Canadian Shipper March 2019

MARCH 2019

PUBLISHED SINCE 1898 | WRITTEN FOR BUYERS OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN RESEARCH 2019 Outsourcing Survey

RETAIL LOGISTICS High flying fashions

GETTING ON TRACK CTA INVESTIGATES DELAYS IN VANCOUVER

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CONTENTS

MARCH 2019

DEPARTMENTS

6

5 | Editor’s Foreword Port authority

COVER STORY

6 | In the news CTA investigates freight rail delays in Vancouver; SUPPLY STATS; Author discusses Hunter Harrison biography

GETTING ON TRACK

33 | Inside the Numbers

CTA investigates freight rail delays in Vancouver

Transportation terrific

35 | Coaching Corner Home sweet home?

38 | The Bigger Picture CEO checklist for 2019

@istock

14 The Canadian Transportation Agency has launched an investigation into freight rail service issues in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, specifically with traffic destined for the Port of Vancouver.

FEATURES

26

MODAL FOCUS: COURIER | 10 Integrator looks to shorten the last mile

EAST COAST GATEWAYS | 18 Halifax airport expands cargo capacity

LOGISTICS LEADERSHIP ROUNDTABLE | 22 Our expert panel discusses human resources trends in the supply chain

OUTSOURCING SURVEY Results from our 2019 Outsourcing Survey

RETAIL LOGISTICS | 26 The use of airfreight in the fashion industry has gained momentum

TRANSPORTATION BUYING TRENDS | 28 Find out what transportation will cost you in 2019

© iStock

www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 3

EDITOR'S FOREWORD John Tenpenny March 2019 Volume 122 Issue No. 2

EDITOR John Tenpenny (416) 510-6880 john@newcom.ca EDITORIAL DIRECTOR John G. Smith (416) 614-5812 johng@newcom.ca MANAGING DIRECTOR, TRUCKING AND SUPPLY CHAIN GROUP Lou Smyrlis lou@newcom.ca ART DIRECTOR Ellie Robinson CONTRIBUTORS Carolina M. Billings, Dan Goodwill, Tom Peters, Ian Putzger PRODUCTION MANAGER Kimberly Collins (416) 510-6779 kim@newcom.ca DIRECTOR, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Delon Rashid (416) 459-0063 delon@newcom.ca REGIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER Anthony Buttino (514) 292-2297 anthonyb@newcom.ca CIRCULATION MANAGER Mary Garufi (416) 614-5831 mary@newcom.ca PRESIDENT Joe Glionna CHAIRMAN & FOUNDER Jim Glionna

5353 Dundas Street West, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M9B 6H9 Canadian Shipper is written for Canadian transportation and logistics professionals who manage product flow from manufacturer to point-of-sale. Editorial is focused on reporting, analysis and interpretation of Canadian logistics trends and issues. It is published by NEWCOM MEDIA INC.

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Printed in Canada. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in part or in full without the consent of the copyright owner.

A no brainer

T

he shipping industry should welcome and encourage the federal government to act on its proposed plans to amalgamate the port authorities of Hamilton and Oshawa.

In making the announcement, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the amalgamation, which would see one new entity formed, would allow for synergy between the two ports — both of which are primarily focused on cargo.

“We believe that by amalgamating both we will actually have an even more efficient port authority that will get even more business, will be able to optimize its supply chain and will attract more investment.”

The Hamilton and Oshawa port authorities carry similar commodities, including steel, project cargo and bulk cargo like fertilizers, asphalt and grain.

If the amalgamation happens, the newly-formed port authority would have a single board of directors and be responsible for all assets and liabilities, despite the lands being physically separate.

One commentator noted the merger was like a whale swallowing a minnow, and they’re quite right.

Hamilton’s port had a banner year in 2018, handling more than 11 million metric tonnes of cargo in 2018, an 19 per cent increase over 2017’s total. Oshawa handled a more meagre 400,000 metric tonnes in 2017, though it was nine per cent more than the year before.

While Hamilton physical dimensions have little room to grow, Oshawa has space to offer potential businesses, which would not only create jobs, but expand services for shippers looking to move cargo through the Great Lakes system.

While some are fearful that Hamilton, which is cash-rich, will be subsidizing its smaller easterly neighbour, overhead costs could be reduced along with creating efficiencies through the merger, savings that could be passed along to shippers.

Now that the government has announced its intention to amalgamate the ports, interested parties (this means shippers) will have until March 11 to submit comments, after which the amalgamation is likely to be confirmed, although the exact timeline is uncertain.

Keep an eye on your inbox What is certain is that any as our annual Shipper’s Choice step—even one taken by governAwards will be soon be ment—towards improving access and reducing costs for shipopen for you to rate pers, whether it’s on rails, roads your carrier’s performance. or water, is a step in the right diYour feedback will not only rection. CS help us set benchmarks for

carrier service in each mode,

POSTMASTER: Please forward forms 29B and 67B to:

it will also identify the nation’s

5353 Dundas Street West, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M9B 6H9 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0721.

best carriers. The results will

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be published in the July issue of Canadian Shipper.

John Tenpenny, Editor john@newcom.ca © iStock

www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 5

IN THE NEWS

Transportation agency flexes its muscles CTA launches investigation into complaints about rail service issues in Vancouver The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) didn’t waste any time using new powers granted to it last year by the Ministry of Transportation to call the railways on the carpet for freight rail service issues and perceived discriminatory treatment of certain commodities in B.C.’s Lower Mainland.

On January 14, the CTA announced that it had initiated an investigation into possible freight rail service issues with Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway and BNSF in the Vancouver area. The CTA used its new Own Motion Authority to launch the investigation, which required and received the authorization of the Minister of Transport, Marc Garneau.

Last fall, bottlenecks on rail lines near the Port of Vancouver slowed shipping considerably after a total of 15 freight embargoes were imposed in late 2018, including 12 by CN and three by CP, according to a preliminary report prepared by the CTA. Several shipping associations complained to the CTA that these rail backlogs threatened to undermine Canada’s reputation as a reliable shipper.

Among other things, the CTA investigation hopes to determine if rail freight embargoes put in place by Canada’s two largest railway companies— Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway—constituted discriminatory action against certain shippers or commodities, a scenario that could imply a breach of railways’ common carrier obligations under the Canada Transportation Act. Public hearings, allowing parties to submit evidence and offer suggestions on how things could be improved, were held over two days in Vancouver at the end of January, which gave the railways and shipper groups an opportunity to provide evidence.

Scott Streiner, chair and CEO of the CTA, said in a statement the hearing would allow parties to submit evidence to 6 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

By John Tenpenny

The Canadian Transportation Agency has launched an investigation into freight rail service issues in the Greater Vancouver Area, specifically with traffic destined for the Port of Vancouver.

help the agency rule on whether the service obligations are being met, and if they are not, what remedies should be ordered.

“We’ll get the investigation done as quickly as possible, but we’ll take the time required to gather all the relevant facts,” he said.

Stakeholder complaints

Freight Management Association (FMA) president Bob Ballantyne said his group was one of several that requested a CTA investigation, adding that it is his hope the investigation will identify the short- and long-term causes of “service problems” and recommend to Ottawa and the rail industry what remedies and investments are needed to hasten the flow of shipments.

The Forests Products Association of Canada (FPAC) welcomed the investigation, said president and CEO Derek Nighbor, adding that rail delays last year cost the forest sector over $500 million.

“We need to get to the bottom of why these transportation blockages are happening,” he said. “We are seeing an unprecedented number of trade deals being signed and significant federal investment in infrastructure. Now is the time to do the due diligence to ensure the system in the Lower Mainland is responding to the current and future needs of Canadian exporters.”

He told Canadian Shipper that most (nearly 80 per cent) of the association’s member mills are served by only one railway, making them “captive” shippers.

“A reliable and smooth-running system is important to us because if there are any hiccups that has serious repercussions for our business.”

The frustration, said Nighbor, has been that FPAC can’t seem to get a clear answer on exactly what’s going on.

“For us it’s a bit like Groundhog Day. We’ve had two consecutive years of unreliable service. And I’m not blaming anyone for that, I just want to find out what’s going on, because at the end of the day, if we can work with our supply chain partners to get some Federal dollars to improve infrastructure to relieve congestion, we’re on board.”

Chris Vervaet, executive director of the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association, told the Agency at the hearings that his members were seeing delays at the interchange points where the railways swap cars. One trainload of canola meal recently took 16 days, instead of the usual eight, to reach California because it was delayed in a Vancouver rail yard.

“The most significant long-term cost … when there is inconsistent rail service is the risk of losing customers due to an inability to supply products in a timely manner,” he said.

Photo: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority

IN THE NEWS

Drawing the fault line

Fiona Murray, vice-president of public and government affairs for CN, told the CTA panel that November and December’s 10-per-cent rise in rail traffic in the Vancouver area created congestion that, if not controlled through restrictions on train movement, could have rippled across the wider supply chain.

Generally, CN operates trains to the port’s north shore, while CP serves the south; the carriers interchange or swap trains, locomotives and crews to keep rail traffic moving smoothly. For this reason, congestion at CN’s yard cascaded through the region and caused CP traffic to slow.

Greg Squires, a CP manager, said CP restricted or halted some freight operations near the port three times in December due to congestion on CN lines, to avoid seeing customers’ freight “trapped” in clogged rail yards.

