As experts prepare for the largest supply chain conference in Canada, those on the front lines of freight are calling for simple solutions to keep goods moving smoothly.
As Canada’s gateway to Asia, Metro Vancouver has the country’s biggest container ports, a fleet of 30,000 transport trucks and ongoing multibillion-dollar highway and bridge expansions all aimed at one goal: oiling links in the supply chain that binds every aspect of the economy.
Supply chains are systems that include companies, associations, individuals and resources required to move goods and services from suppliers to end users.
A recent Statistics Canada study shows B.C. accelerating ahead of the nation in retail sales and, according to the Royal Bank, sharing honours with Alberta as having the highest growth rate in the manufacturing sector.
Vancouver was therefore a natural venue, organizers say, for the Cargo Logistics Canada Expo and Conference, the first and biggest such event in the country, being held January 29–30, 2014, at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
“We see Vancouver as a dynamic destination for this supply chain conference,” said David Tyldesley, show director for producer Informa Canada. “There has never been anything like it in Canada. [The conference] brings together the entire freight transportation spectrum into one event.”
Cargo Logistics Canada will pull in expert speakers and an estimated 2,000 delegates representing every aspect of land, sea and air transportation. Top topics include sustainability, extending the supply chain into B.C.’s booming North and the logistics of handling the billions of tons of freight that roll across the province every day.
Yet, as the experts convene, truckers – who handle 90% of all B.C. goods movement – say simple tweaks could strengthen the system.
Metro’s supply chain is “trying to serve a 24-7 industry with a nine-to-five mindset,” said long-hauler John Broker, who was named the top tandem driver in Canada this year in the National Professional Truck Driving Championships.
A 40-year industry veteran who drives for Delta-based Martin Brower, Broker points to the hours of operation at Port Metro Vancouver (PMV). PMV handles $200 million worth of cargo daily, and more than 2.5 million shipping containers move through its terminals every year. This requires 200 to 300 outbound transport trucks every day, hauling south to the U.S. border and across B.C. and Western Canada.
But the PMV terminals don’t open until seven in the morning and they close at 5 p.m.
A Container Truck Efficiency Pilot Program, launched by the PMV last year, includes data on wait times and movement. The latest scan at the Vancouver Terminal shows trucks arriving at 7 a.m. spending an average of half an hour in line and more than 90 minutes in total at the terminal. At Surrey Fraser Docks, the average early morning queue alone is more than 45 minutes.
“This means all these trucks are hitting rush hour at the same time,” Broker said, who described Metro Vancouver traffic as already having “outrageous volumes.” Broker suggests the terminal should open at 5 a.m. or even 3 a.m. to allow truckers to be on the highway before traffic builds.
CP Rail’s Vancouver Intermodal Facility in Pitt Meadows uses a 24-7 schedule, but most of the containers unloaded to trucks at the rail terminal are destined for the PMV docks that may not open for hours, he notes.
Nearly 60% of Metro truck drivers are owner-drivers with one truck. “They have to hustle to make any money,” Broker said. “They are racing across the city to make [port] deliveries between nine and five.”
The result, he noted, is higher costs, more air pollution, increased traffic and further impetus to a looming driver shortage that the BC Trucking Association ranks as its major challenge.
In Northern B.C., the Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) has just set up a Supply Chain Connector database in preparation for the $70 billion in industrial projects planned for the region. Yet, a simple solution could be a first stop.
“There are no dedicated truck stops along Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert,” confirmed Joel McKay of NDIT, referring to the nine-hour drive on the North’s only major truck route, adding, “It would be a worthwhile investment to pursue.”
Another simple fix, perhaps, but as Broker notes, B.C.’s multibillion- dollar, multi-tonnage supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link. •
