DARTMOUTH, N.S. — A leading trucking and intermodal firm based in Ontario is building a major cargo distribution and warehouse facility in Dartmouth, N.S.

Consolidated Fastfrate of Woodbridge, Ont. says the state-of-the-art transload, distribution centre will connect the Suez to the Port of Halifax and continue to solidify the province’s position as a leading gateway to North American markets.

Will the Atlantic Coast become the new
go-to point for international freight

The hub will process about 70 marine containers daily. Up to 180 new jobs will be created, with an additional 75 trucking-related jobs to haul the freight across Canada and the United States.

When complete, the facility will unload and sort cargo for transportation across North America. Empty shipping containers can then be loaded with export cargo. Currently, cargo is trucked to distribution centres in Toronto and Montreal. Handling distribution locally means reduced costs and faster turnaround when processing import and export cargo, the company says.

Consolidated Fastfrate will spend about $10 million to construct the 90,000 square-foot facility in the Burnside Industrial Park. Construction is expected to be finished later this year. A second phase, estimated at an additional cost of $3 million that could add up to 60,000 additional square feet, is also anticipated within two years.

Atlantic ports are positioning themselves to compete for overseas freight. A recent study suggested that the East Coast could attract containers from India and Asia via the Suez Canal, rather than having goods shipped to the congested Port of Vancouver.

The province is kicking in $2.4 million, with the Office of Economic Development providing a $750,000 secured, forgivable loan to help support Consolidated Fastfrate’s capital expansion. Nova Scotia Business Inc. is providing a payroll rebate of up to $1.65 million over five years based on the creation of up to 180 new jobs.

Consolidated Fastfrate has 16 cross-dock, intermodal facilities across the country. “Currently, we transload approximately 20,000 containers a year in Vancouver and we expect to replicate that service in Halifax, making Fastfrate the only company working the east and west coasts of Canada,” said Ron Tepper, president and CEO of Fastfrate.

Added Karen Oldfield, president and CEO of the Halifax Port Authority: “Growing the port’s containerized cargo business is our primary focus. Having Consolidated Fastfrate as a key port partner certainly enhances the services available to shippers and shipping lines moving containers through Halifax,” she said.