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January, 2005 Vol. 61 No.

To all our readers, only the best of wishes for a truly happy, healthy and most successful New Year.
There is no doubt that the transport world is on the move again! Lower inventories and overall encouraging economic news from the key economic regions gives rise to fairly optimistic expectations for the New Year. Inventories are at a tolerable level, consumer confidence is holding steady and low interest rates will stimulate capital investments, thus creating more demand in goods and services. Various forecasts in the transport world estimate another year of major volume increases - well in excess of projected world economic growth. Steamship lines further underline this confidence by having committed to more than 100 new ship buildings of 6000 - 10000 TEU capacity. On the air transport side, airlines are investing in all cargo planes and modern, more efficient equipment to meet the expected market demands for space and service. In short, this indicates strong confidence in a booming transport market. Concerns in Canada are that further dramatic growth will tax the aging infrastructure and transport equipment availability by Canadian ports, railroads, switching yards, truck terminals, roads and multi-modal hubs to accommodate this growth. There is great concern that the limited private equity placement in transport infrastructure, and capital availability, is not sufficient to keep the country cost competitive. A more holistic public/private sector approach is required and with the Governments heavy emphasis on limited spending, short-term gain might well become long-term pain. Light and shade alternate over and over again. The question remains: is there light at the end of the tunnel as presaged by the optimistic economic forecasts that dominate among industry peers? We may just have to wait and see how much the principle of optimism has to offer as there are more than enough external factors that may well affect this feel-good picture for the New Year. The news is still dominated by war and discontent, intolerance, hunger and the huge economic disconnect between the have and have-not regions of this world. Sincerely,

At a Glance
Presidents message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 With 2005 in front of us, much bodes well for Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 The Global Picture - In Summary... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 The Challenges faced by Freight Forwarders As submitted to i/e Canada by George Kuhn, CIFFA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Freight Forwarders and the Import Community must resist Carriers attempts to download Cost of doing Business and Liability . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Address by Prime Minister Paul Martin at the Canada-China Business Council 2004 Gala Dinner and AGM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Will the EUs new Executive Agency set new accents in Transport? . . . . . .6 Globalization Sweeping Central/Eastern Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 CNs presentation at the Westac Logistics and Capacity Forum in Vancouver in autumn 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 New Years Housekeeping Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 CIFFA Legal Counsel Peter F.M. Jones honored by FIATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 US Appeals Court Upholds Limited Carrier Liability in Case of Re-stowage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Readers Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award - 2005 - Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Update to Latest Published Membership Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Half Day Professional Workshops/Seminars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 CIFFA Awards Professional Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Become a FIATA Individual Member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Correspondence from at Home and around the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Resums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 CIFFA Mini World Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

John OBrien, President, and the National Board of Directors

The Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association 1243 Islington Avenue, Suite 706, Toronto, Ontario M8X 1Y9 Tel: 416-234-5100 Fax: 416-234-5152

With 2005 in front of us, much bodes well for Canada


The World Competitiveness Yearbook (researched and published by IMD, Switzerland - www.imd.ch) is one of the world's most renowned and comprehensive annual study in the competitiveness of nations and is considered to be the unique access point to world competitiveness. It analyzes and ranks the ability of nations to provide an environment that sustains the competitiveness of enterprises. But a country's competitiveness cannot be measured by GDP and productivity alone; enterprises must also cope with political, social and cultural dimensions. Therefore nations need to provide an environment that has the most efficient structure, institutions and policies that encourage the competitiveness of enterprises. The report reflects the extensive coverage of 51 countries and 9 powerful economic regions (such as Bavaria, Catalonia, Ilede-France, Lombardy, Maharashtra, Rhone-Alps, Scotland, State of Sao Paulo and Zehjang), all players in the world economy. All countries/regions are chosen because of their impact on the global economy and the availability of comparable international statistics. The criteria are revised and updated on a regular basis as new theory, research and data become available and as the global economy evolves. Over 300 competitiveness criteria have been selected and are broken down as follows: Economic Performance - 83 criteria covering the macroeconomic evaluation of the domestic economy. These include such factors such as the Domestic Economy, International Trade, International Investment, Employment and Prices. Government Efficiency - 77 criteria covering the extent to which Government policies are conducive to competitiveness and include such factors as Public Finance, Fiscal Policy, Institutional Framework, Business Legislation and Societal Framework. Business Efficiency - 69 criteria covering the extent to which enterprises are performing in an innovative, profitable and responsible manner. They include Productivity, Labor Market, Finance, Management Practices and Attitudes and Values. Infrastructure - 94 criteria covering the extent to which basic technological, scientific and human resources meet the needs of business, such as: Basic Infrastructure, Technological Infrastructure, Scientific Infrastructure, Health and Environment and Education.

It is interesting to note that virtually all continents can boast countries worth mentioning in this analysis. Patently absent are the African Continent with the exception of South Africa and the whole of the Middle East (except for Israel) despite the wealth transfer over the past decades in huge oil and gas exports from that region. However, this may also be as a result of unavailability of reliable measuring tools and data support from these absent countries. The report is an invaluable, dynamic and constantly updated benchmark for decision-makers. The business community uses it as an essential tool in determining investment plans and assessing location for new operations. Government agencies find important indicators to benchmark their policies against that of other countries and to evaluate performance over time. It is gratifying to see that over the past decade, Canada has progressed consistently towards a higher overall ranking. Canada advanced from the number 6 spot last year to the number 3 spot in this year's report. A decade ago Canada was hovering close to number 20! Broken down into the four key criteria, Canada is ranked as follows: Economic Performance 8th, Government Efficiency 6th, Business Efficiency 8th and Infrastructure 6th. In its overall ranking, it is only surpassed by the United States and Singapore! In this context it is interesting to note that the IMD underlines that World Competitiveness is not necessarily an indicator of wealth, as same can be the result of past competitiveness, for example due to accumulated capital and knowledge such as the European industrialized nations, or the result of natural resources readily available and exploited such as Saudi Arabia. As a consequence, a nation can be wealthy but not competitive! Neither, and interestingly enough, does it claim that world competitiveness is necessarily an indicator for Economic Performance as economic performance focuses on added value over the short-term, commonly expressed as GDP growth. However, the GDP indicator has some shortcoming as it does not take into account the depletion of non-renewable capital, such as natural resources, the volatility of the economy or the sustainability of growth or, for that matter, the impact of non-tangibles, such as education, research or an aging infrastructure that will gradually erode the competitiveness of a country. In conclusion, Canada has much to be proud off but cannot slack in its efforts to further improve education by particularly furthering the live-long education experience, invest considerably more in research and tackle our aging transport infrastructure by embracing the recognition that a country cannot stay competitive in an integrated world economy without getting goods to market efficiently.

THE FORWARDER - January, 2005

The Global Picture - In Summary...


Quoted verbatim from the IMD World Competitiveness Report Economic cycles should not obscure the most fundamental trends that are emerging in the world competitiveness landscape of 2004:
Asia, and soon Russia and Central Europe, emerge as world competitors in their own right. They will brutally assail the competitiveness of the US and [Western] Europe, as Japan did over the past decades. For governments, there are deficits and deficits: some are cyclical, but many are now structural. They are the result of a wealthy, ageing society that consumes more than it produces. Europe will suffer and may fail to reform itself. World manufacturing explodes but manufacturing jobs implode. The productivity boom spreads via globalization into low cost areas. The next paradigm shift will affect the service industry. As mentioned earlier, there is light at the end of the tunnel of recession. For some countries, this will mean unprecedented opportunities for success and prosperity, for others, the competitiveness landscape that unfolds may be too bright and blinding. The World Competitiveness Yearbook provides a glimpse of this new world. Some nations will adapt, some will muddle through, and some may be left behind. President Reagan summarized the situation quite well: There are those who make it happen, those that let it happen and those who wonder what happened!

