Transportation Opportunities Report: Logistics

Canada’s sparse and scattered population necessitates a lot of moving and storing of goods, so it’s no surprise that the supply chain and logistics sector represents 5% of total GDP. Today’s shippers are hungry to hire logistics-services providers that can offer sophisticated transportation and warehousing services tailored to a given item.

One of the most promising areas to watch is the expected disbandment of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), says Garland Chow, a professor of operations and logistics at the Sauder School of Business in Vancouver. Once farmers, grain processers and co-operatives no longer have to use the CWB’s small list of chosen transportation partners, “they’ll be looking for alternatives,” says Chow. He predicts they’ll flock to freight carriers and brokers offering more creative or lower-cost options.

As well, recent global supply-chain disruptions, such as those caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, have made firms more demanding of real-time data on the status of their shipments. This is boosting demand for freight tracking and tracing software. Although major players dominate this market, says Chow, there’s a growing need for middleware vendors to customize off-the-shelf solutions for individual companies.