Forrest Hume, a transportation law-

yer representing the FMA at the hearings, urged the Agency to scrutinize the use of embargoes and determine whether they comply with the Canadian Transportation Act. Under the act, railways cannot use “capacity issues” as justification for failing to provide adequate rail service, he added.

“The blunt instrument of an embargo … puts the railways in the position of being a regulator of national transportation policy,” Hume said. The railway industry “is not the judge of whether an embargo complies with the law ….”

Prior to the hearings, CP made it clear that the railway was none too happy to be included in the investigation.

“Are we perfect 100 per cent of the time? No,” said Keith Creel, CP’s president and CEO. “When we are not performing to the requisite level of service, I will be the first to step up and acknowledge it. The flip side of that coin

is: when we are subject to unsubstantiated action, I will be the first to step up and defend the men and women who make this operation run.”

Whether the CTA will be able to determine the reason for and the validity of the “unprecedented” demand the railways say are the cause of delays will depend on factors both within and outside of their control, says Dr. Alex Phillips, president and CEO of the Calgary-based Van Horne Institute and a transportation lawyer with 35 years of experience.

“All the economic considerations of demand, supply, capacity, frequency, force majeure, etc. will have to considered to answer this question.”

A decision is expected in April and the potential remedies that the CTA may require are wide-ranging, from mandating the purchase of land and/or equipment all the way to issuing compensation to affected parties. CS

www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 7

IN THE NEWS

SUPPLY STATS

18,000 TEU According to shipping consultant Drewry, last year, a total of 26 containerships of at least 18,000 TEU were delivered to carriers, the most since ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) arrived in 2013 All of the aggregated capacity of 525,500 TEU that arrived in 2018 was deployed in the Asia-North Europe trade.

60 hours 50,000 square feet Air Canada broke ground for a new facility that will house its ground support equipment service and cargo teams at Edmonton International Airport (YEG).

The 50,000 square foot (4,645 square metres) building will be constructed by Terracap Group. Air Canada has signed a 15-year lease for the multi-tenant facility, representing an investment of $19 million by the airline over the term of the lease.

122 metres Transport Canada announced strict new regulations that will require anyone flying a drone in Canada to pass an online exam and get a pilot’s certificate. The new rules, which come into effect June 1, apply to all drone operators, whether they fly for fun, work or research. Pilots will have to keep their aircraft below 122 metres — 400 feet — above ground level and stay away from air traffic.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has selected Schneider Electric Canada Inc. to develop a solution to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG), air emissions and noise from ships while docked at Centerm Container Terminal.

“Over 60 hours of shore power use, one large container ship will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by an anticipated 95 tonnes and save about 31 tonnes of fuel,” said Tom Corsie, the port’s vice president real estate.

40.9 million tonnes The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) announced that tonnage on the waterway during the 2018 navigation season totaled 40.9 million tonnes. The highest result since 2007, much of the credit for the increase in tonnage can be given to healthy movements of grain, the best on record since the turn of the century.

$7.32 billion Grain could continue to anchor Canadian Pacific Railway in 2019 following a record-setting year, with recent federal legislation and higher efficiency likely to bolster revenues amidst a China-U.S. trade battle that could benefit Canadian commodities, railway executives and analysts say. The golden crop accounted for close to one-quarter of the Calgary-based company’s record revenues of $7.32 billion in 2018.

8 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

IN THE NEWS

The ‘train whisperer’ New book reveals a different Hunter Harrison Hunter Harrison, will long be remembered as the gruff, straight shooting American whose innovative ideas and controversial approach reshaped Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways over the past two decades. But what was the industry icon really about?

Recently, Canadian author Howard Green treated a group of transportation professionals to an evening of nsights gleaned from his years of behind the scenes access to the executive known as the “train whisperer”. Many of those insights are included in his new book: Railroader: The Unfiltered Genius and Controversy of Four-Time CEO Hunter Harrison.

“It was a difficult book to write.

Hunter was an intense guy. He would get in your face. But he had the knowledge and a relentless passion and he knew

By Lou Smyrlis

how to make the railroad assets sweat. He was a ‘train whisperer’ although with his booming voice I don’t think he ever whispered,” Green told the crowd.

The “Railroader Harrison began his Book Event” featuring author railroad career in 1964 Howard Green, as a 19-year old rail car was put on by oiler in Memphis. From TSI Group. that very modest beginning he strung together a career that at the time of his death in December 2017 at age 73 included serving as the chief executive of four major railroads: Illinois Central, CNR, CPR and CSX Corp.

“There was thunder and lightning everywhere he went. He was a hard man to work for but he wanted the

best,” Green said. “…He had a very deep need to prove himself. He was never satisfied and that was manifested in the way he ran the railroad.”

Harrison’s “Hunter Camps”, where he would speak for five to six hours straight with no notes in an attempt to change the culture of organizations, became industry legend and part and parcel of his intense focus on efficiency in every part of the business. That could involve a decision as large as moving CP’s head office to visiting the mailroom because he believed it was a place that sent profound signals about whether a company was run efficiently.

But Green said that despite his demanding management style, the Hunter Harrison he came to know over the years had another side, not often seen.

“For a guy who was very tough, nobody bruised like Hunter Harrison…It’s very hard to go in day after day and do the unpopular thing. I do think it took a piece out of him emotionally.” CS

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www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 9

COURIER

E-COMM BOOM DHL looks to shorten the last mile in North America

BY JOHN TENPENNY

A

s the tide known as e-commerce continues to rise, the waves that have been lapping at Canadian shores have made their way inland. As consumers grow their online purchasing habits, courier and logistics companies looking to compete are challenging their retailer and logistics partners to deliver even more speed and convenience.

For one member of the Big Three integrators—DHL—the e-commerce factor has led to the company making investments in North America in an attempt to win the final mile.

One recent move was the launch of a direct DHL Express flight into Vancouver from the integrator’s Americas Hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG).

The new direct Boeing 757 freighter flight, which replaced a Boeing 767F flight from CVG, comes as a result of double-digit shipment growth into Vancouver generated from the growing international trade—specifically between the U.S. and Canada. In the last year, inbound shipments increased by 38 per cent to Vancouver, while outbound volumes increased by 10 per cent, all of which are a result of the accelerating e-commerce business paired with an already-strong customer base .

“The new flight will help to meet the rising demand of U.S. 10 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

exporters and also create more opportunity for Vancouver’s small and medium-sized businesses to trade internationally, by improving reliability, connectivity and capacity between the two markets,” said Andrew Williams, DHL Express Canada’s CEO. The flight operates daily, arriving at 8 a.m. to Vancouver and departing at 7 p.m., improving the transit time by an additional hour for both inbound and outbound shipments and offering customers better pick-up and delivery windows, while also improving service delivery times and reliability.

The new flight also increases shipment capacity on the route by up to 40 per cent.

With the rising number of small and medium-sized enterprises venturing into e-commerce, DHL is seeing higher demand for dedicated solutions in several industry sectors including fashion, consumer electronics, media products and consumer pharmaceutical products. To meet these demands, DHL Express has also invested more than CDN$4 million in four new service points in Ontario, Ottawa, Calgary and Surrey in 2018.

Each B757F flight has capacity for 25 tonnes, serving 18 stations and service centres in Canada which can handle anything between 30,000 to 40,000 packages in and out per night.

According to Williams, e-commerce volumes alone have increased close to 20 per cent, which has been introduced “relPhoto: DHL

COURIER

CVG, DHL Express has invested a total of $339 million to expand its operations, including building its north ramp to provide additional warehouse space, 16 more aircraft gates to accommodate route expansions, new equipment to increase sorting capacity as well as the faster unloading and reloading of planes.

During a recent visit to the CVG Hub, Canadian Shipper viewed the fruits of the aforementioned $58 million investments, which have allowed for a new reload sorter, new slides, outbound loose-load truck doors, material handling equipment, new technology with GPS systems to track aircraft containers, new weatherize ground support equipment and other improvements in efficiencies and quality to ensure DHL Express has the capacity needed to meet the demands of the growth generated by international shipping and global trade.

“Our commitment to the Americas is clearly represented by the $339 million investment that we’ve allocated to guarantee that we meet the demands of our customers,” said Mike Parra, CEO for DHL Express Americas. “We continue our dedication to the regional Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati economy, and we are proud to have steadily added new jobs at our CVG Hub, the backbone of our Americas network.”

Logistics urban-style

Increasing urbanization is making the last mile of delivery more complex and critical for the success of e-commerce companies, according to new research by DHL.

atively easily” into a Canadian delivery network he described as “large and robust.”

“The properties of a typical e-commerce shipment sit very well into the network of a global integrator because they tend to be well-packaged and we have all the data required for the receiver, which enables us to make contact when the shipment arrives.

“The shipments also tend to be of a lighter weight and conveyable, and when we are dealing with the bigger players they can be picked up in bulk at the point of origin.”

The Hub

While the Canadian market continues to grow, DHL Express has invested US$58 million over the past two years in its Americas Hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to meet strong growth in international shipments.

Since 2016, international trade has generated a 24 per cent growth in shipments per day. With 2.8 million shipments cleared every month at the CVG Hub, DHL continues to see rising demand for automated solutions to move shipments in several industry sectors, with the top five commodities being electrical goods, machinery, consumer electronics, medical and photographic goods, and clothing.

