Québec Marine Transportation Policy - Transport - Gouvernement ...

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Stakes and challenges
Market globalisation has a direct impact on freight transportation. Major challenges today are
the restructuring of the transportation industry, shipping industry competitiveness, workforce
training, sustainable development, promotion of the Saint-Laurent and development of river
tourism. These challenges are considerable.
2.1 Changes in freight transportation patterns
Since the early sixties the transportation of goods by sea has steadily grown worldwide, increasing
from 1 to 6 billion tonnes annually. Significant technological innovations during this period have
profoundly changed ocean transportation. Vessels are now bigger, more specialized and more
efficient in loading and unloading, particularly affecting bulk cargo transportation.
In addition, these years have seen numerous mergers and
alliances and a strong move toward decentralization in the
transport industry. The large railroad companies in North
America have consolidated their operations with a view to
offering faster service at a lower cost. The Canadian
National (CN) has maintained its acquisition policy since it
was privatized. The maritime sector is also affected by this
trend, with for instance acquisitions by CP Ships and the
merger between Sea-Land and Maersk.
The use of containers
marked a turning point in
cargo transportation
The use of containers marked a turning point in cargo transportation by speeding up loading and
unloading operations for vessels and also contributed to more integrated maritime, rail and road
transportation services. The tendency to build bigger and bigger vessels has now carried over into
container transportation. The first container carriers at the end of the sixties had a capacity of
500 to 1,000 twenty foot equivalent units (T.E.U.). Today 9,800 T.E.U. carriers are crossing the
oceans and the days of the new generation of 12 500 T.E.U. and beyond are not far away.
What this means is that the Saint-Laurent is facing an enormous challenge since, due to current
shipbuilding techniques and navigational management practices, Montréal which is currently the
third largest container port on the east coast of North America, is limited to container carriers of
approximately 2,800 T.E.U. specially adapted to draft constraints.
Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carriers (NVOCC) and freight forwarders who offer integrated
transport services were created to meet the needs of shippers. They rent space aboard vessels and
can offer more varied services at reduced costs without the constraints associated with ownership
of vessels. This new approach could have an effect on future shipping routes.