Railways have long been essential to moving Canadian grain to port and on to global markets, but they also have limitations. With constrained capacity and frequent disruptions in recent years, Canadian grain handlers have been seeking alternatives.
Last week, Westlock Terminals held the grand opening of its new dry port terminal. CEO Clifford Bell was on hand and joined RealAgriculture’s Amber Bell (no relation) to discuss the progression of the terminal’s development and the role it plays in moving grain to market.
When it comes to the impact that the Dry Port of Westlock will have on the region, Bell says that in the 40 years that he has been in the grain business, the majority of those years have seen some sort of transportation hindrance. Strikes, snow slides, and work stoppages have all been causes of bottlenecking in the grain transport system. He says that the dry port will “absolutely” insulate the terminal from some of the repercussions of future railway disruptions.
“We’ve had to build our facilities and pivot a little bit and work out the logistics and the supply chain… opening up this dry port is just an extension of that,” says Bell.
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