When it comes to e-commerce logistics DHL sees urbanization making the last mile of delivery more complex and critical for success.

According to new research by DHL and Euromonitor, with over 600 million more people forecast to live in urban environments by 2030 and new technologies creating opportunities for both service enhancement and disruption, online retailers and their logistics partners are being challenged to embrace bold new approaches in order to survive and compete. In a white paper entitled, Shortening the Last Mile: Winning Logistics Strategies in the Race to the Urban Consumer, DHL and Euromonitor have identified the four main trends that are shaping urban last mile transportation—localized delivery, flexi-delivery networks, seasonal logistics and evolving technologies—and ways in which companies can adapt their supply chains to the changing market environment and achieve competitive advantage.

“The last mile is increasingly becoming the key battleground in the e-commerce supply chain, and companies will have to develop targeted strategies in this area to compete effectively,” DHL’s chief commercial officer, Katja Busch told a group of international media, including Canadian Shipper, gathered in New York in late 2018. “It’s not just about transportation, but about companies’ overall approach to managing inventory— getting the right items to the right place at the right time. DHL is developing focused solutions to help e-commerce companies reach their end customers quickly and efficiently, from using machine learning to better route shipments within cities to adding more automation to our delivery networks.”

The white paper found that the major urban trends all create various challenges in terms of cost, service impact and organizational strain. For example, the growth of seasonal logistics as continued www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 11

COURIER

continued from p. 11

a result of increasingly popular holidays and promotional days such as Asia’s Singles’ Day or national Cyber Days, places significant pressure on logistics companies to build up additional capacity and hire resources to cope with short-term volume surges, which can in turn be difficult to predict. Urban customers’ demands for speed and convenience are forcing retailers to overhaul their warehousing networks, replacing centralized networks with local fulfilment and distribution infrastructure, which can require more accurate balancing of inventory. Evolving technologies are creating opportunities for new disruptive challengers to enter the market, while also requiring incumbents to invest prudently and incorporate new skills into their workforce. To overcome these challenges, DHL and Euromonitor have jointly identified the F.A.D. (Flexible transport networks, Automation and Data) model as a framework that will help retailers and logistics operators to ensure their competitiveness over the last mile. By improving their performance in increasing automation, managing data and building flexibility into their networks, e-commerce companies in all markets will be able to better manage inventory and increase the efficiency of their last-mile delivery networks.

“The future evolution of this fast-moving, highly competitive e-commerce market is still incredibly difficult to predict,

DHL Express recently launched a direct Boeing 757 freighter flight into Vancouver from the integrator’s U.S. hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG).

so companies need to remain nimble and efficient while ensuring they are meeting customer demands,” said Lee Spratt, CEO, DHL eCommerce Americas. “The last mile requires considerable attention because, however the market evolves, it will continue to be one of the main touchpoints in the customer experience. Those companies that can build effective part-

Follow us on 12 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

Photo: DHL

COURIER

nerships to make their urban delivery networks more elastic, invest in the most effective technologies to boost productivity, take advantage of data to build better customer experiences and, most importantly, manage their inventory as efficiently as possible will emerge as winners in the dynamic e-commerce marketplace of tomorrow.”

Driving supply chain

Technology is a key component of DHL’s e-commerce strategy and its contract logistics arm, DHL Supply Chain recently announced plans to deploy emerging technologies in 350 of its 430 facilities in North America (56 of which are in Canada) as part of a US$300 million investment.

The availability—and practical utilization—of these technologies is expected to help the diverse customer base including those addressing e-commerce and omnichannel challenges to minimize complexity, remove capacity constraints, and maximize service to their customers. Accelerating the implementation of selected technologies such as robotics, augmented reality, robotics process automation, IoT and DHL’s proprietary end-to-end visibility solution—MySupplyChain—is the objective of DHL Supply Chain’s global digitalization strategy.

“This investment is about a holistic view of emerging tech-

nologies that enables our customers to achieve their growth and profitability goals,” said DHL Supply Chain North America CEO Scott Sureddin. “Our customers’ needs are not homogenous as each business and segment has unique challenges and levels of maturity. Therefore, it is important that our customers can benefit from our experiences and expertise with a variety of emerging technologies.”

According to a recent DHL report, the exponential growth of e-commerce and its implications on service was identified by 65 per cent of responding companies as having a significant impact on their supply chain. Executives are turning to technology in support of faster delivery times to efficiently manage fluctuating demand.

“While many technologies are already in active deployment, collaborative piece-picking robots, artificial intelligence applications and self-driving vehicles stand to have the most promise today,” added Sureddin. The potential impact on customers’ businesses, which in some deployments have produced productivity gains upwards of 25 per cent and throughput capacity gains of 30 per cent, are two of the main drivers for accelerated investment in the coming years. DHL’s experience with these technologies stands to minimize infrastructure costs and maximize service levels. CS

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2019 OUTSOURCING SURVEY

THE NEW NORMAL

With outsourcing now an accepted strategy, shippers look to hold their partners to account

BY JOHN TENPENNY

W

ith only five per cent of respondents to our annual Outsourcing Survey indicating they had no plans to outsource in the future, it seems clear that for Canadian Shipper readers at least, when it comes to transportation services the use of third party logistics providers (3PLs) is here to stay.

With more than half (57 per cent) of their total logistics expenditures currently directed to outsourcing, and more than three-quarters of respondents (88 per cent) using multiple 3PLs, the pie for providers is growing. But beware, the biggest single challenge facing shippers continues to be reducing costs (45 per cent) and while providers need to be cost competitive, service is also at the top of many shippers’ lists as they battle against price increases

from 3PLs and demand continuous improvement in customer service at the same time.

When it comes to taking action to address concerns with 3PLs, shippers seem to follow the old adage, that “Doing something is better than doing nothing.” While the first choice continues to be meeting with suppliers to discuss performance improvement (57 per cent), there was a noticeable decline from last year in the number of respondents choosing to do nothing (12 per cent). An almost equal number would choose to either renegotiate (16 per cent) or cancel (14.5 per cent) the contract.

Read on to see more the results of our annual Canadian Shipper/Inside Logistics Outsourcing Survey and learn why and how shippers are outsourcing their logistics services as well as how they feel about the results.

MAJOR SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES

45%

12%

9%

7%

4%

4%

Reduce costs

Enhance customer service

Improve supply chain execution

Need to keep up with logistics software technology

Need to improve supply chain management information

Need to improve supply chain management scope

of respondents

14 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

2019 OUTSOURCING SURVEY

OUTSOURCING PHILOSOPHY

Review costs between ownership and outsourcing before decision

20% 43%

of respondents

Prefer to outsource non-core business activities where possible

Prefer to own/control functions in house, sometimes outsource

37%

WHO FILLED OUT OUR SURVEY A closer look at our Outsourcing Survey respondents GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE OF LOGISTICS RESPONSIBILITY Canada/U.S Global Canada Domestic

45% 23% 14%

COMPANY SECTOR Manufacturing Service provider Distributor Retail Wholesale

34% 35% 15% 4% 8%

OUTSOURCING STRATEGIES TYPE OF INDUSTRY Transportation

61%

of respondents

Outsource some or all logistics functions and will continue to do so

Consumer products Services Food and kindred products Industrial Products Automotive

8% Not currently outsourcing but considering doing so

APPROXIMATE ANNUAL LOGISTICS BUDGET Less than $500,000 $500,000 to $5 million $5 million to $20 million

5%

Over $20 million

Have outsourced in past but no plans to outsource in future

ANNUAL SPENDING ON TRANSPORTATION Less than $500,000 $500,000 to $5 million

15% Have outsourced in past and considering do so again

12% Have never outsourced and no immediate plans to do so

36% 16% 13% 12% 8% 8%

$5 million to $20 million Over $20 million

42% 36% 11% 10%

40% 33% 8% 9%

METHODOLOGY The 2019 survey was fielded to Canadian Shipper and Inside Logistics readers online between January 7 and February 8, 2019. The results are based on 239 responses to 23 questions.

www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 15

2019 OUTSOURCING SURVEY

continued from p. 15

RATING OF TOP PROVIDERS (SCALE OF 1 TO 5)

ACTION TAKEN TO ADDRESS CONCERN WITH OUTSOURCING RELATIONSHIPS

3.87

For the second year, we asked respondents about how they would deal with a variety (15) of failures that could occur within their outsourcing relationships. Some of the top concerns included cost ‘creep’ and price increases once the relationship had commenced; a lack of continuous ongoing improvements in service offerings; service level commitments not being realized; time and effort spent on logistics not being reduced; cost reductions not being realized; a lack of strategic management skills; and over-promising on service due to competitive pressures.

