CP Signs Deals with Vancouver Box Terminals

John D. Boyd | Jun 24, 2010 2:45PM EDT

Canadian Pacific Railway signed new productivity and performance agreements with the two intermodal terminals at the big container port of Port Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, in deals the partners say will improve the supply chain there.

CP signed one accord with TSI Terminal Systems, a subsidiary of Global Container Terminals and Canada’s largest terminal operator. TSI handles more than 70 percent of containerized cargo through Vancouver.

The other agreement is between CP and DP World Vancouver.

These are the latest in a series of actions in which both CP and rival Canadian National Railway are trying to address shipper complaints and to woo more traffic in the face of stiff competition from other ports. CN signed its own supply chain collaboration accord with TSI earlier this month.

CP’s president and CEO, Fred Green, said the terminals and CP have already been cooperating in the past decade enough to see a 229 percent increase in loaded import containers through Vancouver’s Asia-Pacific gateway. But he said the new agreements with the terminal operators “will increase the efficiency and reliability of this major supply chain.”

TSI and CP said they will “coordinate working groups in the fields of operations, technology and marketing to identify tools and processes for productivity improvements.” The result, they believe, will be enhancements in service “on all levels for steamship lines, shippers and consignees,” including better information systems for shipment visibility and to predict customer demand.

"This agreement moves us down the path of a high performance, efficient and reliable supply chain," said Michael Moore, GCT’s president and CEO. "We will measure performance changes, share best practices and work cooperatively toward growth for the benefit of our mutual customers."

DP World and CP agreed to coordinate their use of various tools to boost productivity for terminals, ship lines and railroads, also with improved information systems.

"This agreement outlines a number of goals and specific actions such that all stakeholders in the supply chain can have measurable accountabilities," said Matt Hoag, CEO of DP World Vancouver. "Over time we can measure performance changes, characterize best practices, and work cooperatively toward growth."

Containerized Ocean Trade - Port Metro Vancouver, B.C.: Find more information at By The Numbers.