goods and information from source to consumption. It includes activities, functions and occupations concerned with finding the best routes and modes of transport, warehousing, distribution, order processing, quality control, regulatory requirements of each country involved, customer service, customs and tariff requirements, foreign exchange expertise and a myriad of other disciplines. Thus international freight forwarders have, of necessity, become knowledge workers who are influenced by the trends typically affecting dynamic industries. Globalization, information technology and organizational changes have all impacted on the skills that are necessary to be at the forefront of the logistics profession. As a result, transport and logistics jobs are increasingly higher-end knowledge jobs, or jobs requiring information management skills, as well as analytical and multilogistics functional skills. Logisticians must be sophisticated transport users of IT, be capable of developing strategies to deploy technology to competitive advantage and, at the same time, integrate them with client systems. To maintain these standards of excellence, our Association coordinates, administrates and controls various professional development programs on a national basis. The Association recognizes its responsibility to shippers and the freight community in general to ensure that the skill sets that exist are continuously upgraded to keep pace with change that so often happens at the most unexpected and undesired moment. We all are aware of the dramatic changes our world has undergone in the more recent past. It has evolved from a predominantly regional and national economy to that of a multi national, global theater. And with it, the worldwide movement of goods and/or services from source to point of sales has increased exponentially. In fact, the WTO (World Trade Organization) projects world-wide cross border trade in merchandise to reach US$ 8.4 trillion by the year 2005, up from US$ 5.9 trillion in 1999. This globalization phenomenon indicates that international trade is becoming a steadily increasing proportion of each countrys economic activity. Yet, historical experience and research tell us that to stay competitive we cannot stand still. To ensure our standard of living continues to rise, we need ongoing improvement in our competitiveness to stay ahead or, at minimum, on par with other countries and regions of this world. But if we want to safeguard a standard of living that compares with the best in the world, we need significant attitudinal change in aspirations and investments, both in the private and public sectors. We must begin now to aggressively raise productivity through critical changes that will invigorate the environment for economic growth. Improving productivity is the key to further
(Continued on page 7)

The Challenges faced by Freight Forwarders


As submitted to i/e Canada by George Kuhn, CIFFA Clearly, todays International Freight Forwarder is faced with challenges far beyond those faced a decade or so ago. The depth of knowledge required to perform effectively in the international movement of goods is truly considerable and requires highly trained employees with cross-functional work skills. Today, International Freight Forwarding has evolved into a group of services concerned with the effective movement of

THE FORWARDER - January, 2005

Freight Forwarders and the Import Community must resist Carriers attempts to download Cost of doing Business and Liability
More recently, CIFFA has observed efforts by ocean carriers to shift segments of their liability exposure and cost of doing business to the intermediary and/or the final customer, the Importer and Exporter. Both, FIATA and CIFFA objected to such attempts. Clearly, surcharges must be kept to such 'temporary and fluctuating' charges as Bunker (fuel) and Currency adjustments etc. On the other hand, any costs of doing business (such as Documentation fee, Invoicing fees, Security fees etc.) ought to be reflected in their rates. The same should hold true for any carrier attempting to reduce their liability exposure through the insertion of additional Contract of Carriage clauses that reduce their risk exposure. (At least until such time as a new International Convention says otherwise!) The three cases highlighted below represent by no means the plethora of cases we have encountered but are, in principle, reflective of the issues at hand: 1. FIATA rejects additional Bill of Lading Clauses involving Letters of Credit

3. with regard to delivery of goods against a B/L which the carrier reasonably believes to be genuine. Originally, the Banking Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) considered these clauses as part of the conditions of contract of carriage that banks do not examine, thus concluding that such a clause or clauses were acceptable under documentary credit operations. However, in view of considerable opposition against the original view of the Banking Commission by National ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) Committees, other ICC Commissions and trade organizations - among them FIATA the Banking Commission has modified its original statement. The Commission has now concluded that 'Clause 1 is harmful to trade and should be removed'. And while Clauses 2 and 3 are deemed to be less objectionable - and do not constitute cause for the rejection of bills of lading under documentary credits - the Commission does consider Clause 2 and 3 susceptible of causing confusion and recommends suspension of their use as well. With regard to Clause 2 it appears that the title to the goods represented by non-negotiable straight bills of lading (bills of ladings not issued to order of the consignee) can be transferred by assignment. The consignee may therefore well be another party than the person indicated on the straight bill of lading. With regards to Clause 3 it is to be asserted that payment by a bank upon presentation of a forged document will not result in a loss for the account holder and that the bank will cover the loss. In conclusion, FIATA recommends that freight forwarders cooperate only with shipping lines whose bills of lading do not show such clauses. Non-acceptance of bills of lading of this kind is particularly critical for freight forwarders acting as contractual marine carriers issuing their own bills of lading. Only by rejecting such Clauses will the Freight Forwarders maintain their ability to take recourse on the shipping line, if the goods are delivered to another party than their designated agent (consignee) abroad. However, whilst refusal is the instant solution, the issue begs more contemplation and research! It falls under the inevitable issue of due diligence and what is reasonable and what not. After all, Freight Forwarders issuing their own Bills of Lading will be confronted with the same potential fraud issues as primary carriers! Inasmuch it would be welcomed if FIATAs ABLM (Advisory Board Legal Matters) would take this matter under advisement.
(Continued on page 5)

FIATA advises that some months ago a few shipping lines started to insert on the front of their bills of lading additional clauses by which the right of the consignee to take delivery of the goods has been severely impaired. They reference such Clauses as: 1. with regard to a clause concerning the release of goods without necessarily requiring surrender of an original B/L, and / or ....

2. with regard to a clause where the bill of lading is nonnegotiable, whereby the carrier may deliver the goods to the named consignee upon reasonable proof of identity without surrender of an original B/L, and / or

THE FORWARDER - January, 2005

Address by Prime Minister Paul Martin at the Canada-China Business Council 2004 Gala Dinner and AGM
With China rapidly becoming our second largest trading partner, after the United States, we felt it most appropriate to hear our Governments point of view on trade with China. It is a great pleasure to have this opportunity to meet with the CCBC - members of the business community who provide such an important link between Canada and China, and who have been partners with us in setting up several offices in key commercial centers across the worlds most populous nation. This evening, Id like to speak primarily about the future of our economic relationship with China. But let me emphasize at the outset that our connection with China is far more comprehensive than that. It comprises not just economic pursuits but also the global political agenda, public health, environmental issues, human rights, and culture. It is a relationship that has always been complex, and a relationship that has never been more important. And that is why Ill be traveling to China in January, to meet with President Hu, Premier Wen and other senior leaders - to engage them in discussions about our bilateral and multilateral relations, to talk about our partnership as nations and how it can grow and be enriched on all levels. I look forward to seeing many of you there, and meeting more members, when I attend a dinner held by the CCBC in Beijing. Ladies and gentlemen, there clearly are tectonic shifts underway beneath the global economic terrain. As China becomes an increasingly important power, it is crucial that we understand its impact both on us directly and on other countries in the region. This much is certain: In the twenty-first century, power will be distributed very differently than it has been during the past fifty years. Countries such as China and India, which together represent more than a third of worlds people, will play increasingly pivotal roles on the global stage roles that I certainly could not have imagined when I first visited China in 1972, during the waning years of the Cultural Revolution. No longer can China be considered simply an emerging market; it has established itself as a world power.

