago, container volume stood at 87,000 TEU. Other highlights have seen Port Saint John join the Gemini Cooperation net- work and break ground on Americold’s $100 million import-export hub, fur- ther boosting the port’s role in tempera- ture-controlled, agri-food, breakbulk, and containerised trade. and ocean carrier networks. And it helps build the kind of consistency supply chains need.” In other media comments, Smith has also stressed that though the barge ser- vice will initially focus on containers, he sees west coast shortsea shipping in Canada expanding into bulk cargo in the longer term. reliability, efficiency, and port calls. That’s resulted in reduced wait time, reduced congestion, optimized anchorage, and ultimately helps to lower emissions and improve safety. So those two initia- tives have been extremely successful, and we’ll continue to build off of that.” And like the Port itself, the system is evolving, “When we look forward, it’s really about building out more of the real time monitoring tools. So, enhancing those, incorporating things like GPS data, webcam monitoring, some of those other components. And then we’re also look- ing at participating in a port community system. So, that’s a single point access system to make it easier for users to have a single area where they can do data input or consolidation of any reporting that they have to do within the port. That’s just going to make things much more efficient, much more timely, in terms of the interaction and engagement with key stakeholders.” Aerial view of Port Saint John where major infrastructure completion has markedly expanded container capacity. Photo Courtesy of Saint John Port Authority (TARGETS – continued from page 39) (MOVING – continued from page 39) (MOMENTUM – continued from page 38)
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