Modal Shift Advocated for Containerized Cargo
September 16, 2005
St. Catharines, September 16, 2005 — The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, along with its U.S. counterpart, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, are hosting a conference under the banner of their “Hwy H2O” marketing campaign. Entitled “Container Shipping on the Seaway”, the conference will take place on September 29 and 30 at the International Centre in Toronto and will address key challenges and opportunities facing the transportation sector.
The two-day conference focuses on the potential of using marine transportation to move containers via the St. Lawrence Seaway to inland hub ports in close proximity to consumer markets. Bottlenecks and backlogs at major coastal ports, congestion on main highways and delays at border crossings have created interruptions and challenges for shippers worldwide. With global trade forecasted to triple within the next 20 years, the St. Lawrence Seaway has the capacity to significantly increase cargo volumes within its existing infrastructure. With excellent intermodal connections to road and rail networks, and a market of roughly 150 million people within an eight-hour drive of Seaway / Great Lakes ports, the marine mode holds excellent potential.
The conference program will focus on four main areas of interest: market trends in the container industry, bottlenecks and challenges facing the transportation industry, Europe’s experience with various aspects of container shipping, and Great Lakes/Seaway solutions to surface congestion.
The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation is a not-for-profit corporation responsible for the safe, efficient, and environmentally-sound movement of marine traffic through Seaway facilities, a responsibility that it shares with its American counterpart, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.
For more information and to register, visit www.hwyh2o.com