The first challenge is domestic an aging population. We have to prepare for this. And thats what we are doing when we invest in health care, when we reform equalization, when we budget to stay out of deficit, when we pay down debt, and when we as a nation of immigrants continue to welcome people from Asia and around the world people who will help our country grow and prosper. In so doing, we are acting responsibly both for ourselves and for the next generation. We are preparing ourselves for the future. The second demographic challenge is the global shift that Ive just described the rise of new nations as true global powers and what that means for Canada in economic terms and in terms of our role in the world. Again, we have to prepare for this. We have to prepare by asserting ourselves on the international stage, aggressively promoting our values and pushing for a world in which a New Multilateralism translates into enhanced security, greater prosperity and lasting peace. That is what we are doing when we push for reform of the United Nations and when we press for the creation of ongoing meetings not just of the leading industrial economies the G7 or 8 but of the leaders of 20 nations, including regional powers like South Africa and Brazil, and of course the new global power, China. I discussed this with President Hu two weeks ago and he is very supportive. Ill pick up on this when Im in China in January. We are also preparing ourselves when we address the impact of the changing world on foreign trade, because, more than any other industrial economy, international commerce is crucial to our prosperity. We are a wealthy country, our people are well educated, and we have a high standard of living. But how do we, with a population of only 32 million, navigate to ensure that we maintain our standard of living and continue to prosper in a radically different world of giants?
(Continued on page 15) Freight Forwarders and the Import Community must resist Carriers attempts to download Cost of doing Business & Liability (Continued from page 4)

FIATA guidance would be helpful to assert the extent of the Forwarders Liability in such fraud cases and what represents proper due diligence, what is reasonable care, what steps are recommended to ensure release against bona-fide originals and to what extent Liability Insurance would cover the claim. In the meantime, and until a broader consensus evolves around these issues, we strongly recommend to have this issue tabled with the underwriters when the extension of the LL/E&O Insurance comes due.

What does this mean for Canada?


In our time, we face two significant demographic challenges, and how we as a government and as a nation prepare for them will, in my mind, go a long way to determining how history will judge us.

THE FORWARDER - January, 2005

Will the EUs new Executive Agency set new accents in Transport?
These are nail-biting times for the entire transport sector, from container shipping lines and airlines to trucking and railroads, as it awaits the arrival of the new European Commission in Brussels. The European Union's incoming executive agency, which assumed office on Nov. 1, looks like it will pursue a liberal economic agenda, according to seasoned Brussels watchers impressed that its boss, commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, a pro-market former Portuguese prime minister, has allocated the key economic posts of competition, agriculture, internal market and trade, to fellow thinkers.

Reform shifting to idle?


And that's why Barrot's appointment could spell bad news, not just for the transport sector but also for the EU as a whole. There's no way he will maintain the tempo of reform set by the outgoing transport commissioner, Spain's Loyola de Palacio, and might even slow down work in the pipeline. The EU's enlargement in May to eight Eastern European countries with dilapidated transport infrastructures and vulnerable former state-owned firms, was already threatening to complicate reform before the Frenchman's arrival. The EU has scored some notable successes in its campaign to create a deregulated pan-European transport industry thanks in large part to persistent prodding and cajoling by successive commissions. The major achievement to date has been in air transport where the establishment of a single market spawned several US-style no-frills carriers that have saved European travelers billions of dollars in airfares. The commission's clampdown on state handouts also has forced inefficient state-owned carriers to confront market realities or go bust the collapse of Sabena, Belgium's national airline, a couple of years ago would have been unthinkable a decade ago. And Italy's Alitalia could go the same way soon unless it undertakes radical restructuring to qualify for a life-saving $480 million government loan guarantee. The Commission has opened up other transport sectors that were closed to outside competition such as trucking and inland barges, driving down freight rates and pushing inefficient operators to the wall. Its single-minded pursuit of maritime safety has forced the International Maritime Organization to accelerate the timetable for several key measures, notably the phasing out of single-hulled oil tankers. Now Brussels is planning to make accidental pollution in the EU's territorial waters a criminal offense, breaking with the IMO's internationally recognized Marpol convention that distinguishes between deliberate discharges and accidental spills. End for liner shipping anti-trust immunity? The first commissioner to lock horns with the transport industry won't be Barrot, but Neelie Kroes-Smit, head of the competition division, who in the fall is widely expected to call for an end to the liner shipping conferences' immunity from the EU's competition laws. The carriers can no longer claim the commission just doesn't understand how their business works - Kroes-Smit, Dutch transport minister in the 1980s, is one of the leading businesswomen in the Netherlands sitting on the boards of several large companies including Royal P&O Nedlloyd, which she just quit after 13 years. The lines themselves accept liner conferences are an endangered species and are ready to cut a
(Continued on page 13)

A new face for EU transport


No such luck for transport, whose fate during the next five years lies in the hands of Jacques Barrot, a 67-year old former French employment minister and career politician who is widely expected to continue waging his home country's war of attrition against a decade-long campaign by two successive commissions to deregulate ossified, state-subsidized and protected monopolies. Barrot's appointment provoked little comment beyond the transport sector, testifying to its regrettably low standing among EU politicians compared to more glamorous portfolios such as economic affairs and foreign trade. Several prominent French politicians portrayed Barroso's decision to hand Barrot the transport brief, rejecting his request for the powerful competition portfolio, as a slight to the nation and a clear sign that Anglo-Saxon liberalism was in the ascendancy in the EU. Transport is, in fact, one of the biggest economic sectors in the EU, boasting a string of world-class firms. It is home to the world's biggest container shipping lines and the largest tanker and bulk fleets; the world's biggest airline by revenue following the recent merger of Air France and KLM; the leading international air freight carrier, Lufthansa Cargo; the biggest freight forwarders, giant railroad companies and express and logistics firms led by Deutsche Post that are challenging the global supremacy of United Parcel Service and FedEx Corp. But transport is also a laggard compared to other sectors, its resistance to deregulation blamed for the failure of the socalled Lisbon agenda - a package of economic reforms agreed to four years ago aimed at making the EU the most competitive, knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010. But far from overtaking the United States, the EU has fallen further behind, with the under-performing internal freight transport industry taking the rap along with energy monopolies.

THE FORWARDER - January, 2005

The Challenges faced by Freight Forwarders (Continued from page 3)

growth, and a robust environment of attitudes, investments, motivations, and structure will create opportunities to increase this growth. It is about how well we can convert our knowledge, resources, and effort into economic value. For this to happen, individuals must raise their aspirations for personal upgrading of their skills and capabilities. Firms must raise their aspirations to compete globally and Governments at all levels must raise their aspirations to achieve an invigorating environment that encourages individuals and firms to upgrade and innovate. An important feature will characterize distribution business in the 21st century: The way in which suppliers, manufacturers and consumers are being drawn closer and closer together so that, for example, the purchase of a six-pack of Heineken beer in downtown Winnipeg will provide instant input to the Heineken brewery in Holland: This to help determining the next production run, the next raw materials purchase and the next sales forecast. The challenge to the international freight forwarder is to act as the ideal catalyst to maximize the benefits from advances in information technology that are revolutionizing these processes. In adopting cross-functional integration strategies, the forwarders role can turn into the key underpinnings to the marketplace at large as companies are increasingly outsourcing their non-core activities. Do what you do best, outsource the rest is what has become the adage of todays way of doing business. And who could be better placed than the logistics professional to add value to the activities of exporters and importers? The challenges are clear: Develop and deliver cross-functional skills that allow the smooth delivery of goods from point of purchase to point of sales. Be that from or to the hinterland of China, Madagascar, Uruguay or anywhere else in this world of ours! Such skill challenges engulf a plethora of disciplines, starting with the intimate knowledge of every mode of transport road, rail, sea and air. Then using this knowledge to combine best routes, combinations of transport modes and designing a logistics infrastructure that provides the best compromise between cost, speed and reliability. Given the diversity of the nature of goods, each countrys idiosyncrasies and everchanging parameters due to new market entrants, ever changing rules and regulations, this requires continuous sourcing and updating of information. Another vital ingredient to successful trading on world markets is that every transaction must comply with a myriad of statutory and regulatory measures and their procedures,

