CN said its intermodal business, principally containerized international and domestic cargo moving in cooperation with trucks and ocean-going ships, is one of the railroad’s fastest growing business segments and its largest single business unit, with 2014 revenues of more than C$2.7 billion. The new Milton facility will complement Brampton Intermodal Terminal (BIT), CN’s existing Toronto-area intermodal terminal in Brampton, Ont. CN said BIT is nearing capacity but will continue to operate for the long term.
CN said the new intermodal and logistics hub “will generate specific supply chain benefits in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) by facilitating logistics development in Milton and the Regional Municipality of Halton, as the facility is expected to attract more warehousing distribution centers (DCs) and associated employment. New DCs have opened near Milton in recent years owing to land availability and good access to the highway system.”
The Milton hub will also supply additional intermodal capacity and container availability for exporters located in the southwest area of the GTHA, and create more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Milton/Halton region.
“Milton has ready access to major highways reaching key industrial and commercial areas in the GTHA,” said CN president and CEO Claude Mongeau. “CN’s advanced intermodal and logistics facility in Milton will help us efficiently handle growing intermodal traffic. The new hub will benefit our customers and the regional economy by improving central Canada’s access to the key transborder market as well as the Pacific and Atlantic coast trade gateways we serve, generating new supply chain efficiencies in the GTHA, and creating well-paying local jobs.”
CN will submit a complete project description of the planned Milton hub to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency for review. “CN is committed to a comprehensive engagement process with the community at every step of this project in Milton,” said Mongeau.