Senior Executives from the Port of Montreal, along with the German Consul General, Italian Consul General, British Consul General and Economic and Commercial Attache at Mission of Flanders discuss their current projects with the Port of Montreal, the future of sustainability at the port and the vital connection to Europe in DB Schenker’s new Americas Logistics Video Series.
LinkedIn Interview Links;
Consulate of Great Britain: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7094437093824704512
Consulate of Germany: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7094439599057301504
Port of Montreal: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7094452192014647296
Consulate of Italy: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7094455944205492227
Consulate of Belgium: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7094457220934819841
As one of the world’s leading logistics service providers, DB SCHENKER recently released an acclaimed video series focused on key logistics gateways in the Americas. Through a series of five short videos, the global organization is putting the spotlight on the Port of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, the largest port in Eastern Canada.
Connected to more than 140 countries in the world, the Port of Montreal is the largest port in Eastern Canada. The diversified Port handles all types of cargo, with dry bulk, liquid bulk and containers being the largest sectors. The expansive facility handles all types of goods and works in many industries. The port welcomes more than 2,000 ships per year, 2,500 trucks per day, 60 to 80 trains per week, and 50,000 cruise passengers and cruise members across 13 cruise lines.
All the major global shipping lines offer their services at the Port of Montreal, with services with Northern Europe, the Mediterranean connecting the Middle East, Asia and other global markets. It is connected to two Class 1 railways in Canada, the Canadian National and the CPKC, offering their partners reliability, fluidity, and optionality.
Often referred to as the “economic engine of Greater Montreal,” the vibrant port is a diversified facility built on an efficient logistics ecosystem that handles around 6,300 different businesses. In total, the port handled 36 million tonnes of cargo in 2022, which represents a 5.8% increase over 2021. The port’s container activity increased 1.2% in 2022, with 14.4 million tons handled and over a total of 1.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
As an economic engine, their role is to manage, maintain and invest in infrastructure, creating opportunities for Montreal and the province of Quebec and the Ontario and US Midwest markets.
Staying Mission-Focused
In Q&A sessions that were hosted by DB Schenker, the Port of Montreal’s Paul Bird, Guillaume Brossard, and Daniel Dagenais discuss the current challenges that global ports are facing and the steps they’re taking to address these current and emerging issues. And the strategies and actions they and are committed to remain the resilient and congestion-free Port it is renowned for. From the international perspective, Susanne Aschi, Silvia Costantini, and Chloe Adams discuss their roles as Consul generals and the strong connections between the Port of Montreal and their home countries of the UK, Germany, and Italy.
“It’s important for us to stay mission-focused on building capacity for our clients. For the next four years, we’re aiming to build our future expansion project, which is the Contrecœur terminal, which is about 30 miles downstream from here,” says Paul Bird, VP of the Contrecœur Project and Head of Digital Transformation for Port of Montreal. “That includes adding 60% capacity for an overall 1.5 million TU capacity in and above the current capacity in Montreal. That’s where we’re heading and how we’re [responding to] the market.”
Susanne Aschi, German Consul General in Montreal, explains how Canada and Germany have built a close partnership for decades. “We work very closely with the port,” she says. “About 10% of the container trade that the port of Montreal handles is going to Germany [and beyond]. Germany is the number one trading partner in container trades, so it goes without say that we have a close relationship.”
Silvia Costantini, Italian Consul General and permanent representative of Italy to the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) in Montreal, adds that trade between Italy and Canada is extremely important, especially for Italians who reside in Canada.
“Trade is very important because trade is at the forefront of having goods and services going back and forth,” says Costantini. “Of course, we want more goods coming from Italy [via the] Port of Montreal.”
An Incredibly Important Port for Canada
Chloe Adams, British Consul General in Montreal, says UK and Canada go “way back” in terms of trade relationships. She says part of the UK’s mission is to strengthen its economic relationship with Canada including increasing investment, economic security and trade between the UK and Canada. Ports play a crucial part in the expansion of global trade.
Incredibly important to Canada, the Port of Montreal is the country’s second-largest container port and Europe is its main market. “That means that a large proportion of the trade between the UK and Canada in goods passes through the port of Montreal,” Adams explains. “We hope to see that [number] increase as trade between our two countries increases. There was a 17.5% increase in two-way trade between the UK and Canada between 2021 and 2022, and we’re hoping that the trajectory will continue.”
Adams is also impressed by the Port of Montreal’s commitment to tackling climate change, a priority that the UK government shares. In fact, both entities are not only reducing their own carbon footprint, but also working on initiatives that help to decarbonize the shipping industry in general. “Those are all very important priorities,” Adams adds.
Rounding out DB Schenker’s Americas video series is Yves Lapere, Economic and Commercial Attache at Mission of Flanders, who discusses the port’s close relationship with Belgium, specifically the Port of Antwerp. Lapere explains how during the first year of Covid-19 vaccinations, almost all vaccines for Canada were developed and produced in Belgium.