especially those concerned with Customs and - today Security. Non-observance of one small component within this virtual beehive of local and international rules and regulations will inevitably result in delays and costs not factored in anyones calculations. The challenge for the international freight forwarder is to avert these inevitable stumbling blocks by keeping abreast and preparing in time for such eventualities. To every international trade transaction there is an element of risk. Risk management in international trade is infinitely more complex than buying and selling goods locally. It therefore requires that these risks be managed with tools that are correspondingly more sophisticated and appropriate for the global market place. Familiarity with Letters of Credit, Incoterms, international banking, bank drafts, currencies and their fluctuations, appropriate packaging, securing and weighing the risks for the various modes of transport, loss, damage and other pitfalls must become second nature to the accomplished logistics expert. Often forwarders are entrusted with goods that are dispatched under conditions where buyer and seller are not known to one another. In such instances, scrupulous adherence to all components of the transaction are fundamental to ensure that buyer and seller are fully satisfied and goods and money are exchanged to each partys satisfaction. In this context it is often forgotten that the international freight forwarder can play a vital and most constructive role in facilitating potential buyers and sellers an entry to the international market place. This is done most often through intimate consultancy with the potential client and the forwarders networking ability with offices and agents abroad. More often than not this also involves advise as to alternative methods of financing and the establishment of payment methods that are mutually satisfactory to both parties. Last but not least, there is the imminent challenge of security driven measures designed and imposed by Governments around the world. Advance commercial information requirements for all modes of transport are now a given in the United States and shortly to be followed by Canada, the EU and ultimately in other places of the world. For each mode of transport, different advance information timelines have been designed; with the marine mode requiring a given set of data for each shipment to be filed 24 hours prior to lading at the port of origin, the air mode 4 hours prior to landing or, for shorter flights, at wheels-up. For trucks and rail shipments crossing the border from the United States, the requirement will be 2 hours prior to arrival at the border. Similarly, exportreporting requirements are now being designed for exports from Canada. These are with the Department of Justice now and are expected to become law this year.
(Continued on page 13)

THE FORWARDER - January, 2005

Globalization Sweeping Central/Eastern Europe


By S. Poloz, Chief Economist, EDC Canada A tour of central and eastern Europe reveals that globalization is sweeping the region. This is a good sign those countries are ready to play todays more complex game of international trade. The symptoms of globalization are plain to see international trade has been growing much faster than the global economy. This is because globalization of supply chains means that companies now import components first, often from their own foreign affiliates, then make their final product, and then export it. The same materials may be traded internationally multiple times as a result. Moreover, cross-border investment has been growing even faster than international trade, as companies set up those supply chains and distribution networks. Begin the tour in Austria, which portrays itself as the gateway to central and eastern Europe. Turns out, that portrayal is justified, as Austrias banks have built a major presence in the region. Meanwhile, exports have grown by 8% on average over the past 10 years, and cross-border investment (both inbound and outbound) by around 20%. Reportedly, more than 60% of Austrian trade occurs within Austrian companies the integrative trade/investment model in the extreme. Next, a one-hour drive takes you to Slovakia, where the briefest passport perusal is evidence enough that they are open for business. Globalization characteristics are strong, with trend export growth of 15% and cross-border investment growth (mostly inward) in excess of 30%. Slovakia is on its way to producing more automobiles per person than any other country in the world, and this critical mass is expected to continue to attract more auto parts manufacturers and other suppliers. Slovakias 19% corporate tax rate is also setting a new competitive standard in the region. Next stop, the Czech Republic, after another half-hearted passport inspection. More advanced than Slovakia, sufficiently so that the dominant worry seems to be the gradual erosion of competitiveness that is occurring. But what Czech companies must realize is that rising property prices and wages are an inevitable symptom of successful convergence with core Europe in effect, these cost trends confirm that underlying productivity and competitiveness are improving.

The globalization characteristics are clearly there: a ten-year export growth trend of 14% per year, and cross-border investment growth of over 20% per year, mostly inwards. And then there is Russia. Here, too, there is growing evidence of globalization, with annual average export growth of 9% and cross-border investment growth of over 30%, both inbound and outbound. There are still some frictions in doing international business, their visa requirements are stringent, for one thing, and the recent experience of Yukos has raised international investors concerns. But business is truly opening up, the internationally focused local banks are extremely professional, and the prospects for more trade growth appear to be excellent. The bottom line? There is strong evidence that central and eastern European companies are increasingly prepared to play the integrative trade game. That means increased growth in cross-border investment and trade, and lots of opportunities for Canadian exporters and investors.

CNs presentation at the Westac Logistics and Capacity Forum in Vancouver in autumn 2004
Our thanks go to CN for their permission to recap the speaking notes of Paul Waite, CN Vice President IMX, during the above mentioned Forum. Readers experiences may well differ from the near perfect picture portrayed by CN! Nevertheless, the better we understand our transport partners woes and problems, the better we can work towards joint solutions benefiting all participants in the transport chain DEMAND AND CAPACITY OUTLOOK CNs North American network is an integral part of the logistics chain linking Asian exporters, the Vancouver Gateway and consumers throughout Canada and midAmerica. As such, CNs ability to move traffic smoothly across its network is a key determinant of the fluidity of Vancouver Ports. CN has a free-running network that has been able to accommodate rising volumes of containerized traffic landing at Vancouver, largely without problems. This state of affairs reflects CNs foresight and significant investments in network reach and capacity. Since 1999 CN has spent:
(Continued on page 10)

THE FORWARDER - January, 2005

New Years Housekeeping Reminder


Have you cleaned-up your computer lately and readied it for the New Year? To save space on our computers, and allow for less time to perform back ups of email boxes it is extremely helpful to have erased all spam e-mail, trash, possibly all emails before 2004 as it is doubtful that e-mails older than a year will still be needed. Also, and often forgotten, one should delete attachments from outboxes that are already saved on the hard drives under your documents; as well as temporary internet folders and temp folders where stuff goes when the computer freezes up; also any pictures, jokes, and short joke videos which use up large and unnecessary disc space.

We have thus learned with great pride and pleasure that FIATA has honored Peter Jones by recognizing him as an Honorary Life Member of FIATA in recognition of his untold and manifold contributions to the International transport world. CIFFA is also very pleased to confirm that Peter Jones, despite his desire to slow down a bit, has consented to continue in his capacity as legal advisor to CIFFA. N.B. The Fiata Legal Handbook can be purchased from the CIFFA Secretariat at a cost of $55.00 plus GST.

US Appeals Court Upholds Limited Carrier Liability in Case of Re-stowage


The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has upheld a lower court ruling that vessel carriers have only limited liability for damages to cargo that occur when it is re-stowed during a voyage. In Schramm, Inc. et al. v. v. Shipco Transport, Inc. et al., the court addressed a situation in which a mobile drilling rig being shipped from Baltimore to Chile was damaged on a dock in Charleston during operations to restow it. The Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA) limits carrier liability for damages to $500 per package and covers the period from the time the goods are loaded to the time they are discharged from the ship. The court ruled that this liability limitation continued to apply when the cargo was being restowed at Charleston, stating that this is a customary activity in contemporary shipping and did not constitute a discharge under COGSA. It would be awkward, the court added, given COGSAs scope, if each re-stowage of goods at an intermediate port would create a distinct period of time during which COGSA was temporarily inapplicable. On the contrary, the most reasonable interpretation of the statute is rather that a discharge of goods occurs under COGSA when the goods are removed from the ship at the final port of destination. However, this ruling is subject to limitations. COGSA can apply to goods transported by sea but damaged on land, the court said, but there must be a sufficient nexus between the activity which caused damage to the goods and the carriage of goods by sea. This would be an altogether different case if the cargo was damaged in circumstances far removed from customary maritime activities.

CIFFA Legal Counsel Peter F.M. Jones honored by FIATA


It is now 25 years that Peter Jones, a Partner at Paterson, MacDougall, Toronto has acted as CIFFAs indispensable mentor for any legal issue concerning Maritime and Transport law. Peter is also the initiator and guardian of the Standard Trading Conditions that have benefited our Association for close to twenty years. It is also on his urging that the Association has embarked on a full re-write and update of the Conditions over the past two years. These new Conditions will be submitted to the Membership for ratification in the early part of 2005. Peter Jones is the internationally acclaimed author of The FIATA Legal Handbook on Forwarding which was recently published as a 3rd Edition to address the changes in Transport Law over the past years, and which also prompted the rewrite of our Trading Conditions. His handbook has been translated into Chinese and many other languages. In recognition of his invaluable contributions to transport law, FIATA appointed him as Chair of its Advisory Board Legal Matters, a position he held for a good 10 years until his decision to retire from the assignment at the Bali World Congress in 2003.

