roberttosh wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:46 pm
Just as a point of reference, from what I can gather, Wilmington, NC is the smallest container port that CSX provides on dock or direct intermodal service to (though on a limited basis). It handles over 300,000 TEU's annually, has the capacity to handle 600,000 TEU's annually and has received 14,000 TEU vessels. I don't have the Portland figures handy but am guessing they would pale in comparison.
You're right. Portland handled about 28,000 TEU in 2019, and the IMT couldn't handle ships larger than about 2,000 TEU(the biggest ship regularly calling at the IMT now is the
Pictor which is about 930 TEU. Even if the IMT attracts another shipping line, it's likely going to be a short-sea feeder service or some other "niche" carrier. Theoretically the IMT would max out at around 50,000-60,000 TEU per year. There just isn't enough real estate there to handle too much more than that.
What I think is much more likely for Portland is that refer ships on the USWC-Europe trade may start calling in Portland once the cold storage facility is up and running. Right many ships on that trade call in Bayside, NB to unload fish and seafood bound for points on the east coast. Portland could easily take that traffic....too bad the cold storage facility is being built without direct rail access.
Although I stick to my argument that Portland "punches above it's weight" as a Port since it's the best US marine gateway to the Arctic, and that a lot of the rail movements currently going on CN from Halifax could easily go through Portland, rail service from yard 8 is difficult to make work unless it's tacking onto an existing intermodal lane.