The U.S-Canada Great Lakes area. Ready for short-sea delivery?
A brand new research sees important potential benefits for short-sea delivery providers between southern Ontario, Canada, and the U.S. Great Lakes area. The research was carried out by Fluid Intelligence, a data-analysis partnership of the Hamilton Ontario Port Authority (HOPA Ports) and the McMaster Institute for Transportation & Logistics, with assist from Transport Canada. It highlights the quite a few commerce flows that would profit from integrating marine transportation alongside trucking providers.
Currently, over 12,000 vehicles per week make cross-border journeys between Southern Ontario and U.S. Great Lakes port areas, carrying non-perishable commodities which might be seen as excellent candidates for a marine service to deal with the long-haul “middle mile.”
Short-sea delivery, a broadly adopted strategy in Europe and Asia, is an more and more interesting various to highway transportation within the Great Lakes area. Factors corresponding to inhabitants development, freeway congestion, driver shortages, and rising gasoline prices have contributed to a rising curiosity in marine transportation. Importantly, brief sea delivery provides a major environmental benefit, as one marine vessel can carry the identical cargo capability as 963 transport vehicles, whereas emitting simply 15% of the CO2 per metric tonne/km.
As Canada’s busiest financial area, southern Ontario’s important infrastructure struggles to maintain up with the demand on its highways. Issues corresponding to freeway congestion, border delays, lack of transportation redundancy, and truck driver shortages have been exacerbated by inhabitants development and density. The financial price of congestion within the GTHA (Greater Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Area) alone is estimated to be as much as $6 billion per 12 months.
The Great Lakes Region accounts for greater than 50% of all U.S./Canadian bilateral border commerce. If it have been a single nation, it might have a GDP of US$6 trillion, making it the third greatest economic system on the earth.
Approximately 28.5 million tonnes of cargo per 12 months originating in Ontario are transported by truck to the U.S., with 70% destined for a Great Lakes State. Conversely, at the least 24 million tonnes of cargo per 12 months originate within the US and transfer by truck into Ontario, with 55% originating in a Great Lakes State.
The research focuses on particular routes and commodity flows seen as glorious candidates for brand spanking new marine providers. These embody the potential for marine providers between southern Ontario and ports on Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. In specific, the cities of Chicago and Milwaukee are promising because of the focus of financial exercise and powerful connections to Southern Ontario inhabitants facilities
Overall, there are roughly 5,000 (inside a 30-mile radius) and 12,000 (inside a 60-mile radius) truck journeys per week between 5 U.S.- Great Lakes ports and southern Ontario, all of which current glorious alternatives for modal options.
By diverting simply 10% of the prevailing cargo at the moment moved by truck between southern Ontario and the Port of Chicago, for instance, the transportation system may save 220 tonnes of greenhouse fuel emissions per week.
“Short-sea shipping is an idea whose time has come,” says Ian Hamilton, president & CEO, HOPA Ports. “This study gives us the real data we need to identify the most promising commodities and routes, where marine transportation can help address our mounting goods movement challenges. It is urgent that we find ways to reduce the GHG impact of the transportation sector. Meanwhile, population growth and highway congestion, driver shortages and fuel costs are all part of the perfect storm hitting North American supply chains. Short sea shipping helps tackle all these problems.”
Download the research HERE
