2025 was a record setting year for Port Saint John." From a revenue standpoint, we’re about to wrap up what will be out strongest year,” says Port Saint John President and CEO Craig Bell Estabrooks. “We’re proud that we’re going to be well over 200,000 TEU’s – 20-foot equivalent containers – probably trending closer to 240 by the end of this year. That’s a dramatic increase considering we were about 86,00 four years ago.” The southern New Brunswick port saw record numbers of cargo and cruise ship passengers. A total of 83 vessels brought 196,626 visitors into the city. The Saint John port provides upwards of 3,000 jobs around the harbour, including people not directly employed by the port. Bell Estabrooks says there are many highlights to point out in 2025, including the addition of two new container cranes and the completion of a $247 million modernization that will be celebrated in January. Growing partnerships with world-class operators should have people excited about the port’s future, Bell Estabrooks says. The port lost the “Caribbean Express” service with container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd but added others with the company and with Maersk that Bell Estabrooks says will more than cover the cargo being lost. “That doesn’t sound like a big win the way I’m framing it, but it’s massive,” Bell Estabrooks says, “It’s the partners united, CPKC rail, DP world, ourselves, Hapag-Lloyd, JD Irving. We all come together when there’s opportunity.” Bell Estabrooks says there are always going to be supply chain challenges but he predicts continued growth that will see the port moving upwards of 300,000 TEU’s within the next two years. Americold also broke ground on its first Canadian import-export hub in Saint John in May. According to the company, they selected the city for their $100 million cold storage facility because of its growing list of world-class partners. “The opportunity to bring everybody together in one location is pretty unique across the world,” Americold Americas President Rob Chambers told CTV on May 29. “The fact that we had that opportunity here made it a no brainer.” CPKC sales and marketing senior vice-president Jonathan Wahba commented on the quickly growing port during the ground-breaking ceremony. “Supply chains can be built around a port that wants to see business development growth and that wants to create jobs for Canadians,” said Wahba. Bell Estabrooks says the port has no intention of slowing down now that the modernization project is complete. He says there are big plans in the annual capital budget have already passed through the board and plans with the National Trade Diversification Fund that are slated for release next month. He said there are plans to improve rail operations and make other infrastructure improvements including generational plans for the well known Saint John intersection, Simms Corner. “That is an inland bottleneck that needs to be addressed, and it needs to be a win for everyone,” Bell Estabrooks says. “It needs to work for commuters, for pedestrians, for cyclists, for the rail line.” One area showing no sign of change is the American Iron and Metals property along the harbour that has been silent since a toxic fire in September 2023. Bell Estabrooks says there is no update on the matter and to his knowledge remediation work still needs to take place. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