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Readers Commentary
The following message was received from a CIFFA member. It is good to see such comments from our constituency. TO: Mr. George Kuhn and the entire CIFFA Team. RE: WSIB Initiative. I wish to thank each and every one of you for the diligent effort that you put together to successfully implement separate classification for our industry by WSIB. This type of initiative enhances our profession and gives our employees the benefits they need. Thanks for a project well championed. Yours very truly, Ken Singh, B.A, CITT, MCIT President Atlas International Freight Forwarding Inc.
CNs presentation at the Westac Logistics and Capacity Forum in Vancouver in autumn 2004 (Continued from page 8)

experienced a 20 per cent compounded annual growth rate in import/export container traffic over the west coast ports. We anticipate CNs international business through Vancouver will increase by six to eight per cent annually in the 2005-2010 period. CN moves 20,000 feet of container traffic in and out of the ports daily, and we expect this will increase in the years ahead to accommodate traffic growth. (Note to reader: A fully loaded 8000 TEU ship will discharge 160000 feet of containers within 24 hours. Are railroads and ports aware of such a potential impact on the existing infrastructure?) GATEWAY CONSTRAINTS CN has learned that scheduled operations are essential in railroading to achieve efficient asset utilization and network fluidity. It is equally essential for other high fixedcost businesses such as shipping and port terminals. The importance of scheduling rail operations is why CN embarked on its IMX program last year. IMX applies the same principles of scheduled carload rail operations improved and consistent transit times and better asset utilization - to intermodal traffic. IMX is designed to smooth demand and balance the flow of intermodal traffic through pre-defined daily train capacity, slot, gate and equipment reservation, and day-of-the-week pricing. A key problem at the Port of Vancouver is uneven demand for rail transportation. Vessel discharge of containers by day of the week, and on a week-over-week basis, shows tremendous variation. In such an environment, it is difficult to ensure an adequate supply of intermodal equipment at the ports. From a logistics and business standpoint, its simply not economic to keep surplus cars in terminals to accommodate peak discharge days. Maintaining such a surplus wreaks havoc with asset utilization and economic returns for the railroads. Moreover, it generates surges in rail demand that breed congestion. CN was determined to address this issue headon through IMX. While IMX is still a work in progress, weve come a long way in improving intermodal flows and asset utilization since first implementing the program in 2003. The behaviour of the import community at our inland terminals is also a constraint on rail capacity. Too often importers treat our largest intermodal terminal in Brampton as a storage facility, rather than its intended purpose as a transfer facility. Importers routinely want to
(Continued on page 14)

1. US$3.6 billion to acquire Illinois Central and Wisconsin Central to extend its rail franchise and the franchise of the Vancouver Gateway into the central and southern United States. Among the benefits of single line service afforded by these transactions are improved transit and cycle times for freight cars; 2. US$380 million on the acquisition of Great Lakes Transportation, which will allow new efficiencies in train operations north of Duluth/Superior in the key Winnipeg-Chicago corridor; 3. C$150 million on new intermodal terminals/terminal improvements at Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, New Orleans and Memphis, and 4. C$130 million on extended sidings and centralized traffic control. CN has shared in the rapid expansion of containerized traffic through Vancouver. Over the past five years, CN has

THE FORWARDER - January, 2005

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Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award - 2005 - Procedures


CIFFA is pleased to announce that it will once again be offering an award to the young person in our industry who best exemplifies the education, skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to become an exceptional International Freight Forwarder of the future.

See the CIFFA web site for details: http://www.ciffa.com/education_young.asp

Applicant Instructions
Documentation may be submitted electronically (Word document) or as a hard copy. Deadline for submission is January 6, 2005. Late applications will not be accepted. Documentation can be sent by the following methods: E-mail - dougb@ciffa.com Mail or courier: Doug Burek Director, Education Canadian International Freight Forwarders Assoc. Inc. 1243 Islington Ave., Ste. 706 Toronto, ON M8X 1Y9

CIFFA Canadian Award


The CIFFA Canadian Award winner will receive: A cash reward of $1500.00

Requirements World-Wide Award


The applicant must: not have won this award previously; not be older than 29 in 2005; and currently work for a CIFFA Regular Member; and Additionally, the CIFFA award winner must agree to have herself/himself put forward as Canadas candidate to the World-Wide Young Freight Forwarder of the Year Award, sponsored by the TT Club, FIATA, and IATA.

The World-Wide Award winner will receive:


have worked as a full-time Freight Forwarder for at least two (2) years; and have successfully completed CIFFA Module I; and submit a current resume; and submit a Letter of Recommendation from senior management at their current employer; and write a 500-800 word essay on the following: A client needs advise on all aspects of getting their shipment to the final destination. Discuss all aspects applicable to the transport of the cargo including risk, liability, cost, safety, and compliance with regulations, export clearance, documentation requirements, etc. Product: Quantity: Tetrahydrofurfurylamine. 144 Drums each 90cm x 60cm x 60cm, Gross 224 kg, net 200 Kg. Terms of Sale: DDP to a major city anywhere but where at least two country borders will be crossed during the journey. Ex Works Price: US$ 12,000 per tonne FIATA will arrange for the winner to participate in their 2005 Annual World Congress (Moscow, Russia), all expenses paid; and two weeks practical experience of transport infrastructure (multi-modal) which is likely to include visits to container terminals, airfreight terminals, ports, surveyors' offices, etc. based in one of the three TT Club regional centres (Hong Kong, London or New Jersey). The steering group will decide which region will provide the most benefit to the winner; and one weeks training on Legal and Insurance Aspects of Transport, organised by the TT Club, and held in London; and one weeks training on air cargo provided by IATA (held at the nearest IATA training location to the home-town of the winner); and one years free subscription to International Transport Journal and to International Freighting Weekly. The candidate for the World-Wide Award, must also agree to write a more detailed follow-up dissertation of between 2,500 and 4,000 words (typed, double-spaced), to be submitted to the TT Club by April 30, 2005. Submission must be received by CIFFA no later than April 15, 2005. This dissertation may be submitted in English, French, German or Spanish. a trophy engraved with the name of the winner and held in the TT Club office in London (the winner will be given a personal trophy to keep); and

- submit paper typed/word processed, double-spaced, 8 x 11 single-sided white paper - this will become the basis for the dissertation for the World-Wide Award

THE FORWARDER - January, 2005

12

Update to Latest Published Membership Directory


Please note that the following companies missed the publication date of our recently published directory, and should be added to your directory.

Regular:
Advance Distribution & Logistics Inc. 1750 Courtney Park Drive, Unit #5-7 Mississauga, Ontario L5T 1W1 Tel. 564-5656 / 877-363-7281 Fax. 905-565-0025 www.advanceship.com M. Greco, President, maxgreco@advanceship.com Mark Greco, Secretary, markgreco@advanceship.com Checkpoint Logistics Inc. 7370 Bramalea Road, Unit 23 Mississauga, ON L5S 1N6 Tel. 905-673-9826 Fax. 905-673-7793 C. Hogg, President, chris@checkpointlogistics.com A. Madhavi, V.P. Compass Freight Services Inc. 6900 Tranmere Drive Mississauga, ON L5S 1L9 Tel. 905-264-2424 / 1800-243-5508 Fax. 905-263-2900 www.compassfreight.com Ms. C. Barone, Air/Ocean Manager cindy@compassfreight.com J. Pasquale, President joe@compassfreight.com B. Dean, V.P. Freight Systems (Canada) Inc. 6500 Silver Dart Drive, Suite #A-206 P.O. Box 56, Toronto AMF Mississauga, ON L5P 1A2 Tel. 905-405-9277 / 800-561-5384 Fax. 905-405-0072 www.freightsystems.com D. Phillips, President david@freightsystems.com A. Gore, Country Manager Gore.cator@freightsystems.com R. Bombat, Manager Ronnie.cator@freightsystems.com Primex Customs and Logistics Inc. 6360 Vipond Drive Mississauga, ON L5T 1G2 Tel. 905-564-2020 Fax 905-564-2727

www.primexlogistics.com, info@primexlogistics.com Ms. L. Hazlett, President, lhazlett@primexlogistics.com C. Abuyuan, V.P. Operations, cabuyuan@primexlogsitics.com Ms. T. Bell S. Scrimshaw, V.P. Finance, sscrimshaw@primexlogistics.com Secure Freight Systems, Inc. 1160, 4871 Miller Road Richmond, BC V7B 1K8 Tel. 604-276-2369 Fax. 604-276-9719 www.securefreight.com A. Mak, President, sf.ambrosemak@securefreight.com G. Lam, Financial Controller, sf.gordonlam@securefreight.com Ms. S. Chiu, Operations Manager, sf.sandrachiu@securefreight.com

