[David1gray]

Maher Melford director addresses Antigonish Chamber

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Following the meeting members and guests gathered for the President’s Dinner. Brad Gordon, a member of the board of directors for Maher Terminals, was the keynote speaker. He spoke about Maher Terminals and Deutsche Bank’s role in building a $350 million container terminal at Melford along the Strait of Canso.
Gordon, who has focused on maritime transportation for the past six years, said the bank invests in infrastructure projects such as those built by Maher Terminals in the Port of New York/New Jersey and Prince Rupert, British Columbia on behalf of pension fund beneficiaries and other institutional investors.
He described container shipping as cyclical in nature controlled by big shippers such as Walmart, Home Depot and Canadian Tire who have incredible amount leverage since there are so many shipping lines.
“There are price wars on the sea between the container ship lines and there is also the cost of fuel,” Gordon said. “This results in a volatile market where it is hard to make money in the best of times. In the worst of times, which we have gone through in this business in the last four to five years, basically it is impossible to make money.”
This has affected the Maher Melford project.
“The project is not in a vacuum in Guysborough County. It relies on global trade.”
Gordon said a container terminal is a physical connection to the regions of the world.
“For Maher Melford Terminal the strength of the global economy and the level of consumer confidence in North America, largely in the U.S., drives consumer spending. Consumer spending drives global commerce,” he said, noting the economic downturn can be traced back to the burst of the housing bubble in 2007.
“Consumer confidence and real estate are key drivers in my business having a full recovery.”
Gordon said that despite this environment the Maher Melford team continues to push ahead with the company focusing on getting the project off the ground. The company continues to facilitate the discussions between RailAmerica and Canadian National railroads, acquire real estate and meet permit requirements.
“The key piece is for someone in the container shipping world to catch the vision of what this container terminal in Guysborough County can really do for their network. We are talking at the very highest levels to many of the key steamship lines that we believe have the right trade routes that would benefit from having a place to dock in Nova Scotia.”
Gordon is confident that once this major step is accomplished investors will be willing to spend the money necessary for the project. Once that happens he said Nova Scotians will have to pull together to capitalize on the local opportunities Maher Melford will provide.
“You can change the dynamics of the local economy. It is an absolute positive for this region,” he said, noting the benefits that Prince Rupert has realized from building a container terminal that has grown the last four years.
“It has created economic opportunity for people who have goods to get off land and into the global markets.”
Gordon said the company is moving forward and knows it can create jobs.
“We are making progress because it makes sense. Keep on investing money. Keep on investing time because we think the end result will be very worthwhile for Nova Scotia.”
Gordon concluded the evening with a personal reflection on American politics and taking questions from those gathered.

http://www.thecasket.ca/top-news/mah...r-of-commerce/

The $350m elephant in the room
With the Port of Halifax operating under capacity, some question the business case for Melford ‘superport’

While debate rages about the future of the Port of Halifax, analysts are also eyeing the elephant in the room — the $350-million container terminal that hasn’t even been built yet.

Nova Scotia’s viability as a port destination is under question, with some saying the dreams of an Atlantic Gateway should be abandoned so port lands can be put to better use.

Former Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Bill Black publicly pointed out the Port of Halifax remains under one-third capacity.

Mayor Peter Kelly responded in a posting on Halifax’s website that port critics were making "deliberate attempts to undermine or outright destroy this vital resource."

But it’s not the Port of Halifax that is under threat, at least in the short term.

The federal government controls the land, there are long-term contracts with private operators who are still bringing in new equipment, and millions of dollars continue to be spent on expansion projects.

It’s once you look northeast of Halifax that the question marks truly surface.

In Cape Breton, the federal and provincial governments split the tab on a $38-million project to dredge Sydney Harbour in the hopes of bringing in bigger ships and boosting the local economy.

In Guysborough County, residents are hoping the Melford "superport" will be built in the Strait of Canso.

But some question whether the business case for these ports exists while an established port like Halifax remains so far under capacity.

After 18 months of growth, container traffic in Halifax has dropped since last June. On a wider scale, Halifax’s North American market share fell in half over the last decade to 0.8 per cent in 2009 from 1.6 per cent in 2001, according to a California study by Cambridge Systematics Inc.

"I think if the Melford guys were going to do it, they would have probably pulled the trigger by now," said Black.

"They know way more about this than either you or I do, and if they pull the trigger on spending over $300 million, they must have some insight that I’m lacking. But I’m a little pessimistic that it’s going to happen."

Black said he’d love to see the project come to life. He said Melford could be more efficient than Halifax because of the wide space available, and the company behind the project, Maher Terminals LLC, has been so successful with its port in Prince Rupert, B.C.

But sending shipments by land is more expensive than by sea, so being closer to Europe — the selling point of Melford, Sydney and Nova Scotia in general — is also a major disadvantage.

The world is moving toward larger ships, which is good for places like Nova Scotia that are rich with deep harbours. But the overhaul of the Panama Canal will also mean more large ships will come from the Pacific and stop in ports like Norfolk, Va.

Both the province and the federal government have been highly supportive of Melford. Maher Terminals has not asked for any taxpayer support.

"(Defence Minister Peter) MacKay has been following this possibility and understands that Melford executives are looking into a corporate viability of this proposal," a spokeswoman for MacKay said Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for Premier Darrell Dexter said the province would support Melford in any way possible. But analysts remain skeptical.

Dalhousie commerce professor Mary Brooks is bullish on the Halifax port and thinks the move to larger ships will lead to its resurgence. But that won’t necessarily help Melford’s chances.

"The question you have to ask yourself is, when the turnaround comes for deep ports, if you were an investor, would you put your money into a second terminal in the same rough vicinity when a first port hasn’t yet attracted the business?" she said.

Ultimately, Brooks said, the public will have to keep its eye on how the private sector spends its money. She noted that money is being spent at Halterm in south-end Halifax, which bodes well for that facility. Melford, for now, remains in limbo.

"Until someone actually makes an investment, we’re talking dreams as opposed to real facilities," said Brooks

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novasco...-elephant-room