Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) welcomed Canada's Jan. 14, 2019 federal decision to have the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) investigate supply chain failures in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland.

Canada’s forest products sector relies on an efficient and reliable transportation system to move our products through Canada to global markets. Over the past two years, system congestion through the Lower Mainland of B.C. has created real challenges for Canadian forest products companies. Last year alone, rail delays and bottlenecks cost the forest products sector over $500 million dollars. FPAC has supported calls for the federal government to complete a comprehensive diagnostic around these transportation system failures.

"We need to get to the bottom of why these transportation blockages are happening," said FPAC President and CEO Derek Nighbor. "We are seeing an unprecedented number of trade deals being signed and significant federal investment in infrastructure. Now is the time to understand why things are not working as well as they should be. We need to ensure the system in the Lower Mainland is able to respond to the current and future needs of Canadian exporters," Nighbor added.

FPAC remains committed to working with government and supply chain partners to help secure a more competitive, efficient, and effective transportation system. They look forward to learning more about the details of this investigation in the coming days, and believe that the results of this effort can enable the changes necessary to make Canada’s supply chain stronger.