Associate:
J. Chevreau Enterprises (Category: Miscellaneous) 22 Thirty Sixth Street Etobicoke, Ontario M8W 3K9 Tel. 416-259-1274 J. Chevreau, President Ms. R. Snowden, V.P. ruth.snowden@sympatico.ca

Cancellations of Memberships:
Please cancel the following Associate member company names off the latest published directory. C & K Express 2003 Inc. The Descartes System Group, Inc. Messrs. Flynn, Rivard Finnair Oy Hamilton International Airport Kenwin Cargo Services

Listing Corrections:
Please note the following corrections to member entries. Consolidated Shipping Line, Inc. 305 South Tower, 5811 Cooney Road Richmond, BC V6X 3M1 Tel. 604 214 9244 Fax. 604 214 9266 www.cssgroupsite.com

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The Challenges faced by Freight Forwarders (Continued from page 7)

The challenge to the logistics industry was to provide careful and continuous input to Government for the design of these security measures so as to bridge the gap between the industrys efforts towards trade facilitation and the needs for more security. For example, one accommodation between Government and Industry was to find a solution between catering to the speed of airfreight and meeting security concerns. Inasmuch the role and responsibility of the freight forwarder was enhanced through the Known Shipper Program, whereby the freight forwarder or airline is required to hold any shipments from an unknown shipper for 24 hours prior to dispatch by air. Thus, the challenges are not only in embracing the ever changing landscape in the world market place, but to positively influence regulatory and statutory changes prompted by Governments that are often designed in complete isolation from the practical world. Inasmuch the pro-active engagement with Transport Canada, the Canadian Border Services Agency, US Customs and Border Protection, UNCITRAL, UNCTAD, ICC, the WCO and other NGOs is vital to safeguard the interests of the trading and transport community. A changing industry does not require a whole new set of qualities, but a new mix of competencies!

despite a raft of market-opening measures. But the move from Paris to Brussels might just embolden him to take on the powerful French rail unions that are fighting tooth and nail to stop outsiders from moving into their protected market. The jury will be out for some time to come.

Half Day Professional Workshops/ Seminars


In the latter part of 2004 CIFFA held various Professional Half Day Workshops/Seminars to meet specific learning needs on certain skill sets. These seminars have proven to be highly successful and much appreciated by all participants. The feedback received was nothing but complimentary! As a result, CIFFA will hold another series of topical seminars this year and we encourage interested parties to take note of the scheduled dates below. In addition, we would like to encourage our members to entice their customers to attend such seminars as well. Remember: A well informed customer, is a good customer! Seminars will be held in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal. Seats are limited to 25 people, so register early! To register, simply go to our website: www.ciffa.com and click under Education on Topical Seminars. Our facilitator, Ruth Snowden is a hands-on practitioner with 26 years of import and export experience, Ms. Snowden brings both a wealth of knowledge and exceptional facilitation skills to the classroom. She has developed and delivered hundreds of employee training courses and filled several management and executive positions in global logistics, most recently as Vice President, Quality & Strategic Planning with a large US based logistics service provider. Ms. Snowden recently seized an opportunity to start her own business, where she is committed to Leading individuals and organizations to successful change through facilitated work related learning.

Will the EUs new Executive Agency set new accents in Transport? (Continued from page 6)

deal with the commission in a move that is expected to spur mergers and acquisitions in the industry. Barrot will swing into action soon, leading the EU into fresh negotiations with the U.S. on an aviation pact to liberalize passenger and cargo services on the $18 billion-a-year transAtlantic market. The two sides were edging toward a draft agreement before talks were suspended ahead of the U.S. presidential campaign, setting the stage for a deal sometime in the new year. Barrot won't be judged by the outcome of the air talks, however, but by the progress made in two lower profile, but arguably more important dossiers, rail freight and port services. His predecessor de Palacio plans to bequeath him a new proposal to deregulate the waterfront following the European Parliament's rejection of her initial package earlier in the year, but it's questionable whether the newcomer will share her enthusiasm for a measure that antagonized union dockworkers and many ports. It is also highly unlikely that Barrot will continue de Palacio's crusade to inject competition into the EU's rail freight industry, which is still continuing to lose traffic to trucking

Location Date 2005 AM Subject


Mississauga Wed. Feb. 16 Tues. April 5 Tues. May 10 Mon. Feb. 21 Tues. Feb. 22 Thurs. Feb 24 Thurs. March 3 Tues. April 12 Wed. April 13 Wed. Feb 16 Thurs. Feb 17 Feb 22, 23, 24 Feb 23, 24 STCs STC s Export Reporting STCs Export Reporting STCs *** STCs Export Reporting *** IMO DG Initial AIR DG Initial AIR DG Recurrent

PM Subject
** Incoterms Letters of Credit Incoterms Letters of Credit Export Reporting STCs Incoterms Letter of Credit IMO DG Recurrent p.m.

Vancouver Calgary Montreal

Toronto

THE FORWARDER - January, 2005

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CIFFA Awards Professional Designations


CIFFAs accredited Professional Freight Forwarders are individuals who are acknowledged as having acquired a vast degree of knowledge, expertise, experience, and continuing education and professional development in the international freight-forwarding field. Furthermore, these Professionals are defined as someone who has the following attributes: competence, experience, education, knowledge and keeps current with industry practices, and is trustworthy and ethical. We congratulate these professionals on their achievement and wish them continued success. Mr. R. W. Stevens Mr. Phil Bowen Mr. Stephen P. Valentine Ms. Arlene R. Singroy Ms. Ana Paula Lourenco Mr. Rahman Wahab Ms. Sharon T. Hickey Ms. Deborah Roche Mr. Peter Schwerdt Ms. Anna A. Gignac Mr. Manuel A. Velez Mr. J. Jeffrey White Mr. Rolf Von Fintel (1001) (1002) (1003) (1005) (1004) (1006) (1007) (1008) (1009) (1010) (1011) (1013) (1014)

Increased collaboration. All parties must treat container moves as part of a single, integrated supply chain. CN believes the Port of Vancouver terminals must work closely with steamship companies and railways to coordinate port workload with train arrivals. Smoothing the flow of traffic would create 15 per cent to 20 per cent more system capacity and reduce costs. Earlier visibility of information at the port and the railways would enable us to optimize port activity, train loading and improve the fluidity of our intermodal terminals. Prioritizing hot traffic before it lands at the port would also help improve service consistency and reliability. Our industry must also ensure the import community picks up containers at major inland terminals on a 24/7 basis. This would significantly improve throughout of our terminals and permit increased train volumes and network capacity. CN, for one, is prepared to perform door deliveries of import containers on a 7/24 basis, if required. The industry should also examine new technology to permit double stacking of empty 20-foot containers for movement from terminals in the continental interior back to Vancouver. This would smooth the flow of empties and free up terminal capacity. A new vision of west coast port capacity would also ease constraints at Vancouver. The development of Prince Rupert should be seen as complementing, rather than competing with Vancouver, generating larger overall container capacity. Co-production between railroads. Im proud to announce today that CN and CPR have concluded an agreement under which CN will haul international containers for CPR from the Port of Vancouver to Winnipeg, where the traffic will be handed back to CPR for transportation to locations throughout Central Canada. This is a winning agreement for the railways and the Port of Vancouver. This haulage agreement will take advantage of CNs scheduled operations and help CPR manage its workload through the B.C. Interior. Significantly, this cooperative effort it will allow the Port of Vancouver to increase its daily volume by 10 per cent, clearly advancing the ports growth objectives and helping to position Canada to capture a greater overall share of the international containerized trade.

