by Canadian Sailings | Mar 5, 2019 | Bruce Striegler, Business and Economy, Environment, Other Stories
By R. Bruce Striegler
According to Jerry Kroll, CEO of Vancouver-based Electra Meccania, it all began in Italy in 1959, where Frank Reisner built custom sports cars. In 1975 the company relocated to California where it built replica cars, such as the Porsche 356 Speedster and Checker taxis. In 1982, the company moved to Vancouver, and in 2012, Kroll and the son of Frank Reisner began work on what would become the company’s first electric vehicle. In 2017, nearly 200,000 electric cars were sold in the U.S., representing less than two per cent of the total 17 million vehicles sold over a year. In Canada, that market has risen from 5,300 vehicles in 2014 to over 34,000 in 2018. The acceptance of electric vehicles has been expanding rapidly due to government subsidies, their increased range and lower battery costs, and environmental sensitivity. However, the stock of plug-in electric cars represented just about one out of every 250 motor vehicles on the world’s roads by December 2018. (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Mar 5, 2019 | Bruce Striegler, Business and Economy, Featured, Other, Ports and Terminals
By R. Bruce Striegler
Vancouver is the third-largest container port in North America and the 47th-largest in the world. It accounted for 42 per cent of the cargo handled by all Canadian ports in 2017, generating revenues of $250 million and handling $100 billion worth of container cargo each year which is expected to triple by 2030. However, there is rising concern within real estate circles and the marine shipping industry: the region does not have enough industrial land with access to both rail and water. Existing terminals have been keeping up with the capacity demands, but if growth continues at the existing pace, and without additional container terminal capacity, the fear is that B.C. ports will lose their competitive edge with more global shipping lines diverting imports and exports through competing American West Coast, Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard ports. Port of Vancouver estimates that the additional cost to Canadian importers and exporters to move goods through the U.S. would be $80 million annually, starting in 2030. In the first half of 2018, the Port hit record container volumes of 1.64 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) – a five per cent increase in volume over 2017, with export traffic up by 6.6 per cent, and imports up by 3.7 per cent.
(more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Mar 5, 2019 | Bruce Striegler, Business and Economy, Gateways and Corridors, Other, Rail
By R. Bruce Striegler
Canada’s oil industry has been facing record-low prices for its exports, a glaring lack of insufficient pipeline capacity to bring its product to market, and an uncertain long-term outlook. None of these factors, however, are stopping Alberta oil producers from increasing production, and relying more heavily than ever on rail to move the product. According to Statistics Canada, the volume of oil on Canada’s railroads has soared by 64.6 per cent in just the past year. And in the past seven years, the number of rail cars carrying oil across Canada has quadrupled. As one pipeline project after another fails to launch, the industry is relying more heavily on rail than ever to ship its oil. (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Dec 12, 2018 | Bruce Striegler, Environment, Other
By R. Bruce Striegler
“I’m an engineer, and engineers build things”, says Alberta-born Neil Camarta, founder and Director of Enlighten Innovations Inc. One of the things Mr. Camarta has ‘built’ and which is currently occupying much of his time, is the development and commercialization of a new bitumen sulphur removal and upgrading technology called DSU, which can be used in upgrading Alberta bitumen. The proprietary technology is undergoing testing at a ten barrel per day, $30 million pilot plant in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta and has been operational since the end of 2015. Camarta says, “Our pilot plant has confirmed our technology and we are now building a demonstration facility to produce 2500 barrels of finished low sulphur marine fuel from heavy oil stocks. We expect our CLEANSEAS plant to be ready in 2020.” (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Oct 18, 2018 | Bruce Striegler, Business and Economy, Gateways and Corridors, Other, Supply Chain and Logistics
By R. Bruce Striegler
It was only a few years ago when many in Canada thought a huge wave of global LNG activity would soon crash over the shores of British Columbia. From an original list of more than 15 proposed multi-billion dollar projects in the Province, only one remains a possibility today. The rich Asian market has been glutted since 2015, following a massive development program across the region which began in 2000. But a policy shift to favour consumption of natural gas in China this year and strong economic growth across Asia has pushed up demand. Several export projects in North America hope for Final Investment Decision (FID) this year, including LNG Canada, a $40 billion, 13 million-tonnes-a-year venture led by Royal Dutch Shell, with PetroChina, Korea Gas Corporation and Japan’s Mitsubishi as partners. The proposed liquefaction plant and marine terminal are planned for Kitimat, B.C. (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Aug 29, 2018 | Bruce Striegler, Business and Economy, Government and Regulation, Other, Supply Chain and Logistics
By R. Bruce Striegler
“The Trump Administration is proceeding with unilateral measures to address what it has characterized as “unfair” trade, risking retaliation, but banking on a threat of massive escalation to extract a favourable outcome for itself,” says the C.D. Howe Institute. Released in June, a new report titled “Quantifying the Impacts of the U.S. Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Tariffs”, its authors find that protective trade measures imposed by the United States will reduce U.S. and Canadian GDP, while paradoxically strengthening trade partners outside the North American region through competitive gains. (more…)