Managing and servicing account

3.79

AVERAGE RANK

AVERAGE %

Meet with supplier to discuss

1.00

57%

Renegotiate contract

2.93

16%

Cancel contract

2.73

14.5%

Nothing

3.27

12%

Impose penalties

4.87

5%

MAIN SERVICES CURRENTLY OUTSOURCED Understanding intricacies of client business

68%

Outbound transportation

61%

Inbound transportation

59%

Customs brokerage

51%

Customs clearance

33%

Freight Forwarding

3.77

Meeting promises on execution

3.74

Reacting quickly to changes or problems

3.72

HOW OUTSOURCING HAS IMPROVED LOGISTICS OPERATIONS

38% 24% 7%

4%

3%

Being price competitive Service has improved

16 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

Logistics costs declined

Logistics assets have declined

Average order cycle length shortened

Overall inventories declined

2019 OUTSOURCING SURVEY

PERCENTAGE OF LOGISTICS EXPENDITURES DIRECTED TO OUTSOURCING

35%

SINGLE VS. MULTIPLE 3PL PROVIDERS

21%

Less than 20%

88%

12%

Multiple Providers

Single Provider

81-100%

14% 20% 21-40%

61-80%

11% 41-60%

MAIN REASON FOR USING MULTIPLE 3PL PROVIDERS

53% Serve different geographic areas

TOP FIVE SERVICES OUTSOURCED WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

10% Greater range of expertise

13%

Greater leverage on pricing

17% Less reliance on one provider

5%

60% Outbound transportation

Different technology platforms

38% Inbound transportation

HOW MUCH HAVE YOUR LOGISTICS COSTS DECLINED AS A RESULT OF OUTSOURCING?

37% Customs brokerage

33%

34%

Between 10% and 50%

Customs clearance

33% Less than 10%

4% More than 50%

29% Don’t know

26% Warehousing

www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 17

EAST COAST GATEWAYS

SETTING THE TABLE Driven by a demand for seafood exports, Halifax’s airport is expanding its cargo handling capabilities with a new logistics park

BY TOM PETERS

H

alifax Stanfield International Airport is investing millions of dollars into a new air cargo logistics park, expanding its cargo facilities and connecting commercial and logistics businesses in Atlantic Canada to air cargo opportunities around the world.

The airport has a 10-hectare greenfield site located toward the south end of its property, in the general vicinity of present cargo facilities, Paul Brigley, Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA), told Canadian Shipper. Brigley said the HIAA “will be creating a significant new apron space for manoeuvring and parking aircraft as well as creating de-icing capacity at that end of runway.” The plan also includes a 47,000-square-foot warehouse with related ground side and air side requirements with respect to parking and access roadways. There will also be cold storage space in the warehouse.

Once the facilities and support infrastructure are built, HIAA will look for partners to lease and operate the facilities, Brigley said.

Funding for the project includes $18 million from the federal government, $5 million from the Nova Scotia government while the HIAA will invest $13 million with plans to engage tenants and other partners in the cargo logistics chain.

HIAA’s present cargo facilities are often quite strained, especially with an ever-increasing demand, especially in Asia, for Nova Scotia seafood and live lobster.

The idea of expansion has been on the table for a number of years.

“We have been trying to find a way to do a project like this for quite some time,” Brigley said. “We have well recognized our capacity limitations due to the physical facilities we have now and even with the cargo business we have today, it is an issue that comes up. It is just like the (marine) shipping business, it’s a combination of your actual physical capacity and also the timing, in this case of the flights, whereby you frequently have several customers looking for service in a very tight time frame so that always puts a lot of strain on your capacity,” he said.

Brigley said that in the HIAA’s case, where there are not a lot of opportunities to make ancillary revenue off cargo, unlike passenger operations, it wasn’t really “economically feasible for us to make these significant investments beyond what we already had done years ago with the Gateway Facilities (company) that already exists. So with that in mind, when the National Trade Corridors Fund was announced, it was a golden opportunity for us to make a business case for a new cargo facility and as we called an air cargo logistics park.”

Corridor funding

The federal government established the $2 billion National Trade Corridors Fund to provide funding to help infrastructure owners and users invest in strategic projects that support the flow of goods and passengers by reducing bottlenecks and

Halifax Stanfield International Airport will be expanding its cargo facilities with the addition of a $36 million logistics park.

address capacity issues.

According to the latest HIAA statistics, the total cargo processed and shipped through Halifax Stanfield as of the end of November 2018 was 33,090 tonnes, up 11.8 per cent or 3,503 tonnes from the same period in 2017. (Final 2018 figures were not available at the time of this writing.)

Brigley said with additional facilities, which are expected to be ready for use by late 2020 or early 2021, the HIAA can look for additional cargo business.

“Today we have six freighters (wide body) a week flying to Asia and another freighter that is dedicated to Europe every week and that is in addition to your regular Cargo Jet, Fedex flights and all the other courier activity.

“Those flights to Asia are almost solely dedicated to live seafood and probably almost half the freighter service to Europe as well. Even with this significant amount of capacity, those flights are stressing the resources we have today. We see a lot of opportunities for growth but that growth is very much inhibited by those constraints. So we think we can expand the market by increasing our capacity,” Brigley said.

Where does that growth come from?

Brigley believes one potential opportunity is CETA. “Europe is certainly the biggest importer of seafood in the world so I think there is more available in that market than we are accessing today. Also Asia, based on the growth we have seen the last few years, seems to have an insatiable continued

18 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

Photo: HIAA

EAST COAST GATEWAYS

Getting ready for ULCVs Port of Halifax expands South End Terminal

H

alifax Port Authority (HPA) has embarked on a terminal extension project that will allow the port’s South End Terminal, operated by Halterm Ltd., to accommodate two, ultra large container vessels (ULCV) simultaneously.

“There is a need to upgrade our infrastructure to berth two of these vessels simultaneously in order to remain competitive,” said HPA president and CEO Karen Oldfield. “By expanding our infrastructure, we can ensure Halifax continues to be a vital link in the Canadian supply chain, facilitating global economic ties and providing access to international markets for importers and exporters.”

The trend toward ultra large ships calling on Halifax, which now refers to itself as the Ultra Atlantic Gateway, has already started. Vessels with capacities over 10,000 TEUs started arriving at the port in 2018 and in January of this year, CMA CGM’s Libre, 364 metres in length and with a TEU capacity of 11,400, called at the port’s south end terminal. It is anticipated that 14,000 TEU vessels will be calling in the not too distant future.

The extension to the south end terminal, described by Oldfield as a ‘temporary fix’ will be 135 metres in length and 63 metres wide with an estimated cost $35 million.

The extension is expected to be ready in the first quarter of 2020. A more permanent terminal will be constructed when there is a greater demand and financing partners can be found, she said.

Dredging work for the extension is under way and caisson work is expected to start soon. Terminal operator Halterm Ltd. is part of the Halterm Income Fund which is owned by Australia-based Macquarie Infrastructure Partners which purchased the fund in 2006 for $173 million. Halterm is for sale and CN Rail, the only rail serving the Port of Halifax, has made a bid to purchase the container terminal. — Tom Peters

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www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 19

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EAST COAST GATEWAYS

continued from p. 19

appetite for our live seafood,” he added.

Brigley said it might be a bit early to identify cargo opportunities within the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with Pacific rim countries, “but I know players in the supply chain will be looking to take advantage of that. But, I would say market conditions today are very favourable for Nova Scotia seafood.”

for live lobster particularly, the air shipment is critical.”

Stuart Lamont, managing director, Tangier Lobster Company in Nova Scotia, added, “As a shipper of lobster, the world is becoming a very small place and enhanced logistics solutions from Halifax are helping us substantially.” CS

Veteran journalist Tom

Peters has been writing about transportation issues, specifically marine, for the past 25 years. After 41 years with The Halifax Herald, Tom now freelances for several marine industry publications. He lives in Sackville, NS.

Superior seafood

Further to increasing cargo, Brigley added, “one thing we acknowledge is we only handle about 25 to 28 per cent of the lobster being exported out of Nova Scotia.

There is a large amount of existing export that we are not tapping into and, in particular, we are interested in the live lobster that is being trucked to the U.S. to fly out of U.S. airports. We think that is an inefficiency in the market we have been trying to address.”

Again, it has been the airport’s cargo constraints that haven’t helped capture some of that export business.

In the economics of it, one thing that is interesting, said Brigley, is shipping cargo in the belly of a passenger aircraft is cheaper than shipping by dedicated freighter because it is ancillary business for passenger aircraft.

“Halifax has limited wide-bodied passenger aircraft available to do any cargo exports so we are limited to dedicated freighters and that is not the case in a lot of larger Canadian and U.S. centres so that is one of historic reason we have not been able to tap into that market. We think that over time, that the business case Halifax has to offer will result in an increase in a share of that market,” Brigley added.

The plan to build more warehouse and cargo capacity in the form of a logistics park at the airport has brought positive response from the seafood industry.

Leo Muise, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance which represents approximately 100 members in the seafood industry, says, “It’s positive for sure, simply because of the trade agreements we have been signing in recent times, CETA and TPP and if you are talking a live product and we are talking lobster here, it’s not possible to get to those locations without sending them in an airplane. The same thing is for certain other high valued species like tuna and

DAILY

DIRECT SERVICE ONTARIO • QUEBEC • BRITISH COLUMBIA • ALBERTA

ALABAMA • GEORGIA • KENTUCKY • TENNESSEE

www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 21

LEADERSHIP ROUNDTABLE

Changing the Conversation Attracting talent will require a new approach from the logistics industry around how it markets itself

B

eing able to attract and keep staff—whether truck drivers, DC workers or increasingly, the skilled IT and analytics experts to manage back end data operations—has become a competitive advantage. No matter which part of the supply chain you’re operating in, the last five years have been challenging, with the rise of e-commerce and shifting worker demographics.

To get some answers Canadian Shipper and Inside Logistics magazines put together a panel of experts to share their insights, tips and strategies to help transportation and logistics companies better manage the human resources challenges This is the conclusion of our two-part series.