Mr. F. F. V. San Buenaventure (1012)

CNs presentation at the Westac Logistics and Capacity Forum in Vancouver in autumn 2004 (Continued from page 10) pick up import containers at Brampton Monday to Friday, nine to five p.m., with peak demand on Monday and Tuesday. Yet railroads, ocean vessels and Vancouver ports operate 24/7. The inevitable outcome is that the terminal becomes congested, most notably on weekends. Come Monday morning an excessive inventory of import containers requires double or triple handling, which is costly, and results in longer carter turn times. SOLUTIONS In a geographically constrained container port area in downtown Vancouver, CN is participating in increasing the capacity of the Vanterm and Centerm terminals to permit them to double handlings by 2010.

THE FORWARDER - January, 2005

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Address by Prime Minister (Continued from page 5)

What do our businesses need to do in order to thrive?


Thomas Friedman, a columnist for the New York Times, wrote recently about the rise of China. He pointed out that the Chinese used to attract jobs because they were in a race to the bottom they offered cheap labour. Now, increasingly, they attract jobs because they are in a race to the top their young people are smart, well educated and driven. Friedman wrote that when Bill Gates goes to China, people line up for hours and hang from the rafters to hear him speak. In China, he said, Bill Gates is Britney Spears. In North America, Britney Spears is Britney Spears. No one understands the profound change that is coming better than the people in this audience. You have to prepare for it as leaders of business. However, we as a government must also act. We have to focus on making sure our businesses have the capacity and the ability to compete. This means competitive taxes. It also means an education system second to none. That is what we are doing when we invest in early learning, so children enter school ready to excel, and when we invest in our cities and communities, so they are our signatures to the world and attract international talent. With new spending on research chairs, and a commitment to centers of excellence at universities, Canada is signaling that in the 21st century we will continue to foster and nurture the spirit of innovation which is making this a country of worldclass technology and creativity. Canada must have an innovation- and research-friendly environment next to none if we are to be ready for the China of today, let alone prepare for the China of tomorrow. We are preparing. Our agenda as a government is broad, we are active in many areas, but in everything we do we are guided by one imperative: ensuring that Canadians and their values prosper now and in the future. That is what connects our actions, our priorities, and our pursuits: Building prosperity today, enhancing it for tomorrow. And how we react to the emergence of China as a global force will go a long way to determining whether we succeed. Today, on the other side of the Pacific, growing investment and bold change among China, a number of countries in South-East Asia and the Indian sub-continent are beginning to transform not just trade and investment flows, but also the way people live and the possibilities they see for themselves.

Chinas share of world trade and GDP is rising dramatically and companies from all over the world are investing there with an eye to both the domestic marketplace and international markets. As these changes occur, the very nature of international commerce is evolving. Concepts and catchphrases like supply chain management, on-time delivery, and point-of-sale inventory adjustment, which not long ago were novel ideas even to logistics specialists, are now poised to evolve dramatically in meaning and practice.

What does this mean for Canada and for our economy?
The answer, potentially, is everything. Consider one simple yet critical fact: The share of the value of a product represented by the cost of making it is decreasing. The Chinese may manufacture a sweater, but a lot of other people in a lot of other places will have high-quality jobs managing the process. The race is on to develop a system that allows the preference of consumers in Winnipeg for red sweaters over blue to be reflected not just on the factory floor in South China, but also dockside in Hong Kong and in the freight yards of Vancouver. Maximizing our share of those jobs requires a new strategy that goes far beyond our traditional understanding of international trade and recognizes that globalization, and the specialization it often calls for, will create new opportunities for advanced economies such as our own. We must prepare. When I travel to China to meet with the President and the Premier, the Minister of International Trade, Jim Peterson, will be there as well, heading a delegation from Canadian business. These are important trips at an important time. Minister Peterson and business leaders like you are putting in place the modern strategy that will deliver the services those businesses require in the 21st century economy. This must succeed if Canada is to maximize its share of the jobs in the new world. The creative arts, technology-driven manufacturing and many areas of traditional Canadian expertise, ranging from transportation and communications to educational services and agriculture, all stand to benefit from the changes Ive described, and for one very simple reason: Economic growth in China and the rest of Asia means increased demand for our products and services. Chinas entry into the WTO is making it a more open, more transparent and, over time, a more market-driven economy. The opportunities for Canadian exporters have never been better. And let us not forget: We have a not-so-secret weapon, a real asset, in this contest for the pocketbooks and wallets of booming Asia our multi-ethnic population. Canadians of Chinese origin number more than one million.
(Continued on page 16)

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Become a FIATA Individual Member


The following CIFFA Members are currently members of FIATA. The benefits of membership include: Free copy of FIATA Membership List, Copies of the FIATA Review and, among others, Use of the FIATA logo on office stationary and company vehicles. For an application to join FIATA go to http://www.ciffa.com/become_fiata.asp

Address by Prime Minister (Continued from page 15)

They are successful in all walks of life, from medicine to engineering to the arts and to public life. Those who choose careers in commerce provide companies in Canada with a tremendous advantage in selling their products in China and in managing joint ventures. And the magnitude of the advantage is just beginning to be felt. Between 1984 and the end of the century, 350,000 residents of Hong Kong moved to Canada. Thats equivalent to 5 per cent of Hong Kongs population. As first or second generation Canadians, many are now engaged in the promotion of trade, technology transfer or investment flows between Canada and China. They are to be found not just in Hong Kong and Canada, but also in cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou and, of course, Beijing. And new immigrants from the mainland are making their mark also, many in areas of advanced technology and finance. They, and indeed all Canadians, are eager to see us vigorously promote in our dealings with China core Canadian values in areas such as the environment and human rights. We have done so, and we will continue to do so. We will do so because we understand that our advocacy does not stand in contradiction to our trade and economic agenda. On the contrary, it supports it, for it is our belief that the growth of a strong and enduring country depends not only on economic prosperity but also on environmental sustainability, rule of law and respect for persons. As China becomes increasingly influential in economic terms, as it emerges as a global player, it will find many new opportunities but also new obligations. International attention will intensify as China expands its interests and as the 2008 Summer Games approach. With power and influence comes responsibility. This is why we regularly engage the Chinese government at all levels, through dialogue and practical cooperation, on human rights issues. And I will be continuing that engagement at the highest levels during my visit to China. A second asset we have is the quality of Canadian education, which is prompting large numbers of Chinese either to study in Canada or to attend Canadian curriculum schools in China. This openness to Canada as an attractive choice for quality learning, language development and cultural interaction makes "brand recognition" of our country an advantage that we need to nurture. Our third asset is our natural resources. As recently as a decade ago, it was popular to say that the age of commoditydriven growth was a phenomenon of the past. Just as building wooden ships for the Royal Navy could no longer sustain our shipyards after the mid-nineteenth century, the popular wisdom thought that the Canadian resource sectors would be marginalized in the 21st century economy. Well, think again. Clearly, commodities are back and in demand. While prices
(Continued on page 17)

Affiliated Customs Brokers Limited C.S. World Cargo 2000 Ltd. Cargo Alliance Ltd. Carson International Cole Freight Inc. P.F. Collins Customs Broker Limited Delmar International Inc. Dolbec Y Logistique International Inc. FCI Fisker Cargo Inc. Federated Freight Services Limited Freightcan Inc. GeoLogistics Co. Gillespie-Munro Inc. David Kirsch Forwarders Ltd. Magnate Shipping Lines Ltd. Metras Shipping & Forwarding Inc. Overseas Container Forwarding Inc. Quad City Port Services Inc. Traffic Tech Inc. Trans-Com Transport Ltd. UE Canada Inc. Welke Global Logistics

