Service Update – All Modes

Air Cargo

IATA is reporting a decline in air cargo demand in March of 15.2% compared to the same period in 2019 and capacity was reduced by 22.7% in the same period. The IATA report can be found at

https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/pr/2020-04-28-01/

Trucking

1) The Toronto Star is reporting that truck crossings from the U.S. to Canada fell by 15% in the period from March 23 to April 26. The Star item can be found at

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/04/28/truck-traffic-over-the-us-border-into-canada-drops-by-15-per-cent-due-to-pandemic.html

2) The Private Motor Truck Council (PMTC) is reporting that the Transport Canada exemption to Hours-of-Service limits for truck drivers expires at midnight tonight (April 30). This follows from consultation with stakeholders. Transport Canada will pursue targeted exemptions, if requested by stakeholders or provincial/territorial counterparts, to support emergency relief efforts.

Rail

The AAR Rail statistics for the week ending April 25 have been published.

North American rail volume for the first 17 weeks of 2020 was 10,821,127 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.2% compared with 2019.

Canadian railroads reported 71,689 carloads for the week, down 19.7%, and 69,898 intermodal units, down 2.4% compared with the same week in 2019. For the first 17 weeks of 2020, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,394,855 carloads, containers and trailers, down 5.2%. The Canadian rail traffic statistics can be found at the first red bar below.

Supply Chain Commentaries

1) Ontario Government Freight Transportation Survey – Recovery Planning

The Government of Ontario is commencing its recovery planning and they want to hear from stakeholders regarding recovery needs. The transportation sector will play a key part in getting our economy moving again. We want to hear from you to understand what you need. The link to the Transport Minister’s letter which includes a link to the English and French survey questionnaire can be found at the second red bar below.

2) Canadian Chamber of Commerce – Statistics Canada Survey of Canadian Businesses

As requested by the Chamber, FMA sent the survey questionnaire to the membership. The Chamber reached out, broadly to the Canadian business community. While the survey results do not focus directly on supply chain issues, the results provide a picture of business expectations as the pandemic shutdown continues, which will have implications for supply chains. The survey results can be accessed at the third red bar below.

FMA Government Relations

FMA has continuing communications with Transport Canada Surface Policy and Marine Policy officials and with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). FMA will be meeting by conference call on May 1 with Senator Paula Simons, at her request, to discuss current freight transportation issues.

FMA Office Operations

FMA staff are primarily working from home. If you need to talk with us, please send messages to me at the email address below and leave a phone number where you can be reached.

Updates are on the FMA Website

All the COVID-19 updates that FMA has issued are now uploaded to the website and there is a link to them on the home page at www.fma-agf.ca .

The FMA updates focus on the impacts of COVID-19 on supply chains.

Information and questions from members are encouraged and will be useful in our continuing outreach to FMA members and in our communications with the government and with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. All individual company information will be kept confidential.