![3D"Chandler](3D"http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Editorial_Images/47.jpg?id=3D47&am=)
=20
Despite Distance, =
Memphis, Halifax=20
Become Close Allies
ERIC SMITH | The Daily News
SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL: The port in Halifax, Nova =
Scotia, on=20
Canada=E2=80=99s East Coast, is a critical ally for Memphis. When more =
container ships=20
land in Halifax, more cargo comes through Memphis, so leaders of both =
cities=20
have signed an agreement to promote each other=E2=80=99s transportation =
assets. --=20
PHOTO COURTESY OF CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO.
Memphis is separated from Halifax, Nova Scotia, by thousands of miles =
and an=20
international border, but the distant cities are now closely aligned in =
a shared=20
mission.
Political and business leaders from Memphis and Halifax, including =
the=20
Memphis Regional Logistics Council and the Halifax Gateway Council, have =
signed=20
an agreement to pursue mutually beneficial cargo connections and promote =
each=20
other=E2=80=99s transportation assets when it comes to global trade.
Dexter=20
Muller, senior vice president for community development at the =
Greater=20
Memphis Chamber and head of the logistics council, understands why =
someone would=20
hear this news and think, =E2=80=9CHmm, why Halifax?=E2=80=9D
To understand why Halifax =E2=80=93 a city of 370,000 people on =
Canada=E2=80=99s East Coast =E2=80=93=20
one first needs to look to places such as India and Vietnam, =
manufacturing=20
countries that are shipping goods west through the Suez Canal and across =
the=20
Atlantic Ocean to North America.
If that cargo comes to Halifax, then Canadian=20
National Railway Co. hauls the U.S.-bound shipments to Chicago or=20
Memphis.
=E2=80=9COur view is, as we market that opportunity for product =
coming from Europe=20
and as more product comes through the Suez Canal instead of going to the =
West=20
Coast of the United States, the more opportunity there is for Halifax =
and,=20
consequently, Memphis,=E2=80=9D Muller said. =E2=80=9CWe believe that =
the more product that goes=20
into Halifax, the more likely it is bound for Memphis.=E2=80=9D
Southbound goods
Memphis has a similar agreement with the port of Prince Rupert, =
British=20
Columbia, on Canada=E2=80=99s West Coast. Ship containers that come into =
either port =E2=80=93=20
across the Pacific into Prince Rupert or across the Atlantic into =
Halifax =E2=80=93 are=20
picked up by CN and can make it to Memphis much faster than cargo =
arriving at=20
other coastal ports.
=E2=80=9CPrince Rupert is two days closer to Asia (from Memphis) than =
Long Beach,=20
Calif.,=E2=80=9D Muller said. =E2=80=9CTwo days in the world of shipping =
is a huge deal. Halifax=20
is the same for Europe. It may not be fully two days. It may be a day =
and a half=20
because of the ocean distances. The point is, they are =
closer.=E2=80=9D
Evidence of this closeness appears in America=E2=80=99s history with =
Halifax, Muller=20
noted. During World War II, some U.S. war ships would station in Halifax =
for=20
easier access to Europe. When the Titanic sank, some survivors wound up =
in=20
Halifax following their rescue. And during the terrorist attacks of =
Sept. 11,=20
2001, Halifax is where many flights bound for the U.S. from Europe =
landed until=20
air space here was cleared.
=E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99ve got a lot stronger connection with =
Halifax,=E2=80=9D Muller said. =E2=80=9CA lot of us=20
just don=E2=80=99t know about it.=E2=80=9D
Powerful reason to brush up
That perception is starting to change. CN helped develop a=20
multimillion-dollar intermodal facility at Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial =
Park,=20
where it operates a joint terminal with CSX Intermodal. The facility, =
called=20
Intermodal Gateway Memphis, has an annual lift capacity of 200,000 lifts =
with=20
five tracks, a total pad length of 23,000 feet and 2,100 spots for truck =
trailers.
That capacity has enabled Memphis to become a key destination for =
CN=E2=80=99s=20
containers, no matter which side of the continent they=E2=80=99re coming =
from, noted=20
Arnold Perl, chair of the logistics council and partner at Ford=20
& Harrison LLP.
=E2=80=9CThink of Halifax and Prince Rupert as the twin towers, =
Prince Rupert serving=20
Asia and Halifax serving Europe in terms of moving containers into the =
United=20
States,=E2=80=9D said Perl, who also serves as chairman of the =
Memphis-Shelby County=20
Airport Authority. =E2=80=9CMemphis is uniquely situated because of the =
agreement with=20
the Canadian National to have these transportation links on the west and =
the=20
east.=E2=80=9D
Perl said the agreement with Halifax, which was endorsed by mayors of =
both=20
cities, will give Memphis a key advocate in a busy, growing =
international port.=20
It will help Memphis bolster its =E2=80=9Caerotropolis=E2=80=9D concept =
and provide new=20
opportunities for area distribution centers and third-party logistics =
firms. An=20
aerotropolis is a city in which the chief economic engine is its airport =
and=20
surrounding, related businesses.
=E2=80=9CIt further strengthens Memphis as =E2=80=98America=E2=80=99s =
Aerotropolis=E2=80=99 to increase=20
traffic coming into Memphis, in this case by rail,=E2=80=9D Perl said. =
=E2=80=9CBut think of the=20
aerotropolis as incorporating the four R=E2=80=99s =E2=80=93 rail, =
river, road and runway =E2=80=93 and=20
when most of these containers come into Memphis, (many) of them will be =
sorted,=20
put on other rail service or truck.=E2=80=9D
Relationship management
The joint agreement was the brainchild of Halifax native David Gough, =
president of GTG=20
Inc. and chairman of the Atlantic chapter of the American Chamber of =
Commerce in Canada. Gough last spring invited Muller and B. Lee=20
Mallory of Mallory Alexander International Logistics to Halifax to=20
speak.
That=E2=80=99s when Gough realized the fortunes of Halifax and =
Memphis were=20
intertwined, so he worked to create a collaboration of entities in both =
cities =E2=80=93=20
from airport and port authorities to public and private enterprises.
Touting the coastal Canada location of Halifax for receiving cargo =
and the=20
central U.S. location of Memphis for distributing cargo, Gough said the=20
agreement was a =E2=80=9Cnatural decision=E2=80=9D in light of each =
city=E2=80=99s position in North=20
America.
=E2=80=9CIt shows the strength of smart business people delivering =
good business=20
relationships to be more effective globally,=E2=80=9D said Gough, who =
was in town this=20
week for an air cargo conference. =E2=80=9CMaybe both of us can =
benefit.=E2=80=9D