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Address by Prime Minister (Continued from page 16)

will fluctuate, the remarkable consumer and industrial growth throughout Asia and the Indian sub-continent means that Canada will continue to benefit from our natural resource wealth. That being said, we cannot as a nation make the mistake of thinking we can leave it at that. Yes, we will benefit from exporting resources. And yes, as we have seen, our resource firms will become attractive to companies in Asia. In fact, given its accumulated hard currency reserves, China is likely to be an increasing source of capital as it seeks to secure the resources the Chinese people will need. In determining whether acquisitions of this nature will be welcomed in Canada, we will be guided by the imperative of ensuring that they are of significant benefit to Canada both domestically and in terms of our international economic reach. All of this being said, the real opportunity is the potential to market abroad Canadian know-how our brainpower and expertise, for this could ultimately prove our greatest and most enduring export. Today, Canadians are active in both the South China Sea and in the northeast of China in the energy sector because of the expertise that our country has developed in petroleum recovery. That same level of expertise exists among those in our mining sector. Simply put, we benefit as a nation when we are able to sell not only the resources themselves but our resource sector management and our technical ability. But we cannot stop at that, either. We must commit ourselves to competing globally in highlevel manufacturing and services such as environmental technology and medical innovation. There is such opportunity here, and Canada is well placed to seize it. We would do well to emulate Japan, whose economic resurgence owes much to the successful role played by its advanced economic sectors within the context of Chinas growth. Ladies and gentleman, we seek a mutually beneficial relationship with China and the other economies of Asia a growing partnership that recognizes the changes that are occurring in how economic activity is undertaken today and seizes the new opportunities that are emerging. This relationship will have challenges and we will be working with the Chinese on such issues as investment protection, full implementation of WTO commitments, and the development of a more transparent legal system and the full application of the rule of law in commercial disputes. The creation of an open playing field for economic activity does not happen overnight, but we expect ongoing progress. Good governance and the rule of law in commerce also have a ripple effect across society and we will encourage this as well.

Make no mistake: A comprehensive relationship with China requires a whole of government approach from Canada. Foreign policy, more than any other dimension of government activity, needs to be consistent across a wide variety of government departments. This requires a solid framework and active co-ordination. In terms of our relationship with China, this means that we will engage across a wide range of issues and endeavour to be seen as a useful partner along the full spectrum of activity. When in China, I will pursue with President Hu and Premier Wen discussions on a range of issues, including UN reform, international public health, the environment, and the fight against terrorism. China is playing a growing role in world affairs. Its influence is destined to expand further. With its permanent seat on the UN Security Council, China in many ways speaks for a region with more than half the worlds population. It has much to gain from the success of a New Multilateralism. There is one last observation I would make in conclusion tonight. Increasingly, as one reads American and European business periodicals, one sees the rise of China referred to as equal parts prospect and hazard. We have a different view in Canada. Given our population, given the small size of our domestic market, given our history as an exporting nation, when we look out at the shifting global landscape, all we should see is opportunity. So long as we continue to be among the worlds best-educated populations, so long as we strive to improve productivity and capitalize on our ingenuity, there is remarkable potential for us as new markets open up, as new nations rise, as new people acquire the means by which to participate more fully in the global economy. We all need to understand and engage with this new reality a new China linked in new ways to an evolving world. You, as members of the business community, are at the forefront of this effort. Canadian businesses, large and small should be doing as you have done developing and implementing strategies for China. We in government are committed to doing our part - but to be effective, the engagement must reach broadly and deeply. Only in this way can we build a partnership that embraces the complexity and the growing influence of 21st century China. Only by acting now, and with vigour and determination, can we help to ensure that future generations of Canadians will benefit from the opportunities presented by a rapidly changing world, by a rapidly growing China. Thank you.

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Correspondence from at Home and around the World


Agents
CIFFA has received correspondence from the locations listed below looking for agency relationships with member firms in Canada. 1. Islamabad, Pakistan 2. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 3. Colombo, Sri Lanka 4. Turkey 5. Istanbul, Turkey 6. Mumbai, India 7. Tehran, Iran 8. Karachi, Pakistan 9. Nairobi, Kenya 10. Indonesia 11. Cairo, Egypt 12. Shanghai 13. Karachi, Pakistan 14. Karachi, Pakistan 15. Karachi, Pakistan 16. Dhaka, Bangladesh 17. Karachi, Pakistan 18. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 19. Lahore, Pakistan 20. Chennai, India 21. Mumbai, India 22. Karachi, Pakistan 23. India 24. Karachi, Pakistan 25. Nigeria 26. New Delhi, India 27. Karachi, Pakistan 28. Kuwait 29. Coimbatore, India 30. Turkey 31. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 32. Naples, Italy 33. Dubai, UAE 34. Colombo, Sri Lanka 35. Dubai, UAE 36. Colombo, Sri Lanka 37. Xiamen, China 38. Karachi, Pakistan

Resums
1. Torontonian with a Diploma (2001) in International Business and minimal experience seeks position in sales.

2. Montrealer with one-year Canadian experience and 7 years in China, seeks entry-level position with Freight Forwarder. 3. Trilingual (Eng/Spanish/Russian) GTA person seeks position with freight forwarder. Has over 10 years general experience. 4. Torontonian seeks sales/marketing position with 10 years sales experience. 5. Torontonian with BA and Certificate in HR Management from Seneca ha 5 years experience seeks position. 6. Torontonian seeks Accounts payable position with ten years experience overseas. 7. Torontonian seeks an entry accounting position with ten years overseas experience. 8. Torontonian with Network Admin diploma, with three years experience seeks position in Network administration. 9. Vancouverite with over ten years experience with Asian companies seeks position in customer or business development. 10. Torontonian with over 20 years Indian sales/marketing experience in freight forwarding. 11. Torontonian with 2 years experience in Air/Ocean operations and 1 year in sales seeks position. Should you be interested in any of the above information, please contact the Secretariat for details, or via email to virginiap@ciffa.com

CIFFA Mini World Maps


CIFFA has purchased several hundred additional Mini Maps for sale to its members (as enclosed sample). These maps are a handy reference for all your staff as well as your clients. Cost of the maps is $75.00 plus GST for 25 maps. Place your order today by sending an email with details to virginiap@ciffa.com

THE FORWARDER - January, 2005

PROFESSIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDER


CIFFA has embarked on a new Professional Designation that will recognize, support, and enhance the professionalism of the Members of our Association and the individuals involved in the International Freight Forwarding industry in Canada. CIFFA's accredited Professional Freight Forwarders are individuals who are acknowledged as having acquired a vast degree of knowledge, expertise, experience, and continuing education and professional development in the International Freight Forwarding field. Furthermore, these Professionals are defined as someone who has the following attributes: competence, experience, education, knowledge and keeps current with industry practices, and is trustworthy and ethical. Someone who has the PFF initials beside their name has achieved professional status, and is a recognized leader in the International Freight Forwarding field in Canada.

Benefits to the Individual


An individual who has earned the Professional Designations from CIFFA is recognized as being a valuable member of the Freight Forwarding industry, and has achieved a high level of standing in the profession. Expected individual benefits are: (a) higher degree of employability within the industry; (b) higher visibility within the Profession; (c) personal pride; (d) a sense of accomplishment; (e) attaining a status level above many other colleagues; and (f) enjoy the same rights and privileges as Associate Members.

Benefits to Employers
Employers who recognize and support the Professional Designation from CIFFA will derive benefits from hiring individuals who have been awarded the CIFFA Designation. Expected employer benefits are: (a) higher credibility of individuals to be hired; (b) cost savings in the researching of applicant's backgrounds; (c) acknowledgement as being a higher status company, by employing individuals who have been awarded Designations; (d) having the security of knowing they are employing well-trained staff; and (e) having the security of knowing they are employing someone who has passed a criminal background check.

For more infor mation visit our website www.cif fa.com

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