22 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

Photo: Rosenau Transport

LEADERSHIP ROUNDTABLE

In terms of recruitment, how do we attract different generations and people of more diverse backgrounds?

there is some sort of flexibility around if they’ve worked in [supply chain] for 20 years, but don’t have a degree?

Ross Reimer | Almost all the time. There are still some that

Doug Harrison | In Montreal, our team had hired an individ-

ual who had newly emigrated to Canada from Africa. In conversation during our on boarding with our human resources team, it became apparent that they were one of several people who had recently immigrated from this country. It created a conversation and our team put together an on boarding program for all these people who did not speak French. We set up French language courses, we did other things to support their on boarding. We spent time with those individuals differently to make sure that they were going to be successful.

It was fantastic. I think the way you attract diversity is by leveraging diversity and showing that it means something in your company.

Pina Melchionna | I think it’s about being able to change com-

pany culture so that it’s more than just going out and recruiting diverse candidates, it’s truly making them feel included and the culture and that sometimes requires specific type training diverse inclusion. To make sure that you’re not coming to the table with hidden bias. To make sure that these different cultures feel very included in the conversation and are sitting at the table and helping me to make some key decisions.

Pat Campbell | One of the things that SCMA is focusing on and

it’s a project that I’ve been deeply involved in is how do we open up new pathways for people. Coming into our designation program, traditionally you had to have a bachelor’s degree, you had to have at years of experience before you could come in to our designation program. We’re now looking at opening that up.

We’re also talking about transferability of skills. Someone might say, “I’ll stay within supply chain, maybe not necessarily with the same employer, but I’ll stay within supply chain if the knowledge and expertise that I’ve gained through my employment, wherever that is, is recognized.”

How does that get measured in terms of learning outcomes that are clearly measurable in terms of someone’s ability to move forward. Ross, when you’re looking at people I imagine

THE PANEL (clockwise from top left)

stick to their must-haves. I kind of shake my head sometimes thinking, ‘Wow, so we’re passing over these four people with clearly demonstrated career paths? That’s great when they’re banging down the doors, but most of the doors are pretty silent.

What are some of the compensation and benefit strategies, that are changing, or are new ideas in that environment, in terms of employee retention?

Doug Harrison | Every employee can go find a job for more mon-

ey, generally speaking. Paying fairly, equitably is certainly important, but to me it’s a hygiene or maintenance factor. It’s other motivator factors that are more important. What are my benefits?

What’s my work environment? Who are the people I work with?

What you’re seeing are flex benefits and more open benefit programs to be able to try and attract that labour, all those other things that mean different things to different people. I’m not so sure at the end of the day that the total economic package matters as much as those other flexibility characteristics.

Pina Melchionna | One of the attractive things is actually investing in employees from a professional development point of view.

Doug you had said it’s a two-way street, an employee has to take responsibility for their own development and learning and absolutely I agree with that, but boy is there a different level of engagement when we get a call from someone who says my company is investing in me and I’m able to take your courses because they’re invested in me over the long term. I think professional development is one of those perks that people are looking for when they’re looking at a total compensation package.

Pat Campbell | I think that when we talk about work-life bal-

ance we often talk about it in terms of millennials, new people coming into our organizations. I think that work life balance is a practice that we need to think about in terms of that knowledge retention. In my career I want more work-life balance. We’re moving to a second stage in our careers around retirement and whether or not that’s a next phase of our career and I think that that’s a practice that we need to look at in terms of retaining some of that knowledge and keeping some of those senior folks around.

Doug Harrison, former President & CEO, VersaCold Logistics Services

Ross Reimer | I’m trying not to be too stereotypical, but as you move into the millennial world, benefits become far more important. That discussion comes up and [benefits] matter more than to some of the folks of my generation. They’re not all about the money.

Paul Kurrat, Director of Operations, Global Warehousing & Distribution

Paul Kurrat | For many years we’ve had a bonus program that

Ross Reimer, President, Reimer Associates Pina Melchionna, President & CEO, CITT

Pat Campbell, Vice-president, Strategic Initiatives, SCMA

has been based on the success of the company and have over the last perhaps five moved that to a split one on how the company does and one on how the individual does. Because we know that the person sitting in front you works the hardest of www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 23

LEADERSHIP ROUNDTABLE

Ross Reimer | I think we need to look at attracting new people

to the industry We have to walk across the hall to the marketing department. We live in a world where marketing of products today is incredible. We can’t move five seconds without seeing something on our phone or seeing something in some media format. Much of it is really, really creative and really good. Let’s get some of those people working on attracting people to a career.

We have to tell a story, paint a picture and put money, real resources towards selling this industry.

“I think the way you attract diversity is by

Pina Melchionna | I was recently speaking at an event and one of the career employers asked, “How do we make supply chain sexy to attract that new demographic?” That is a branding issue I think that supply chain suffers from. I think as an industry, we need to promote and market the industry as a designated profession to go into. I think there’s additional work that we need to do. The fact that Amazon, one of the most trusted brands in the world, is really a supply chain and logistics company—we have to start telling more of those stories to attract that new demographic to the profession.

leveraging diversity and showing that it means something in your company.”— Doug Harrison

anybody else in the place and should be getting more, so we’ve linked that to performance. Including damages, attendance, everything you can think of that they think is important is now part of a compensation that they’re finding, I think more valid.

What do companies actually need to offer people in the way of career trajectories now in order to get them interested and to retain them?

Doug Harrison | I think it starts with you have to offer a

menu. First of all it’s an employee market and I think the starting point is what does that particular employee want? Do they want to be a CEO, do they want to be a manager or do they just, want to drive a truck and be the best they can at it? How do I tailor that career for that individual and really allow them to enjoy that role? I think about it as a menu of items of here’s what’s important to this person, and how do I craft something to make that role meaningful to what their desires really are?

I think recognizing its employee-owned, the market is employee owned and it’s going to be employee owned for a long time. We’ve got to think about those people as individuals around that plan.

Pat Campbell | I think technology is an enabler and I think we need to embrace it, we need to talk about it, we need to share it with people and we need to use it as one of the sales pitches. Whenever I talk to people about AI, it’s something that people are terrified of. They think that it means they’re going to lose their job. I think that we need to be clear about the messages that we’re delivering about how this is going to advance the quality of people’s work as opposed to be a detractor. I think we need to stop using words like destructive and be more positive about these changes that are happening because I think they give us huge opportunities.

To close out our discussion, each participant was asked to provide their advice in terms of what companies and/or employees need to do moving forward.

Pina Melchionna | An investment in the employee. There is

Doug Harrison | Canadian companies, especially, are still learning the opportunities that supply chain and logistics bring in terms of competitive advantage. I think the more companies start realizing that, the more we’ll create interest in their sector and career opportunities and growth opportunities. There’s absolutely a war for talent. If you’re going to be a leader in your field you’re going produce above average returns, above average customer satisfaction. It will come through above-average employee engagement and being able to attract talent and to be able to think about how you leverage that talent as we go through the next decade.

research that links professional development and investment in employees with increased engagement and with increased retention. If it’s one thing that I would leave everyone with it’s the necessity of employers to start thinking differently about total compensation packages and ensure that they’re including some investment in terms of professional development and learning for their employees.

Pina Melchionna | Invest in your people. It results in a winwin for both the company as well as the employee. [You get] increased engagement and retention and loyalty from the employee, and from an employer perspective, if you’ve got good talent you want to keep that good talent. Invest in them as the skill-set changes so that you keep them long-term.

24 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

LEADERSHIP ROUNDTABLE

Pat Campbell | We need to change the dialogue. We need to talk about the advantage supply chain bring to our country from an economic perspective. Whether it’s the employee, the company, post-secondary education, or our governments, we need to work with them around how do we build the kinds of programs that will encourage people to see the value that an occupation in supply chain can offer them.

Paul Kurrat | As we’ve said over and over, you’re investing in the employee, but as an individual seeing more to their needs and balancing that with the needs of the company. It’s that balancing that all of us have to get really used to, and fast.

Ross Reimer | In the recruiting business, our work is facilitated by working with clients that have spent serious time and investment on building leadership, and a reason for people to be there. Secondly, they’ve taken recruiting seriously and invested in selling and marketing their business like they market their product. They take it just as seriously. I think that 20, 30, 40 years ago you didn’t have to do that and in the new world, if you’re going to survive and prosper, you’re going to have to do that. CS

“We need to change the dialogue. We need to talk about the advantage supply chain brings to our country from an economic perspective.”— Pat Campbell

www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 25

RETAIL LOGISTICS

HOT FASHIONS FLY E-commerce has added further momentum to the use of airfreight in the fashion industry

BY IAN PUTZGER

T

he hottest fashion trends may be a tad pricier this winter.

Notwithstanding some slowdown in demand in recent months, airlines and forwarders are bracing themselves for tight airfreight capacity this peak season, with predictable repercussions on rates.

“Rates, capacity or the oil price won’t stop the use of airfreight. Fashion is the last thing to die in a recession and the first to revive. More and more cargo will go by air,” remarks Carlo Paravani, president of Euro Cargo, a New Yorkbased forwarder.

Most clothing continues to move by ocean, but airfreight keeps growing in importance. One massive factor behind this has been the fast fashion concept pioneered by Spanish producer Inditex with its Zara brand. The company relies heavily on airfreight, with goods packed ready for the stores.

