Small Ports of Entry: Challenges and Opportunities

Canada-US Transportation Border

Working Group

October 28th, 2009

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Content

• Purpose

• What is a small port of entry

• Some characteristics

• Challenges and opportunities

• What the future may hold

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Purpose

• Stimulate a discussion on issues related to small Ports of Entry at the land border

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What is a small port of entry

• CBSA does not have a rigorous definition• We think of small ports of entry as those that

have:– “Low” traffic, low processing capacity, and minimal

resources deployed– “Lower” level of service: typically 16/7 or 9/7

operation for travellers only

• There are small ports of entry in all modes of transportation with similar challenges

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Some Statistics:

• 119 POEs at the CAN-US land border• 25 Designated Commercial Operations• 33 Travellers 24/7 ports of entry• 61 Small ports of entry • Processed 6.2M trucks in the highway mode• Processed 70.0M travellers in the highway

mode

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Some Statistics:

Travellers Trucks

DCOs: 25 44.3M

63.3%

5.60M

90.1%

Travellers (24/7): 33 20.5M

29.3%

0.34M

5.5%

Small Ports: 61 5.2M

7.4%

0.28M

4.4%

Total: 119 70.0M 6.22M

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Some Statistics by Regions:

RegionsNumber of PoEs

Small PoEs

Travellers (M)

Travellers (%)

WSC 3 0 16.3 23.3%

NFE 4 1 15.7 22.4%

Pacific 21 12 13.7 19.6%

NOR 7 0 8.4 12.0%

Québec 32 13 6.8 9.7%

Atlantic 17 6 5.6 8.0%

Prairies 35 29 3.5 5.0%

Total 119 61 70 100.0%

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Some characteristics of small POEs

• Minimum resources and level of service• Often, but not always, isolated• Configured to serve travellers on secondary or tertiary

highways• Low efficiency (unit cost of service is high)• Security risk varies: small ≠ low risk• The oldest infrastructure at the CAN-US border (Forest

City – 78 years old)• Significant local importance and expectations• Consequences of failures to trade is minimal• Historical and geographical peculiarities (St Stephen,

NB)

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Forrest City, NB (1931)

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Wild Horse, AB (1958)

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Snowflake, MB (1952)

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St. Stephen, NB

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Issues and Opportunities

• Government of Canada:– What level of service should be provided to

Canadians in general?• Costs - benefit

– Balancing national and local objectives– Satisfying stakeholder expectations– Federal presence in isolated and rural

communities

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Issues and Opportunities

• CBSA:– Allocating resources across, and within all

modes• Security versus facilitation• Costs versus benefits• Risks

– Sustaining the infrastructure– Staffing isolated ports of entry– Joint/shared installations

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Issues and Opportunities

• Stakeholders:– Sustaining small and rural communities– Socio-economic development expectations – Access to services– Access to employment

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What the future may hold

• Technology improvements

• Resource pressures will prevail

• Improved coordination and focus with Provinces and State DOTs on future development priorities

• Small port template design

• Joint CAN-US installations