Designation Detr@it Guest column The Birth Of America's Newest Inland Port ver the last few years a plan to transform the economy of Southeast Michigan into a global trade center has been brewing, and that plan is now almost ready to launch. The plan began independently from ideas generated by the Detroit Regional Chamber's now-retired President, Dick Blouse, who created "TranslinkeD"; ideas championed by Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and Doug Rothwell of Busi- ness Leaders for Michigan, which led to the creation of the "Aerotropolis"; and an idea I generated to transform Michigan into an inland port for the seaport of Halifax, Nova Scotia. This overall initiative, launched by the Great Lakes Gateway (GLG), a Michigan not-for-profit corporation, is known as the Great Lakes Global Freight Gateway. The concept builds on Michigan's strength as a manufacturing power- house as well as its strengths in agri- cultural commodities that are in high demand globally, especially in Asian markets. It also builds on efforts of President Barack Obama and Gov. Rick Snyder to emphasize America's capacity for export development in a global economy. The Great Lakes Global Freight Gateway partners with east- and west- coast Canadian ports and transconti- nental railroads that have a key presence in the Detroit area to make Michigan the fastest, most reliable and lowest cost access point to and from Midwest markets. Finally, by collaborating with Canadian public and private interests in southwest Ontario as well as in Halifax, this new freight corridor has become an international ef- fort. 0 Growing Jobs The Great Lakes Gateway unveiled this initiative in a series of private and public meetings on Oct. 11. The business meetings included a vice president of the Canadian National (CN) Railway as well as the entire executive team of the Halifax Port Au- thority. An afternoon meeting includ- ed approximately 30 cargo owners - companies with freight to export and import - as well as representatives of some freight carriers and logistics providers. Our initial estimates project that by transforming our region into an intermodal freight center, concentrat- ing on global trade, we stand to gain approximately 215,000 jobs and at least $10 billion in new annual eco- nomic activity, when the Gateway and the Aerotropolis are combined. We also estimate, based on official Michigan data, that this $10 billion increase in GDP would generate an SPONSORED SECTION BY: Dark blue lines are railroads; white lines are highways, following almost identical routes. Left: Michigan/Ontario Geographic Advantage and Infrastructure Assets. Right: Michigan-Montreal-Halifax Corridor additional $1.37 billion in additional revenue to the state of Michigan and municipal governments through taxes, fees and services. This will help Michigan to grow its way out of the current funding crisis. The GLG projects that the first phase - marketing the value of this inland port to customers - will begin to bear fruit by the end of 2012, by which time container freight volume will begin to increase measurably. We forecast that container traffic on the CN will double by the end of 2013, from the current 45,000 container lifts to 100,000 containers. Once the cargo volume reaches 100,000 containers at CN's Detroit facilities, the railway will be nearing its maximum capacity, creating demand for new and expanded facili- ties. As freight volume increas- es to GLG's target volume of 200,000 containers via CN and an ad- ditional 200,000 containers via other railroads, extensive capacity invest- ments will become necessary. New intermodal distribution centers and logistics parks may require as much as $2 billion in investment, depend- ing on size and functionality. The GLG can launch operations to- day using existing facilities to handle intermodal cargo between Halifax and Southeast Michigan. We hope to double international container handling in this region by the end of 2013. This Michigan-Halifax freight cor- ridor would reach markets in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Working with the CN, it also envisions creating an additional Midwest inland distribu- tion point for freight transported via CN's Midwest Express, running from the Canadian Pacific Northwest to the U.S. Midwest. The GLG anticipates beginning further conversations with other railroads to provide comparable service. Specifically, the Canadian QuickenLoans Engineered to Amaze Pacific Railway also provides trans- continental service into Detroit from seaports in Montreal and Vancouver. Value for Cargo Owners What is the value proposition for car- go owners? GLG has benefited from an analysis provided by Menlo Logis- b led Gourmet Popcorn tics that suggests that cargo owners can save between two and 11 days of transit time by using the Michigan- Halifax corridor for freight transiting between northern Europe and the Midwest. This time savings, along with additional cost savings currently available, would save between $250 Continued on page 8 Fresh Popped. Double Drizzled. Dressed for Every Occasion! b'drizzled is rich, gourmet chocolate drizzled popcorn offering delectable flavor choices such as Double Chocolate Supreme, Chocolate Cherry Cordial, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup. 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