“How many people have gone away from two or four seasons that used to produce two big lumps of traffic? Now we’re seeing seasons that last three weeks or five weeks. As a result, shipments are faster, more frequent because companies have to make sure 26 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

they have new product in front of consumers all the time,” notes Jeff Cullen, CEO of Rodair International.

DHL Global Forwarding has established fast fashion retail teams. These engage with customers at multiple levels, from the global plane to regional and local offices. The interaction depends on the size and expectations of customers and the complexity of their supply chains, says Michelle Walker, head of marketing and sales, Canada.

Door-to-door service

The rise of e-commerce has added further momentum to the use of airfreight.

“E-commerce has a huge impact on the airfreight market. It’s speed to market, the trend about instant gratification,” says Walker.

“Alibaba and the like are changing the picture. We’re getting into this ‘right now economy’,” agrees Cullen. “The industry is changing incredibly. Airfreight plays into the speed part of this.”

At the same time the emphasis on the final mile has grown, observes Paravani. “In the past a fashion designer would sell to a shop.” he says.

Within the entire retail sector the

rules of the game are changing at a rapid pace, just as the acceleration of the speed of getting goods to markets keeps going up, remarks Cullen.

On the logistics side, arguably the biggest fall-out has been the move to an omni-channel strategy. “We now send 2,000 packages out in 100 vehicles—as opposed to one truck going to a shopping centre,” he says.

Contrary to early predictions, today nobody expects the online channel to replace bricks and mortar. Actually, fashion firms that started online have begun to open show rooms in shopping malls for consumers to try their products, which are then ordered online.

Rodair has done a fair amount of work moving the materials needed to build and equip such show rooms.

While the evolution of multi-channel selling has changed supply chains and their velocity, an even more profound change is playing out in the way fashion and other retail companies engage with their customers as well as with their logistics providers. “Manufacturers and retailers have to get smarter, and much of this is about how connected they are to their customers,” says Cullen. “The information pushed at the consumer is going to be much more personalized than ever before.”

This creates a powerful pull for logistics firms. For Rodair a key question is how it can get deeper into the management of its customers’ data in order to support them better.

One solution that the company is currently working on is the development of a platform that enables consumers to make purchases from foreign websites. Today this is too often an exercise fraught with surprises, says Cullen. People order an item and then find out upon delivery that they have to pay an extra amount for duties and taxes.

Roadair has teamed up with a solutions provider to integrate this element into the sales process.

DHL has been looking to predictive analytics to make better use of data. To begin with, this is set to play a greater role in operations. The company has developed a machine learning-based tool to predict transit time delays in airfreight. This uses 58 different parame-

RETAIL LOGISTICS

ters of internal data to predict delays up to a week in advance.

Leveraging AI

A joint study that DHL undertook with IBM shows how artificial intelligence can scrutinize social media to identify a quantitative rise in interest in topics like Fidget Spinners, spinning toys that sold an estimated 50 million units over a few months in 2017, which prompted a run on airfreight. This can be used to predict which fads may result in a boom. For the fashion sector this could have huge ramifications to identify successful trends early and reduce returns.

According to Stitch Fix, an online subscription and personal shopping service for clothing, merchants are okay if consumes keep three out of seven items.

Cullen notes that it is crucial for fashion firms to cultivate repeat customers, as this is a highly important clientele for them, which ultimately brings down the number of returned items.

Besides generating a surge in product returns, as people order garments in different sizes and colours to try and send back the unwanted items, e-commerce has increased headaches for logistics providers over counterfeits. “Many people ship counterfeit items. That’s a big problem in fashion,” says Paravani.

In a recent court case in the U.S., two logistics firms and a broker were fined for importing large numbers of fake Nike shoes from China. The court found that they had failed to use “reasonable care” to determine the nature of the goods for transportation and to establish the credentials of the shipper.

Euro Cargo used to concentrate fully on fashion logistics but has since diversified. Today fashion accounts for about 70 per cent of its business. Another forwarder that used to focus on fashion as one of its key areas has since shifted its attention elsewhere, citing thin margins.

Cost pressure remains strong. “People look for savings along the entire supply chain,” says Cullen. Both higher airfreight rates and tariffs are set to increase this pressure, he adds.

According to Walker, there are some ways to alleviate this. Leveraging its multimodal network, DHL is using a smorgasbord of methods to move fash-

ion goods, including sea-air, which has been quite strong lately.

She adds that there is no need for shippers to wait for a full containerload to accumulate. “You can use LCL instead. The LCL market is extremely strong. It’s a lot quicker than waiting for a full container,” she says. CS

Ian Putzger is an awardwinning journalist with more than 20 years experience covering transportation and logistics issues. He is a former writer and editor with the Hong Kong-based Asian Sources Media Group, and Airtrade, a British magazine covering the global air cargo industry.

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www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 27

BUYING TRENDS

2019 TRANSPORTATION BUYING TRENDS What transportation will cost you in 2019, according to our annual survey

BY LOU SMYRLIS

Are you properly prepared for your next

increases to their freight rates, the pen-

contract negotiations with transporta-

etration of surcharges and their con-

tion providers? Canadian Shipper’s an-

cerns regarding capacity constraints.

nual Transportation Buying Trends re-

Sixty-five per cent of respondents

search, is designed to help place you in

were based in Central Canada, with 24%

the driver’s seat.

residing in Western Canada.

0

Included are highlights from our lat-

In terms of industry sector, 35% of

est survey, completed in late 2018, for

respondents were from manufacturing,

the TL, LTL, rail, intermodal, marine,

while 28% were in distribution, with 13%

courier and air modes. Read on to see

from 3PLS and 8% in retail and freight

what shippers across Canada project for

forwarding respectively.

