Two significant developments – one already announced and the other to come soon – will have an impact on a bustling breakbulk market in Canada.
Industry watchers will be reviewing with particular attention the contents of the federal 2023 budget to be unveiled in Ottawa on March 28 by Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. Until recently, government officials were paying considerable lip service to expanding infrastructure investments and accelerating the “green transition” of the Canadian economy.
How much such objectives retain their importance remains to be seen in light of the minister’s latest cautionary message of “prudent fiscal restraint.” Moreover, many Canadian business interests feel that Canada must respond effectively to the bold multi-billion-dollar Inflation Reduction Act recently outlined by President Biden for markedly boosting low-carbon energy.
Otherwise, there seems no holding-back approach to be found in the announcement of Logistec Stevedoring acquiring the Canadian and U.S. marine terminal business of Montreal-based Fednav Ltd., notably Federal Marine Terminals which for five decades has provided stevedoring, handling, and warehousing services for bulk, containerized, project and general cargo.
“As part of Logistec’s ambitious strategic plan to expand its marine services both geographically and operationally, this acquisition will allow us to gain a footprint in new markets in Canada and the USA,” commented Rodney Corrigan, President of Logistec Stevedoring Inc, when the C$105 million acquisition was made public. “Our customers will benefit from a large and efficient network, as well as strong expertise from the FMT team, and together, we will continue to offer quality service to contribute to a safe, reliable supply chain.”
Major Expansion of Logistec Network
The addition of 11 terminals represents a major expansion of Logistec’s network, bringing its total to 90 terminals in 60 ports across North America. The combined network will provide strategic gateways for existing and future customers, allowing Logistec to gain an important foothold in the Great Lakes region and access prime locations in the U.S. Gulf and East Coast regions.
In a recent interview, Mr. Corrigan stressed that Logistec’s focus on the safe and efficient handling of oversized cargos continues in the ever-evolving wind energy, mining and oil and gas sectors.
Among other moves, Corrigan cited Castaloop USA, a Logistec owned company, which has continued its growth and handled oversized wind components. “This included 74-meter blades through the ports of Oswego and Buffalo, New York as well as Erie, Pennsylvania, and are currently managing 6 wind projects at these strategically located terminals.
“Additionally,” Corrigan added, “they continue to handle massive project cargo units weighing upwards of 96 MT in Kitimat destined for a future LNG plant in British Columbia as well as managing on-going project handling of 37-ton steel slabs daily in Brownsville, Texas through their GSM subsidiary.
“Logistec’s specialized handling capabilities have been developed and honed over their 70-year history, with a highly versatile, process-driven and focused, safety mindset, throughout its network of ports and terminals.”
At the Port of Montreal, breakbulk activity has rebounded strongly from the COVID-19 world onslaught in 2020. Several terminals operated by Logistec, and Empire Stevedoring (Bickerdike Terminal) can handle all types of breakbulk, general and project cargo, including out-of-gauge pieces. After declining to just over 64,000 metric tons in 2020, breakbulk volume climbed to 211,082 tons in 2021.
Logistec’s Laurier terminals in several sections of the port are specialized in handling bulk, breakbulk, project cargo and heavy lift. Warehouses offer ample storage for such products as mineral concentrate, gypsum, fertilizer, and other commodities. The Logistec terminal in Section 98 provides a large laydown area for out-of-gauge project cargo near off-dock facilities.
Offering some candid but fundamentally optimistic thoughts on the current forwarding market was veteran freight forwarder Guy Tombs, president of Montreal-based Guy Tombs Limited.
“The project and heavylift market is now again very interesting,” he said. “I say this with a few caveats – the project and heavylift sector is in many ways general freight writ large.
“Over the past three years there have been new supply-chain headaches – some of which we had not experienced before: Marine terminals closing suddenly without notice, no trucks being available on certain trade-lanes, over-reliance on automated systems that cannot keep up.
“There are multiplier effects from confusion, delays and increased costs. Shortages of personnel or less present, less attentive or unavailable staffs have meant that complicated problems have too often added up and not been resolved promptly.”
“To me,” Tombs stressed, “this simply underlines the necessity for an in-your-face approach and for ‘being there’, being on-site – to sort out project logistics problems oneself, where possible.
“Another way of putting it – we must unmask the problem causers and problem neglectors – to force through smooth, successful operations for our vital shipments.
Great Lakes Activity
On the Great Lakes, the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA) has seen its finished steel imports from Europe and South America have remained brisk since they were first triggered by American tariffs. “We’re also paying attention to steel and other components required for the auto industry that normally come out of Ukraine or Russia,” said Ian Hamilton, president, and CEO of Canada’s biggest Great Lakes port.
“We believe there’s already a pent-up North American demand for automobiles, household appliances and other steel-related items,” Hamilton stated.
A trio of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) recently arrived by ocean carriers in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe, destined for Metrolinx’s Eglinton Crosstown West Extension and Scarborough Subway Extension projects. Following a two-week journey last year across the Atlantic, the boring machines, one 12 metres in diameter and the other two both 6.5 metres in diameter, arrived at the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority’s facilities.
All manufactured by Herrenknecht in Germany, the larger Scarborough Subway Extension TBM was delivered to the Port of Oshawa, and the other two for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project were delivered to the Port of Hamilton from the Federal Delta vessel and were handled at Fednav’s FMT terminal.
With construction in Canada’s largest city showing no signs of slowing down, the Port of Toronto in 2022 moved 717,855 metric tons of cement, 106,533 metric tons of aggregate, and nearly 160,000 metric tons of steel products, including coil, pipe, and rebar, which transited through the port to construction sites throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
As Atlantic Canada’s largest seaport (in volume terms), Port Saint John (PSJ) in New Brunswick handles a diverse cargo base which includes breakbulk. “Located within an FTZ, recent projects have included windmills and transformers arriving via both container, and breakbulk specific vessels,” said Jane Burchill, communications, and sustainability specialist.
“On terminal, we offer a number of different weight bearing capacity piers depending on the project needs, 35 acres of open area for laydown, and over 550,000 square feet of dry warehousing options,” said Birchill.
“Come 2023, a new 2000 lbs. per square foot pier will be open, providing additional options for breakbulk cargo owners. Coupled with three stevedoring options, an experienced unionized labor force, and access to competitive ancillary support services (including two Class I rail providers) PSJ ensures break bulk owners receive a one-stop service,” she said.
Meanwhile, on the West Coast, the Port of Vancouver serves as the Pacific Northwest’s major consolidation centre for breakbulk cargo such as forest products, steel, and machinery. Available statistics show breakbulk cargo decreasing by 3% to 9.6 million tons in the first six months of 2022. While log and pulp volumes declined, basic metals surged by 18%.
