Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for inviting Bruce and me to speak on this critical issue.
Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen of the committee, on behalf of the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association, thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you today.
It is very much to the credit of this committee that you're investing time on this critical subject. Our membership appreciates the committee's inquiry, and we look forward to the recommendations you might have.
If you're an importer, such as a retailer, or an exporter such as a Canadian-based manufacturer, transportation and border efficiency are critical. You likely don't want to spend time on all of the complex details of transportation and border regulations as you do business in many countries. Instead, you hire one of Canada's freight forwarding companies making up our membership, allowing their 20,000-plus employees to take control of your products and move them by the best mode of transport at the best price.
A significant percentage of Canada's freight is transported by forwarders, which means that our membership is, by far, the largest shipper in the country. Our members track the supply chains in and out of the country with a very intense real-time scrutiny.
From the witnesses you've already met, it's clear the committee understands that supply chain is still in a lot of trouble today.
Consider this. It takes about 22 days for a ship to travel the 10,000 kilometres from Hong Kong to Vancouver, but as recently as last Friday, the shipping company Maersk reported that the average wait time for a berth in the Port of Vancouver is still around four weeks, and yard congestion is at 120%. Consider that a port's optimal operational level is closer to around 80%, and the picture becomes clearer.
Two key factors determine how competitive we are as a supply chain: regulatory process and infrastructure.