TRUCK LOAD

35%

TL Freight Shippers

PROJECTED CORE TRANSPORTATION PRICING

ANTICIPATED CHANGES IN USE OF MODE

% expect this mode to have highest pricing power in 2019

SURCHARGE PENETRATION

(excluding fuel surcharge) Increase

36%

Stay the same

Decrease

51%

9%

Down 0-5% +

6%

Border Security

10%

Flat

10%

Border Delay

20%

Up 0-2%

14%

Detention

41%

Up 2-5%

40%

Currency

13%

Up 5% +

20%

Fuel

92%

Not sure

9%

Other

7%

6.15

TRUCKLOAD

CAPACITY CONCERN 0

5

10

Loose capacity

Balanced

Very tight capacity

28 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

BUYING TRENDS

LTL

% expect this mode to have highest pricing power in 2019

23%

LTL Freight Shippers PROJECTED CORE TRANSPORTATION PRICING

ANTICIPATED CHANGES IN USE OF MODE

SURCHARGE PENETRATION

(excluding fuel surcharge) Not sure

2% Increase

33%

Stay the same

Down 0-5%

5%

Border Security

20%

Flat

14%

Border Delay

15%

Up 0-2%

19%

Detention

32%

Up 2-5%

38%

Currency

12%

Up 5% +

19%

Fuel

97%

Not sure

5%

Other

11%

Decrease

55%

10%

LTL

CAPACITY CONCERN

5.29

0

5

10

Loose capacity

Balanced

Very tight capacity

RAIL

% expect this mode to have highest pricing power in 2019

10%

Rail Freight Shippers PROJECTED CORE TRANSPORTATION PRICING

ANTICIPATED CHANGES IN USE OF MODE

SURCHARGE PENETRATION

(excluding fuel surcharge) Not sure

14%

Increase

27%

Decrease Stay the same

Down 0-5%

7%

Border Security

15%

Flat

20%

Border Delay

7%

Up 0-2%

12%

Detention

34%

Up 2-5%

27%

Currency

17%

Up 5% +

6%

Fuel

78%

Not sure

27%

Other

15%

7%

52%

5.39

RAIL

CAPACITY CONCERN 0

5

10

Loose capacity

Balanced

Very tight capacity

www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 29

BUYING TRENDS

INTERMODAL L

11%

Intermodal Freight Shippers

PROJECTED CORE TRANSPORTATION PRICING

ANTICIPATED CHANGES IN USE OF MODE

% expect this mode to have highest pricing power in 2019

SURCHARGE PENETRATION

(excluding fuel surcharge) Not sure

14%

Increase

Down 0-5% +

1%

Border Security

11%

Flat

17%

Border Delay

2%

Up 0-2%

13%

Detention

30%

Up 2-5%

28%

Currency

15%

Up 5% +

16%

Fuel

83%

Not sure

25%

Other

15%

29%

Stay the same

Decrease

3%

52%

5.88

INTERMODAL

CAPACITY CONCERN 0

5

10

Loose capacity

Balanced

Very tight capacity

MARINE

% expect this mode to have highest pricing power in 2019

8%

Marine Freight Shippers PROJECTED CORE TRANSPORTATION PRICING

ANTICIPATED CHANGES IN USE OF MODE

SURCHARGE PENETRATION

(excluding fuel surcharge) Not sure

10%

Increase

29%

Stay the same

Decrease

54%

7%

Down 0-5% +

13%

Border Security

25%

Flat

23%

Border Delay

10%

Up 0-2%

11%

Detention

33%

Up 2-5%

25%

Currency

29%

Up 5% +

11%

Fuel

73%

Not sure

27%

Other

15%

4.62

MARINE

CAPACITY CONCERN 0

5

10

Loose capacity

Balanced

Very tight capacity

30 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

BUYING TRENDS

% expect this mode to have highest pricing power in 2019

AIR

5%

Air Freight Shippers

PROJECTED CORE TRANSPORTATION PRICING

ANTICIPATED CHANGES IN USE OF MODE

SURCHARGE PENETRATION

(excluding fuel surcharge) Not sure

11%

Down 0-5% +

1%

Border Security

33%

Flat

22%

Border Delay

8%

Up 0-2%

8%

Detention

13%

Up 2-5%

24%

Currency

17%

Up 5% +

14%

Fuel

67%

Not sure

31%

Other

25%

Increase

16% Stay the same

66% Decrease

8%

2.99

AIR

CAPACITY CONCERN 0

5

10

Loose capacity

Balanced

Very tight capacity

COURIER

8%

Courier Freight Shippers

PROJECTED CORE TRANSPORTATION PRICING

ANTICIPATED CHANGES IN USE OF MODE

% expect this mode to have highest pricing power in 2019

SURCHARGE PENETRATION

(excluding fuel surcharge) Not sure

6% Increase

22% Stay the same

Down 0-5% +

3%

Border Security

14%

Flat

18%

Border Delay

5%

Up 0-2%

23%

Detention

8%

Up 2-5%

33%

Currency

12%

Up 5% +

8%

Fuel

85%

Not sure

15%

Other

15%

67% Decrease

6%

3.73

COURIER

CAPACITY CONCERN 0

5

10

Loose capacity

Balanced

Very tight capacity

www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 31

Vera Penney Shunter 10 years, VersaCold

VersaCold is a food-first company. With over 70 years of supply chain experience, we’re a diverse team dedicated to ensuring the safety, quality and freshness of the food families eat—every step of the chain.

versacold.com

INSIDE THE NUMBERS WITH LOU SMYRLIS, MCILT

TRAN PORTATION TERRIFIC

Canadian shippers annual logistics budget 7%

Under $100,000

Why it’s at the heart of spending for Canadian shippers Small and medium sized businesses (companies with less than $100 million in annual revenues) are the heart of Canadian business. And with a country as vast as Canada and the world’s largest market across the border, transportation is at the heart of their spending. Almost two thirds of Canadian shippers have supply chain budgets over $1M and six in 10 are spending over $1M on surface transportation, according to our annual Transportation Buying Trends Survey.

$100,000 to $500,000

20%

$500,000 to $1 Million

12%

$1 Million to $5 Million

20%

$5 Million to $10 Million

8%

$10 Million to $20 Million

13%

$20 Million or more

22%

Canadian shippers estimated annual sales

Canadian shippers annual transportation spend

Less than $5million

14%

Over $5 million to $15million

12%

Over $15 million to $30 million

15%

Over $30 million to $60 million

6%

Over $60 million to $100 million

7%

Under $100,000 $100,000 to $500,000

20%

$500,000 to $1 Million

12%

12%

$1 Million to $5 Million

20%

Over $100 million to $500 million

15%

$5 Million to $10 Million

8%

$Over $500 million to $2 billion

13%

$10 Million to $20 Million

13%

Over $2 billion

10%

Don’t know

6%

$20 Million or more

22%

Portion of Canadian shippers employing contracts of one year or less on surface transportation

Portion of Canadian shippers spending over $1M annually on surface transportation

84%

81%

84% 74%

81%

43% 24%

18%

Rail

©iStock

Truckload

LTL

Courier

Intermodal

Rail

22% 13%

Truckload

LTL

Courier

Intermodal

www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 33

CTCS

Certified Trade Compliance Specialist

THE MARK OF TRADE EXPERTISE The CTCS (Certified Trade Compliance Specialist) designation > recognizes the experience and expertise of international trade compliance professionals, > sets a standard for ongoing professional development in a field where change is constant, > supports a network for information sharing and collaboration.

The Canadian Society of Customs Brokers is proud to present the CTCS (Certified Trade Compliance Specialist) Designates of 2019 Alberta Fikreta Ahmetovic Merima Alicajic Vitalie Baidan Michele Bathgate Trevor Bye Allan Corbett Jeffrey Fraser Pamela Hodder Tiffany Hooey Colleen Jennings James Judd Cathryn Kirby Adshade Marcia Kobe Elaine Lamb Susan McDonald Rose Penner Mark Southworth Steve Spoljarevic Sandra Teed Michael Theodore Kristine Thompson British Columbia Carol Brown Cindy Christensen Julie Cochran Paul Courtney Allison Douglas Taryn Hannah Crystal Higgs Wyatt Holyk Wei (David) Hu Karin Janssen Jolanta Krasucka William Lee Ling (Lynn) Luo Chun Hui Eric Ma Catherine Marshall Maria Mate Marc McLean Amanda Miles Tracey Mitchell

Jonathann Morco Ken Nord Patricia O’Malley Melissa Paskaruk Ronnie Rajinder Rai Annette Rowan Calie Schumacher Cherie Storms Gloria Terhaar Sandra Troche Rozen Villanueva Gail Wright Melissa Wright Michael Fraser Wright Manitoba Wade Barr Bruno Biondi Alan Dewar Donna Fetterly Nyree Menzies Valerie Michaud Barb Miller Alison Myskiw Kim Ross Hayley Dawn Shirtliffe Corey Tkach New Brunswick Shelley Gares Yves Menon Maureen O’Donnell Janice Percy Alex Piedrahita Newfoundland & Labrad Lab rador or Kelly Blenkinsopp Paul Collins Ronald Malone Michael Murphy Nova Scotia Jennifer Degen Laurie Pasher Debbie Stevens

Joseph Verhaeghe Indira Yorke Ontario Kathleen Acchione Danielle Adair Jamal Ahmed Mehmood Ali Gillian Allan Catherine Anchor Cynthia Annakie Fahmida Arab Mohammad Arif Muhammad Rehan Arif Jodi Armstrong Deb Axford Lisa Ball Kathy Barzal Jennifer Beamish Elena Benoit Sarah Berlato Pawan Bhayana Tracey Boomhour John Brooks Steve Bunda Kim Campbell Ganase Carlton Marcos Cervantes Laflamme Daisy Chen Hannah Cheng Muralidharan Chidambaram Angela Collins Sue Compisano Hernan Cordoba Marinela Daniela Cotosman Linda Cybulski Sandy Dack Qi Deng Satnam Dhami Vishwa Dhar Grace Di Marca Lisa Di Tommaso Kathrina Dibueno Tanya Dietrich

Karen Dingle Olivier Donze Brianne Earish Matthew Earish Charmaine Easton Cynthia L. Elliott Carlos Estrada Sean Everden Peter Xi Fang Emil Fiorantis Wa (Grace) Gao Pamela Garrett Adriana Geleriu Negedeyesus Gessese John Giroux Lynne Glass Martha Goncalves Melanie Goodine Sherry Graham Warren Green Ann Gruszecki Manpreet Gupta Mary-Anne Hardy Kyle Hartwick Sara Hiebert M Dianne Hill Kimberly Hollingworth Nancy Horner Vicky Huynh Nicole Irwin John G. Jakubowski Ayesha Javed Mithula Jegatheeswaran Branislav Kecman Mary Kennette Rufat Khanaliyev Yoon Kim Christina Kinder Ilona Julia King Tomoko O. Kitai Lisa Knight Caleb Knipe Harmeet Kohli

For information about the CTCS Program, visit cscb.ca/ctcs or call 1-613-562-3543

Carol Shu-Qin Kwok Kerry Lawrence Kristina Lawrence Christine Leavoy Megan Leemans Brad Lehigh Chunmei Li Jianling (Lisa) Li Jennifer Livick Angela Logan Iris (Wen) Long Elizabeth Lorincz John Lowe Michael Lusk Christine Macri Rajesh Mamtora Rowena Manzano Philip W. Mason Colin Maxwell Lorella Mazzotta Vickie McInnis Charmaine Miller-Baxter Heather Missouri Usha Mistry Jennifer L. Mitchell John Moccia Penny Moulton Kristy Mulvihill Tammy Nanticoke Sumaira Nazir Sandra Odorico Adefoluke Odunlami Sherry Parker Rakesh Patel Lindsay Pauls Alice Peres da Silva Virginia Petrenciu Katie Petteplace Vassili Popov Antonella Proietto John Quirke Sonia Ramroop Kristin Renaud

Gina Robertson Joseph Rose Mariana Rosu Brian Rowe Labinot Sadiku Sulaimon Saka Amanda Salmond Dhivakar Santhanamoorthy Carmelita Santos Naeem Sardar Tariq Shaikh Tammy Shaw Candace Sider Catherine Slater Helen Song Krunal Soni Mansi Sood Vinay Sood Jerry C. Spooner Harjinder Sra David Stockwell Michelle Stokes Derrick Stroebel Susan Subryan Shujun Kevin Sun Laura Swanson Simona Talasman Michelle Tamburro Raymond Tang Jeannine Taylor Demi Todorov Jonathan Torres Diem Tran Sonja Tremmel Catalin Tripon Karen Vallee Margaret Valtas Kimberly Van Runt Carole Van Wyck Carrie Vitti Terri Walsh Ruth Webb-Macleod Meredyth Welsman

Ping Ping Wen Rajeev Wijesinghe Jeff Willson Tara Wilson David Winkler Dian Wollison Ivy Woo Amanda Yachuk Jane Young Mary Ann Zamora Grepe June Zheng Quebec Melanie Bedard Karen Blouin Carmen Dumitrache Marc Filion Robert Gaboriault Natasha Harper Claire Howarth Paul Hughes Pierre-Yves Lafrance Nadine Lépine Lorin Levine April Martinez Alexandra Mierla Margaret Emma Million Kevin Mooney Suzanne Perkins Ronald Racine Ginette Ste-Croix Sandra Walker David Wallace John Weight Lynn Wilding A.J. (Tony) Yakubosky Monika Zanacan Michael Zobin Saskat Sask katche chewan h wan

Barry Frain Australia

Peter McRae United States

Timothy Wing

COACHING CORNER

Return of the work from home employee “A strong workplace culture is an organization’s No. 1 competitive advantage because you need enthusiastic, excited employees to build great products and delight your customers. When a majority of your employees work remotely, you lose the ability to build that culture.” — David Niu, CEO, TINYpulse Q: We have two separate teams at our office as a result of a merger. One works a traditional nine to five on-site and the other is used to working remotely. The latter have absolute freedom as long as their work is done. I do not want to work from the office and neither does my team. Why do employers want to go back instead of forward?

