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Transportation & Logistics

Sector Structure

Size: The Transportation & Warehousing industry contributes approximately $2.2 billion to Manitoba’s GDP. Total employment in the industry is estimated at 34,500.

Structure & Concentration

Trucking

• There are an estimated 350-400 for-hire motor carriers (4 or more vehicle operations) domiciled in Manitoba. Roughly 99% of these are locally owned and managed companies.

• Over 90% of these trucking companies operate either interprovincially or internationally.

• Within Manitoba, trucking hauls 95% of all land freight. 80% of Manitoba's merchandise trade with the United States is shipped by truck.

• Five of Canada's twenty-five largest employers in for-hire trucking are headquartered in Manitoba. Three of Canada's 10 largest employers in the for-hire trucking industry are headquartered in Winnipeg.

• For-hire trucking directly and indirectly contributes $1.18 billion of Manitoba's GDP.

• The Manitoba-based trucking industry directly and indirectly employs 33,000 Manitobans or 5% of the Manitoba labour force.

• Two Class I railways: CN and Canadian Pacific Railway. Winnipeg is centrally located on the main lines of both of these continental carriers. CN and CP operate a combined 2,439 miles of track within Manitoba.
  

• A small number of regional and shortlines (Hudson Bay Railway, Southern Manitoba Railway, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (Manitoba) and Central Manitoba Railway) operate approximately 1,100 miles of track within the province.

• With three rail connections to the United States, Winnipeg enjoys ready access to the world’s largest market. CN, CP and BNSF (Manitoba) provide service to the U.S. in partnership with their respective U.S. operations. They also provide access to Mexico from Winnipeg through their partnerships with U.S. and Mexican railways.

• Both CN and CP have intermodal terminals in Winnipeg where both trailers and containers are transferred between the rail and road modes. Intermodal traffic is a very major part of each company's business.

Air  

• Winnipeg International Airport offers a broad range of air passenger and cargo services, including international carriers, commuter airlines, jet freight carriers, fixed base operators, and various charter operations. It served over 3 million passengers in 2003 and handles approximately 140,000 tonnes of cargo annually.

• 11 regional passenger carriers, plus 9 smaller/charter carriers

• 11 air cargo carriers

• 7 freight forwarders

• Port of Churchill owned by OmniTRAX Inc.

• The port offers 4 deep-sea berths for the loading and unloading of grain, general cargo and tanker vessels.  Interior rail access is provided by the Hudson Bay Railway (also owned by OmniTrax). Through a connection with the Canadian National Railway System, goods can be shipped between the port and most North American points.

• Grain represents 90% of the Port’s current traffic and in the 2004 shipping season, over 600,000 tonnes of agricultural product was shipped through the port.

Highlights

• 3 of Canada’s 10 largest for-hire trucking employers are headquartered in Winnipeg.

• Winnipeg International Airport is Canada’s only major international airport between Toronto and Calgary and is competitively positioned as a 24-hour unrestricted airport.

• Winnipeg International Airport is one of Canada's most important airports for overnight, all-cargo activity. Winnipeg has major sorting facilities for FedEx and Purolator, receives daily transborder service from UPS and is a major hub for Air Canada Cargo and Cargojet Airlines.

Sector Capabilities

• Commercial transport (truck, rail, air, marine and intermodal)

• Warehousing and distribution/logistics

• Courier sorting and forwarding

• Freight forwarding

• Passenger transport

Key Players

• Arnold Bros. Transport Ltd.

• Big Freight Systems Inc.

• Bison Transport Services Ltd.

• Direct Integrated Transportation Inc.

• Gardewine North Transport

• Kleysen Transport Ltd.

• Paul’s Hauling Ltd.

• Payne Transportation

• Penner International Inc.

• Reimer Express Lines Ltd./ Roadway Express

• TransX Ltd.

• Winnipeg Motor Express Inc.

• Air Canada Cargo

• Calm Air Cargo

• Cargojet Canada

• WestJet Cargo

• Northwest Cargo

• Perimeter Airlines

• First Air

• Bearskin Airlines

• Canadien Pacifique

• Canadien National

• Omnitrax Inc.

• Federal Express

• Purolator

• United Parcel Service (UPS)

Contact:

Mr. Barry Mitchell,
Industry Consultant
Manitoba Competitiveness, Training and Trade

Tel: (204) 945-2473
Fax: (204) 945-3977
Email: bmitchell@gov.mb.ca
Web: www.gov.mb.ca/iedm/

Vehicle Technology Centre Inc.

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