Editor:
Re: Inland terminal given a boost, Feb. 27
As a logistics professional who runs a warehouse described in the article, I can tell you that in my community there is absolutely zero interest in doing business in Ashcroft.
The logistics industry in the Lower Mainland faces some of the most challenging costs already, so who (the consumer?) is going to pay for the added trucking cost to bring goods back and forth from Ashcroft?
How will we convince our customers that it makes sense to have their goods unavailable for the extra week it will take to get railed, unloaded and trucked back to the Lower Mainland?
And it won't help exporters at all... right now for every 10 containers we see drive past us, six to eight either return empty or are piled up in growing towers of containers in Tilbury and other places.
To get your goods to a terminal in Ashcroft would conservatively double your costs, assuming you can even find a trucking company that wants to go there.
Finally, you are assuming all the management professionals required will want to go live there, when there are plenty of jobs in our field locally.
Our industry is one of the few that is experiencing significant growth in the Lower Mainland, every year employing more people. Why do we want to ship that out of here?
I just wish the article did a better job a showing both sides, because Ashcroft is not a realistic option.
Nick Kusel
Airgroup/Radiant Global Logistics
