DB Schenker, one of the world’s leading logistics service providers, recently held a series of video events in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a focus on the Port of Halifax and its growth in global trade. In Q&A’s hosted by DB Schenker, Lane Farguson, Communications Manager for the Halifax Port Authority (HPA), Suzanne Rix, Honorary Consul for Germany for the Maritime Provinces, Leonard F. Hutabarat, Indonesia’s Consul General, Eric Dewey, CEO, DB Schenker Canada Ltd., and Brian Holden, Head of Trade Management, DB Schenker Americas, talked about the strategic significance of the Port of Halifax as a major gateway to trade from Southeast Asia as well as Europe.

“The Port of Halifax is going through an expansion and is well-positioned to handle more European and Southeast Asian trade than ever before,” according to Lane Farguson, HPA’s Communications Manager. As one of the naturally deepest ports on the East Coast and North America’s closest full-service port to Europe, Halifax has worked to develop trade lanes to both Europe and Southeast Asia. Today, 50 percent of the port’s shipments move between Halifax and Southeast Asia and 36 percent to and from Europe. In 2018, HPA moved more than 550,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) up significantly year-over-year.
These figures are a direct result of the trade and economic partnerships Canada enjoys with both Germany and Indonesia. Canada and the European Union entered a Free Trade Agreement in 2017. According to Suzanne Rix, Honorary Consul for Germany for the Maritime Provinces, Germany and Canada enjoy a strong and diverse commercial relationship covering trade, investment and science and technology making Germany Canada’s largest export market in the EU.
The same holds true for Indonesia, added Leonard F. Hutabarat, Indonesia’s Consul General in Toronto, Canada. Tasked with driving economic development and trade between the two countries, he explained the Free Trade Agreement between Indonesia and Canada has been crucial for the engagement of the business community and overall success boosting imports and exports between Canada and Indonesia.
“This growth has been driven by the port’s ability to accommodate the longer vessels that want to use the port as a gateway as well as the increasingly larger containerized cargo vessels, including the ultra-large container ships with over 10,000 TEUs,” said Eric Dewey, CEO, DB Schenker Canada Ltd. “As the Halifax Port Authority continues to increase its port size and capabilities, Dewey is confident Halifax will continue to be the port of choice for the ocean cargo industry.
We’re very excited about the growth opportunities of our ocean business in Canada, and through Halifax in particular,” commented Brian Holden, Head of Trade Management, DB Schenker Americas. “Halifax has an excellent work force, terminal operations and rail connections. Canada’s East Coast and Halifax are well-positioned to keep the cargo moving,” he explained.