The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced approval, in principle, to license Hamilton Container Terminal to operate a new inland rail transload terminal for containers at the Port of Hamilton.
The licence approval for the terminal will allow for a sufferance warehouse at the port.
According to the CBSA, “A sufferance warehouse is a privately owned and operated facility licensed by the CBSA for the short-term storage and examination of imported goods.”
“The facility only receives and releases cargo that has undergone the appropriate health, safety, and security examinations by the CBSA prior to its arrival at the warehouse,” continues a press release.
The facility will reportedly “ease bottlenecks” at Canada’s ports of entry by providing additional space for CBSA officers to examine goods upon importation.
Containers would be permitted to move by rail directly to Hamilton from first ports of arrival, including Montreal, Halifax, Saint John, Vancouver, and Prince Rupert.
The facility will also eventually provide export capacity, which will reportedly offer Hamilton-area businesses “a cost-saving export gateway.”
The terminal is still subject to final verification of regulatory and program requirements before the CBSA officially issues the licence for the facility, which is located at Pier 18 in Hamilton.
Hamilton Container Terminal, the company that would operate the facility, is an asset-based logistics provider in Southwestern Ontario.
The company has invested more than $50 million in land acquisition and site enablement and also builds on investment from the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority to expand port lands and rail access.
Ian Hamilton, President and CEO of the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority, said that the approval “represents the culmination of years of planning and investment at the Port of Hamilton.”
“Supported by HOPA’s investment in rail infrastructure and surrounding lands at Pier 18, this step forward enables an inland import-export operation that supports local businesses and consumers, keeps goods on rail longer, reduces congestion on southern Ontario highways, and delivers meaningful cost and emissions savings,” he added.
The inland rail terminal is expected to eliminate approximately 930,000 truck-kilometres annually and result in a reduction of 1,900 to 3,900 tonnes of emissions each year.
Amandeep Kaloti, CEO of Hamilton Container Terminals, says that the approval “establishes Hamilton as an inland rail destination and delivers a new routing option for importers and exporters.”
“From our first export vessel and rail movements to preparing for initial import rail service and continuous operations, container capacity in Hamilton has been steadily advancing,” he said.
“This milestone reinforces Hamilton’s role as a dependable inland gateway serving manufacturers, exporters, and consumers across Ontario.”
Erin O’Gorman, the President of the Canada Border Services Agency, added, “The licensing of this new sufferance warehouse strengthens our border operations while supporting Canada’s trade goals. By expanding secure infrastructure at key points in the supply chain, we’re helping Canadian businesses access more markets and move goods safely and efficiently.”
The operation will have the capacity to handle more than 300,000 containers annually.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
