Canada's federal government has pledged up to C $50 million (US $37 million) to fund projects focused on using digitalization to improve the flow of goods, the latest effort by Ottawa to support a more resilient supply chain across the country in the wake of the pandemic.
The agency said in a statement this week that the funding comes from Transport Canada's $0.136 billion digitization efforts, with the grant focused on projects that ease bottlenecks and help ensure exporters have access to international markets.
after pandemic-induced disruptions exposed weaknesses in Canada's supply chain and the federal government began legislating to address port failures, shippers and freight forwarders urged Ottawa to speed up technology development to improve efficiency and resilience.
St. John's is the largest port in Atlantic Canada. It is connected to the rest of Canada by road and rail. It handles about 28 million tons of goods almost every year and has good connections with 500 ports around the world.
The port is easily accessible the Trans-Canada Highway, making it an easy transition for on-road cargo movement and trans-Canadian transport, making it the fifth largest major port in Canada.
a backlog of cargo in major inland hubs such as Toronto and Montreal added to congestion at Canada's western ports last year, leading to a slowdown in import shipments, while exporters occasionally struggled to find empty containers inland to deliver produce.
Craig Esta Brooks said the port moved 87,000 TEUs, or 20-foot units, in 2021 to transport everything from food and wood to electronics. By 2022, that number is closer to 150,000.
said the increase was "significant" because the port was still in the midst of its $0.205 billion modernization project. "It has been challenging for us to experience this growth while continuing to build and modernize our infrastructure, but it is a welcome challenge for our team,"
Transport Canada said in its statement that as part of the national Trade Corridor strategy, the federal grant program will take the first step to establish a more cohesive, up-to-date supply chain to ensure Canada's economic growth and create end-to-end supply chain visibility.
The deadline for to submit project proposals is April 11. While Canada has tried several technology pilots in the past, this project represents an effort for a more ambitious national unified system, notably by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
last October, he introduced a bill that would give the government more oversight of Canadian ports, saying the legislation would allow ports to remain self-sufficient, operate more efficiently and provide attractive investment opportunities.
Forwardernet.com
