Watch: CPKC Joins Americold for Port Saint John Facility Groundbreaking
The facility, which was announced earlier this year, is slated to open in 2026. Americold will invest between $75 million and $80 million to develop it, providing approximately 22,000 pallet positions, or the equivalent of 800-plus full truckloads of temperature-sensitive goods.
“The facility will enhance trade routes between Canada and global markets, increase export capacity, improve import logistics, and support economic growth through strategic partnerships and infrastructure development,” reported Atlanta, Ga.-based Americold, which owns and operates more than 230 cold storage facilities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and South America, totaling some 1.4 billion refrigerated cubic feet.
This build is expected to contribute up to $37 million in direct provincial GDP, according to the company, which added that Opportunities NB will invest up to $1.01 million in the form of a payroll rebate to assist it with creating up to 100 jobs by the end of 2029.
Prior to Canadian Pacific’s (CP) merger with Kansas City Southern forming CPKC, CP regained access to Port Saint John with its 2020 acquisition of the Central Maine & Quebec Railway—Railway Age’s 2016 Regional Railroad of the Year—which linked CP directly to the Atlantic Ocean port of Searsport, Maine, and to Port Saint John in New Brunswick (NB) through connections with Eastern Maine Railway and New Brunswick Southern Railway, subsidiaries of NBM Railways.
Provincial and local leaders joined Americold executives, CPKC representative Jonathan Wahba (Senior Vice President-Sales and Marketing), and other stakeholders for the groundbreaking ceremony, which was held in conjunction with Port Saint John’s Port Days (watch video above). The new facility will become the sixth operated by Americold in Canada.
“Developing this facility at Port Saint John marks an important step forward for Americold,” said Rob Chambers, President, Americas at Americold, which is said to connect “production, distribution and consumption” for many of the largest food companies in the world. “The infrastructure investments by DP World and CPKC alongside Port Saint John have attracted major global shipping lines to this location, and we are excited that our world-class cold storage facility and value-added services will support food flows between Central and Eastern Canada, Europe, South America and Asia-Pacific.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome Americold and the opportunities it brings to create jobs on our waterfront,” commented Craig Bell Estabrooks, President and CEO of Port Saint John. “Our extensive infrastructure investments have paved the way for leading global partners to thrive in Saint John[, New Brunswick].”
“Our growing collaboration with Americold continues to bring new supply chain solutions to the market,” CPKC President and CEO Keith Creel said. “This Port Saint John facility builds on the unique ecosystem that CPKC and Americold are creating to provide our customers an unrivaled cold chain across Canada, the United States and Mexico.”
“Our partnership with Americold and CPKC reflects our shared commitment to transforming supply chain efficiency and sustainability,” noted Doug Smith, CEO of DP World Canada. “This investment by Americold is a significant milestone in our joint mission to create seamless, end-to-end logistics solutions.”
“Americold’s new greenfield facility enhances the Port’s capacity to accommodate growing shipping volumes and strengthens its position as Atlantic Canada’s largest port by volume,” added Luke Randall, Minister responsible for Opportunities NB. “The investment will also improve market access for New Brunswick’s exporting companies and create good-paying jobs.”
Further Reading:
- CPKC, Americold Eye Co-Development in Mexico
- Americold Breaks Ground on First Cold Storage Facility at CPKC Terminal
- Americold Kicks Off Collaboration With CPKC
- CPKC, Americold Partner on Cold Storage Facility Co-Location Initiative
- For New Brunswick, C$82MM in Supply Chain Investment
- For CP, Hapag-Lloyd, Additional Call Into Port Saint John
- CP: “We’re Back” on the Atlantic Ocean
