[Saint John] Port Development

[sailor734]

I enjoy your photos cdnguys.....please keep it up.

[paperplane]

As a complete aside, always wondered why Craig Estabrooks went by "Bell Estabrooks", but maybe it has something to do with that fact that his grandfather was Kenneth Estabrooks...

Can't imagine having to live with that always hanging over you.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Some pics of the port from a few weeks back when my car was in the shop and I had to take the bus to work. Was the day after the first cruise ship of the season, I took the bus that day too, but was on the wrong side of the bus to get a good pic of the Harbour.










I did get this very distant shot of the cruise ship…

[Ottawa]

I am just wondering if there is any activity indicating that Americold is up yet. Their official opening is in June but I would expect to see some business type activity before that.

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by Ottawa

I am just wondering if there is any activity indicating that Americold is up yet. Their official opening is in June but I would expect to see some business type activity before that.

There was a job fair at cruise terminal a few weeks back, but beyond that not sure

[cdnguys]

I’ve been monitoring these website stats for a while and April was first time I saw Saint John exceed Halifax in both import and export. I figure though Halifax’s stats are just for one terminal as it wouldn’t be that low.

[Ottawa]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

I’ve been monitoring these website stats for a while and April was first time I saw Saint John exceed Halifax in both import and export. I figure though Halifax’s stats are just for one terminal as it wouldn’t be that low.

Why are you assuming it's only one terminal?

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by Ottawa

Why are you assuming it's only one terminal?

Because we know Halifax is more than 175,000 containers a year. They are up in the 500,000 range

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

I’ve heard privatizations of both ports and airports were brought up in the Spring Economic Update.

I think YSJ has a much better chance of being privatized than PSJ does, but I could see DP World and other interests from the Emirates to sign up for buying both at the same time if that was a sticking point on the Canadian side.

Such a change in ownership would almost certainly be a good thing for YSJ, or even be the catalyst leading to the creation of a new airport midway between SJ and Fredericton.

As for the port under private ownership… it could theoretically be a good thing for the city of Saint John, as the city could finally be able to start collecting taxes from the port.

Moreover, DP World and other global interests could be far more willing to invest billions into Port Saint John if it was no longer fully owned by the federal government.

[Ottawa]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

Because we know Halifax is more than 175,000 containers a year. They are up in the 500,000 range

The difference I suspect is transshipment. Saint John is now seeing larger landed cargo volumes than Halifax, while the largest portion of Halifax's traffic is transshipment—ship to ship. That number is not counted in this data. I see that as a solid waypoint in eventually surpassing Halifax overall. The two ports are now rated very close to each other, which hasn't been the case in recent decades. Clearly, we are making strong headway.

[Ottawa]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

I’ve heard privatizations of both ports and airports were brought up in the Spring Economic Update.

I think YSJ has a much better chance of being privatized than PSJ does, but I could see DP World and other interests from the Emirates to sign up for buying both at the same time if that was a sticking point on the Canadian side.

Such a change in ownership would almost certainly be a good thing for YSJ, or even be the catalyst leading to the creation of a new airport midway between SJ and Fredericton.

As for the port under private ownership… it could theoretically be a good thing for the city of Saint John, as the city could finally be able to start collecting taxes from the port.

Moreover, DP World and other global interests could be far more willing to invest billions into Port Saint John if it was no longer fully owned by the federal government.

I agree that an airport midway between Saint John and Fredericton would be a good location. It would be out of the fog belt and it could serve both cities if it was served by a fully twinned HWY 7. I picture it just north of Welsford but not too far. Saint John would be the main draw for it and Fredericton would be secondary. With the combined market, and efficient highways to both cities, there would be much more interest in improved routes. Is there a level enough piece of available land anywhere that could handle a 10000 foot runway? or maybe 2?

[Ottawa]

Here are the actual container volume trends. These charts speak clearly to what has been going on.

Port of Halifax 2022-April 2026


Port of Saint John 2022-April 2026


Halifax's landed imports have remained flat over this entire period. Saint John's landed imports have grown steadily and now EXCEED Halifax's on a monthly basis.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Impressive… jumping ahead of Halifax in terms of imports is pretty significant.

Small City, Big Port! lol 😅

[bingun]

8000 TEU of imports in just one week! Those are some awesome numbers.

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by Ottawa

Here are the actual container volume trends. These charts speak clearly to what has been going on.

Port of Halifax 2022-April 2026


Port of Saint John 2022-April 2026


Halifax's landed imports have remained flat over this entire period. Saint John's landed imports have grown steadily and now EXCEED Halifax's on a monthly basis.

Sorry I’m still a bit confused. If I’m reading the charts right, SJ is surpassing Halifax in both imports and exports, at least for the month of April? Just seems off because that would put Halifax on like a 50% drop

[Ottawa]

Originally Posted by cdnguys

Sorry I’m still a bit confused. If I’m reading the charts right, SJ is surpassing Halifax in both imports and exports, at least for the month of April? Just seems off because that would put Halifax on like a 50% drop

That weekly chart is full of spikes and valleys—some swings far larger than 50%. The charts reflect the same measured data from the screenshot you posted, except they show the last ~4 years instead of a single point in time (April 2026). Same data source: econdb, which you already monitor. The last few data points on the right end of those charts are exactly what you posted. The difference is the charts give you the bigger picture over a longer period.

What matters more than any weekly or monthly number is what you can see over time. The trend on the Halifax chart is downward. It has been on a long, slow decline. I can see it just by looking at it—steadily decreasing over at least the last four years.

That covers much the same period where Saint John has been making dramatic gains. Two charts showing opposite trajectories don't necessarily prove a direct connection, but I'd be way more surprised if there were some other explanation for how the two happened so closely in sync.

[Ottawa]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Impressive… jumping ahead of Halifax in terms of imports is pretty significant.

Small City, Big Port! lol 😅

Over the long term, the size of the city doesn't determine the size of the port. The size of the port determines the size of the city.

[bingun]

The article below is a great read. No drastically new information, but still interesting.

“When I said that big dream, everyone looked at me like I had four heads,” he says. “We’re now literally talking about reaching 400-450,000 TEUs in the next year and a half. That’s halfway there.”

In 2025, Gemini Cooperation, a new vessel-sharing alliance created by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, added Saint John to its transatlantic hub-and-spoke network, and later that year Atlanta-based Americold began construction of a local cold storage facility.

“From what I hear, [Americold is] already fully booked,” says Smith. “We’re already talking ‘should we expand?’ because there’s that much interest.”

How Saint John became Canada’s fastest-growing port

https://www.begiant.ca/stories/places/saint-john-new-brunswick-port

[cdnguys]

Originally Posted by bingun

The article below is a great read. No drastically new information, but still interesting.





How Saint John became Canada’s fastest-growing port

https://www.begiant.ca/stories/places/saint-john-new-brunswick-port

Does anyone know if Americold was built to be scaleable? 100% booked before even opening is a big jolt of confidence in the project.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Ottawa

Over the long term, the size of the city doesn't determine the size of the port. The size of the port determines the size of the city.

True but how many Construction cranes are above Saint John right now?

Halifax has at least 40+ and has had that amount for the last five years and will into the future. Here is to Saint John growing the City as much as the Port and to the midterms settling our American differences.