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Introduction History Statistics - Physical Infrastructure - Political Infrastructure Legal Infrastructure Infrastructure Costs Conclusion |
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| | Top | General Info | Road | Rail | Pipeline | Air Freight | Marine | The Internet | |
| Huge amounts of money are spent in building the infrastructure that ensures the efficient transfer of goods and services between the US and Canada. Entire industries are based, to a large extent, on carrying goods and services between these two countries. Trucks, railways, jets, ships, pipelines, and even the internet are some of the physical methods used in exchanging goods and services between the two nations. This section explores the major transportation infrastructure associated with trade between the U.S. and Canada. The planning and implementation of actual infrastructure programs, either in place or proposed, are considered. Government reports, online news and magazine articles, maps and other items are included as these help to understand the impact and extent of the physical trade infrastructure. Both Canadian and U.S. GDP is becoming increasingly reliant on service industries. The internet, while not yet capable of transporting goods, is an important part of the physical infrastructure of trade in terms of the services and retail sectors of both economies. |
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| Impact of U.S. Import Compliance Programs at the Canada/U.S. Land Border on the Canadian Trucking Industry is a report, written in May, 2005, on a study conducted by DAMF Consultants Inc. in association with L-P Tardif & Associates Inc. on how US security measures are affecting the Canadian trucking industry. |
| This Inbound Logistics Article, U.S. and Canada: Partners in Trade, by April Terreri gives an overview of the Canadian infrastructure that should entice U.S. businesses to trade their goods and services with Canada |
| Canada's Transportation System is a Canada Transport overview of Canada's transportation network. |
| U.S. Surface Trade: U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics |
| Transportation Cooperation by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is a report outlining the progress of the "Smart Borders" program, a cooperative effort on the part of Canada and the United States to relieve cross-border traffic congestion while maintaining a high level of security in both countries. |
| Transport Corridors of Canada is the second chapter of an on-line book, The Geography of Transport Systems, by Dr. Brian Slack |
| Border Infrastructure Compendium 2003 and Beyond prepared for Canada-U.S. Transportation Border Working Group by the New York State Department of Transportation, is an executive summary of the December, 2003 study. The document states that the study indicates that over 13 billion dollars US was required to upgrade border crossings between the US and Canada—10 days worth of trading between the two nations. |
Road Infrastructure |
| Major Highway and Rail Trade Corridors borrowed from Can/Am Border Trade Alliance's On-line Map |
| Impact of U.S. Import Compliance Programs at the Canada/U.S. Land Border on the Canadian Trucking Industry, Transport Canada |
| Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC): Freight and Technology provides general information about the trucking, rail and intermodal transportation for Washington State. More than a million trucks cross the border between Washington State and British Columbia, Canada each year. This site talks about the measure put in place to make border crossings more efficient and secure. |
| Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT): Canadian Border Traffic provides I-5 Peace Arch Crossing Video (looking North to Canada), border traffic information and wait times, as well as links to many other cross-border road information. |
| Canada Border Service Agency: Border Wait Times provides commercial and traveler wait times for all US-Canada highway border crossings. |
| Agriculture and Agri-food Canada provides this International Freight Forwarding in Canada site, which outlines the what a shipper should know about freight forwarding. |
| Agriculture and Agri-food Canada provides this News Release, October 14, 2005. Governments Of Canada And Ontario Strengthen Prosperity By Investing $4 Million In Technology To Keep Border Traffic Moving Safely |
| The U.S.-Canada Border: Border Economic Costs, Their Causes, and Alternative Border Management Strategies, Prepared for: U.S. Department of Transportation Talking Freight Seminar Series by John C. Taylor and Associates, Seidman School of Business, Grand Valley State University, October 15, 2003. Here is the Powerpoint version. |
| Freight|net is one of many commercial internet portals offering freight directories and services, many of which are related to cross-border trucking. |
Rail |
| Federal Railroad Administration: Border Issues. The FRA has the task of setting policy that affects compliance issues related to international railway standards. It also represents the United States in NAFTA country standardization efforts. |
| The History of HATCH: Tunnelling under an undefended border briefly tells of the construction of the 1.16 miles (1,868 metres) St. Clair underwater railway tunnel from Port Huron, Mich. to Sarnia, Ont., which is one of the largest such tunnels in the world. Here is a video of the construction and inauguration of the tunnel built to speed up rail transport between various Canadian export points and the large Chicago and American heartland markets. |
| RailServe.com is an impressive portal linking to just about everything you want to know about railways. A search on "Canada United States" provided a link to "North America - Class 1 and National Holding Companies." |
Pipeline |
| In terms of international trade via the pipeline infrastructure, oil and gas seem to flow only south. Fossil fuel in its crude or semi-refined form exported to the United States represents more than ten percent of total Canadian exports (2004 data). |
| Country Analysis Briefs: Canada is a report by the Energy Information Administration (EIO), who provides "Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government." |
| North America Energy Picture is a report prepared by North American Energy Working Group, June 2002, outlining the North American energy requirements and supply capabilities. Much of this document is pertinent to the pipeline infrastructure, especially if we consider electrical conduits to be pipelines of a sort and assuming that coal reserves and the infrastructure to transport simply serves the need to product electric energy. |
| This TransCanada web site outlines the proposed Keystone Pipeline Project which is slated to be constructed during 2008 and 2009 and operational, assuming funding and regulation requirements have been met by 2009. This pipeline will carry crude oil from Alberta to Illinois and surrounding states. Links to news releases about the pipelines progress are also |
| A consortium of Canadian oil and gas companies, along with aboriginal groups, form the McKenzie Gas Project, which is a proposed natural gas pipeline that would connect large natural gas reserves in the McKenzie River Delta in the Northwest Territories of Canada to existing Alberta, Canada natural gas pipelines. The gas, is destined for U.S. markets. A good portion of this gas would be used to fuel electric generating plants in the U.S. The Canadian National Energy Board also maintains a site that chronicles the political and community hearings associated with the McKenzie Gas Project. |
Air Freight Infrastructure - Airports |
| The main physical infrastructure components to air freight are airports. It is difficult to extract the domestic travel pressures that lead to airport expansion from the demand for expanded cargo flights, if that demand even exists for most U.S. and Canadian airports in terms of trade between the two countries. Any expansion directly associated with U.S.-Canada trade is a result of increased courier services between the two countries. UPS and Fedex are the major players in this arena. |
| Hamilton's International Airport expansion, due to be completed in 2006 and costing $157 million US, is a prime example of expansion to meet a growing courier service demand. This report by STATS_USA for Canada Transport says that the airport is "the largest courier cargo airport in Canada." |
Marine Infrastructure |
| Association of Canadian Port Authorities: Public Relations - Port Industry Facts |
| American Association of Port Authorities: About U.S. Port Facts |
| The MTS National Advisory Council (MTSNAC) is a chartered, non-federal organization comprised of leaders from transportation firms, trade associations, state and local public entities as well as recreational boating, academic, and environmental groups. MTSNAC's purpose is to advise the U.S. Secretary of Transportation on Marine Transportation System issues. |
Internet Infrastructure |
| A NAFTA: Approach to Internet Governanceis an ISUMA (Canadian Journal of Policy Review) report by Catherine L. Mann And Diana Orejas of the Institute for International Economics |
| ...To Be Continued... |