A: Starting with the most often cited concern: Allowing employees to work from home too often destroys your company culture. Plus, it is not fair and often not legal to have teams working under two sets of rules.

Many large organizations who are leaders in innovation and workplace culture such as Yahoo, IBM and Deloitte have begun to bring their employees back on-site.

The liabilities of letting employees work from home is greater than we often realize.

Who is responsible if a telecommuting employee damages property or equipment?

Business insurance should cover general property owned by the company, such as cellphones, tablets and laptop computers, no matter where they are used. If work-related damage occurs to the employee’s home, however, the policy may not cover the loss, as most insurance plans are restricted to a particular place of business. Before such cases arise, it is imperative that employees check their homeowner’s insurance coverage regarding working from home and provide a copy to their employer. ©iStock/DeanDrobot

Focus on cyber security

A business must ensure that all employee devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones and desktops) are fully protected from intrusion. They should also have a policy that only that equipment is to be used for work purposes and that nobody else in the household will have access to such equipment. How to enforce this is easier said than done. Have an IT professional set up a secure connection from the employee’s home to your company network. Connections with weak or no security leave companies open to hacking, which can put the entire business (and possibly that of customers’) at risk.

Working remotely can make you sick

Employees may desire the flexibility to work remotely because it often gives them the freedom to work when, where and how they want. But not all is positive or as great it appears to be. Working remotely can make employees less engaged, more isolated and lonely, which can be a health risk.

A recent study from HR advisory and research firm, Future Workplace, found that a third of the global work force always or very often works remotely, yet two thirds aren’t engaged in their job.

“An entire 100 per cent of remote workers feel isolated always or very often and nearly 60 per cent feel lonely as a result,” stated the report. “Since workers spend one third of their lives working, this feeling of loneliness is bad for their health and can lead to unhappiness and lower organization commitment.”

By Carolina Billings, CPCC, CHRL, MA-IS

physically located with the majority of their teams or among the rest of leadership.

According to the study’s authors, “[we] believe that employers who want effective leaders in charge of telecommuting employees should make sure the leader is physically located with at least the majority of the group, or that everyone is working remotely.”

Remote workers are less loyal

Remote and virtual workers leave their jobs at a slightly higher rate than those who work in a fixed location. According to Wayne Turmel is a speaker, cofounder of The Remote Leadership Institute, the feeling among recruiters is that “it’s easier to convince remote workers to move to a better/ higher paying/ more interesting job because: a) there are few barriers to changing jobs, and b) people who are emotionally engaged with their employer, their teammates and their work are just as likely to stay as other employees. If they are not engaged, however, they are more likely to jump ship.”

There are circumstances were long distance employee/employer relationships make sense, such as recruiting in different cities or even globally; however, this should be treated as the exception with its own separate employment contracts. That, or everyone should be treated equally and work under the same set of rules. CS

Carolina M. Billings is Partner & CEO of a management consulting group and has 15+ years of experience in the fields

Working remotely could make it harder to lead a team

Another study in The Leadership Quarterly Journal in 2016 discovered that problems such as: power struggles, confusion and communication issues, emerge when those in charge aren’t

of Business Development, Branding, Human Resources and Finance.

She champions leadership initiatives as well as empowering and mentoring others to lead. For more information please visit: www.powerfulwomentoday.com or email info@powerfulwomentoday.com www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 35

REACH CANADIAN SHIPPERS

ADVERTISE IN

MAGAZINE

Get your message in front of those who have freight to move.

Advertise in Canadian Shipper magazine — the most-trusted and widest-reaching Canadian publication for shippers.

NATIONAL ADVERTISING Delon Rashid Director of Business Development 416-459-0063

QUEBEC ADVERTISING Anthony Buttino Director of Business Development 514-292-2297

canadianshipper.com

AD INDEX

Air Canada www.aircanadacargo.com www.aircanadacargo.co

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Follow Us On www.canadianshipper.com March 2019 37

THE BIGGER PICTURE

A checklist for CEOs seeking to control freight costs in 2019 The financial impact of rapidly rising freight costs caught large numbers of CEOs and CFOs by surprise.

Many companies were unprepared for the capacity challenges and financial impacts that took place. Economists are predicting solid economic growth in 2019, but not quite at the pace of 2018. What can CEOs do to protect their supply chains, the service to their customers, and their profits from further freight cost shock treatments in 2019? Here is a checklist to consider.

Eliminate inefficient and wasteful practices

It is human nature to perform certain tasks the same way year after year. From a freight transportation perspective, these habits can take the form of shipping goods in less than optimal sizes (i.e. small package instead of LTL, LTL instead of partial or full truckloads etc.), moving goods on nonservice days and other inefficient practices. In this year of tight capacity, much has been written about becoming a “Shipper of Choice.” Since securing carrier capacity has become somewhat of a beauty contest, shippers must strive to become as carrier-friendly as possible.

down barriers and improve teamwork within their organizations, customer demands and key indicators can foster silos and bad business practices. Even in a year of tight capacity, sales people may promise service intervals to customers that drive up costs. Manufacturing may structure their production processes to optimize machine utilization at the expense of transportation efficiency. Good leaders facilitate communication and understanding within their organizations.

Creating an environment of communication and understanding can play a big part in controlling freight costs.

Upgrade leadership and management skills

The past year has been a busy one for recruiters.

Leaders of some companies realized that their transportation managers did not have the creativity, or the necessary skill sets, to deal effectively with the challenges they faced. We have observed repeatedly in our consulting practice that many shippers get in the habit of working with a small number of core carriers. When they go to market, they tend to utilize the same modes and approach the

Improve team integration and communication

Despite the efforts of many business leaders to break 38 March 2019 www.canadianshipper.com

same carriers year after year.

CEOs across North America need to carefully evaluate their transportation team across an array of variables and determine if and where changes are required.

Educate your transportation team

My colleagues and I will visit shippers and find that many of them do not take courses in new practices in freight transportation and supply chain design or attend industry conferences.

The world of freight transportation is changing rapidly. E-commerce, artificial intelligence, blockchain, electric and autonomous vehicles are just some of the technologies shaping the industry today. If your team is not receiving briefings on these new developments, chances are they are falling behind. This may limit your company’s ability to withstand other shocks to the supply chain in the future.

Collaborate

Freight carriers and logistics companies are key business partners. During this period of tight capacity, that may last for several years, it is more important than ever for CEOs and their subordinates to maintain good

By Dan Goodwill

communication with all levels within their carrier organizations. We encourage shippers to conduct honest, open meetings with their carriers to reduce hurdles and improve service. Keep an open mind and test out strategies that have the potential to improve capacity and reduce costs. Similarly, speak with your customers about shipment sizes, service intervals and other issues and set targets and action plans to improve efficiencies and reduce costs.

Consider other transportation options

Challenge your transportation team to look at new options. Does your company need its private fleet?

Would it make sense to outsource this to a dedicated route service provider?

Should your company consider consolidating factories, pooling shipments in certain locations, or other changes that might reduce costs? Is it time to bring in an independent third party to analyze potential cost saving measures?

The past year has been a wake-up call for many shippers. CEOs need to act to minimize the impacts of further freight cost increases in 2019. CS

Dan Goodwill, president of Dan Goodwill and Associates, has more than 30 years of experience in the logistics and transportation industries in both Canada and the US. Goodwill is currently a consultant to manufacturers and distributors, helping them improve their transportation processes and save millions of dollars in freight spend. He has held several executive level positions in the industry. He can be reached at dan@dantranscon.com.

©iStock

The supply chain never sleeps.

And neither do we.

At Transplace, we are relentless in executing our customers’ transportation and supply chain needs to achieve profitable and predictable results. Continuous improvement and innovation is core to our culture, and we aren’t satisfied until you are.

Learn more about our North American logistics and technology solutions at Transplace.com.

1.866.413.9266 | info@transplace.com

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New equipment, new capacity and the best team in the business.

CN is paving the way for a future ready to handle growth. So let us help you stay competitive in the global marketplace - reach out to us and reach farther than you thought possible.

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