b"30American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comTransportation and infrastructure difficulties are hobbling Canadas forest products industrySupply-chain problems compromise rail service; short-age of industrial space hampers port operations. By Peter Buxbaum, AJOTCanadasforestproductsoursupplychaindownand industryhasbeenhavingahurtingourglobalcompeti-hard time of late sending andtiveness, said Derek Nighbor, receiving shipments and keep- CEOoftheForestProducts ing up with production sched- Association of Canada (FPAC). ules. Some regions in CanadaGettingtothebottomof have been plagued with someissues in frequently congested The Peyton Lynn C. is the first container-only vessel on Spliethoffs Cleveland-Europe Express service. nasty weather in the last fewspots like British Columbias months, but industry officialsLowerMainlandmustbea Supply chain issues energize Great Lakesalsocomplainthatafragiletop priority. andunder-performingtrans- TheLowerMainlandis container developments portation system is not serv- dealing with an extreme short-ing the industry well.ageofavailableindustrial Breakbulk ports in Great Lakes add new dimension to supply chain solution. Partoftheforestindus- land,notedRobinSilvester, trysproblemsstemfrompresident and CEO of the Van-By Leo Ryan, AJOT globalsupply-chainissuescouver Fraser Port Authority. which have had ripple effectsAcentralchallengewere Its not a flood, but there are tailwinds driv- gresses remains to be seen. Nonetheless, topacrossmanytransportationfacingistheLowerMain-ing initiatives to recapture some of the con- executives of leading US and Canadian Greatsectors, including the rail ser- landsindustriallandcrisis, tainer business lost by Great Lakes ports in theLakes ports are maintaining an upbeat, move- vicesthattheindustryrelieswhichhassqueezedkey early 1980s when Manchester Liners and otheraheadattitude,despitethehandicapoftheupon to receive its raw mate- supplychainactivities,he carriers dropped their services linking Europenine-month shipping season and the competi- rialsandcarryitsproducts.said. Having those functions to the industrial heartland of North America.tive might of the continental railways. Extreme weather events haveclose at hand supports a more Such initiatives have coincided with COVID- The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seawayalsonegativelyimpactedresilientsupplychainand related and overall supply chain problems thatSystem represents a pressure relief valve forrail service and operations atfacilitates Canadian exports. have seen, in the past few years, ocean vesselsNorth American freight movement that shouldcoastalseaports. AnextremeToexacerbatethesituation, stacked up at congested ports on both the easttranscendthispandemicbubble,recentlyscarcity of available industrialmassive rainfalls in late 2021 and west coasts. affirmedDebDeluca,portdirectoratthereal estate is also hamperingand early 2022 caused flood-DuluthSeawayPort Authority.Itsagreatforest products shippers. ingandlandslides,which P ressurer elief alternative for shippers looking to reach theBottlenecksinkeycor- (HOBBLINGcontinued on Howrapidlyandsolidlythetrendpro- (ENERGIZEcontinued on page 33) ridors are repeatedly slowingpage 42)Ship to Portwith Ease Breakbulk cargo isn't typical cargo. Good thing the Port of San Diego isn't your typical port. OPEN SPACE FLEXIBILITY EXPERTISELearn more at: portofsandiego.org/cargo"