A Vancouver construction giant's expansion into the barge business has taken a small bite out of Seaspan Marine, signalling renewed competition in B.C.'s marine transport sector.
Ledcor Resources and Transportation, a division of the Ledcor Group of Companies, took possession of 12 new barges last month, simultaneously inking a deal to deliver wood fibre to Howe Sound Pulp and Paper (HSPP) near Gibsons.
Company president and COO Paul McElligott told Business in Vancouver that Ledcor can offer unmatched service to the pulp and paper industry now that it's involved in each step of getting the product to market – from harvesting and processing to stockpiling and transportation.
"There are logging firms, there are processing firms and there are marine carriers, but we do it all from cradle to grave," said McElligott. "We're really the only full-service provider of services like that in the province, so it positions us as somebody that can do something quite unique."
Ledcor is talking to other potential customers in the sector, but HSPP is currently the sole user of its barge services.
Garland Chow, an associate professor for the Centre for Transportation Studies at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business, said because Ledcor is running all segments of the process, it will reduce transportation co-ordination complications.
Containers will therefore yield savings for customers like HSPP because they'll spend less time sitting at docks.
"If you just look at the Port of Vancouver you often have these problems where the ship comes in at a certain time and they want to unload, but the railroad people want to pick up at a certain time," Chow said. "[Ledcor is] going to time things so that the barge arrives just in time and the trucks arrive just in time, so nothing is wasted."
Prior to Ledcor's expansion into the barge business, Seaspan handled HSPP's wood-fibre transportation needs.
"We were the total service provider for them," said Seaspan vice-president of marine transportation services Doug Towill.
"These 12 barges actually displace some of our assets in that business."
But Towill added that Ledcor's expansion won't have a significant overall impact on B.C.'s coastal marine industry.
"There's no additional business because of these barges arriving," he said. "It's not a growing industry."
However, Island Tug and Barge's vice-president and general manager disagreed.
John Lindsay said Ledcor's barge acquisition shows that the sector has good future prospects.
"For somebody to make this kind of investment, we think it's a very positive sign," Lindsay said. "It's showing there is a lot of opportunity here on the West Coast in the marine sector, which is good for everybody."
With only five tugboats prior to the arrival of the new barges, Ledcor is a relatively new entrant in the marine transportation sector.
Said McElligott: "Our goal is to grow the business quite aggressively over the next three to five years."
