How Climate Change Impacts Your Maritime Shipments
As the science becomes more definitive, the direct impact of climate change on our environment has become more apparent and less disputed. It’s more difficult to deny that our own actions have impacted how abruptly the climate is changing, and how those changes are affecting many parts of our world and how we live.
When it comes to the logistics industry, the impact of climate change on shipping is also an issue. The weather needs to be taken into account when shipping products across the country, and part of the challenges and problems of the shipping industry is ensuring they still meet deadlines despite unpredictable conditions.
The Maritime Provinces, in particular, present unique challenges because of their proximity to bodies of water. Weather patterns are more harshly affected, and though not often publicized, shipping by sea accounts for the overwhelming majority of international world trade by volume, some 90% according to some statistics.
This shows that maritime shipping and climate change are closely tied together. As climate change continues to impact our sea levels and disrupt the weather patterns, it makes predicting shipping times and safely shipping freight much more complicated.
3 Major Impacts of Weather on Maritime Shipping
As we assess how climate change and shipping are connected, we look at three ways in which weather directly impacts shipping logistics in Maritime Provinces.
Delay in Freight Delivery
This is the most obvious disruption. Dealing with severe weather can not only impede travel times, but it can make travel impossible altogether. Blizzards are one example of seriously slowing down travel times. Ice on roads can also stall travel times and even make driving along some paths not feasible. More extreme weather such as floods can also impact travel through tunnels and to airports, which prevents trucks from connecting their freight.
Risk of Damaging Goods
Weather plays kind of a double role when it comes to how it can damage goods. First, the actual weather itself can impact freight depending on what is being transported. So, if a truck is carrying food products and travelling through an area of extreme heat or cold, it must be properly equipped to deal with these temperatures. If it is not, then the quality of the food can be degraded and part of or the entire load wasted. The second way weather can damage goods is its effect on driving. Extreme weather can present dangerous conditions that can lead to accidents. An accident, if serious enough, can damage the freight being transported.
Marine Accidents
As we mentioned, shipping by sea accounts for 90% of global world trade by volume. With climate change making sea levels and the weather more volatile, the chances of marine accidents increase. If marine accidents increase, international shipments aren’t able to make it to their ports where trucks then take over.
Maritime Shipping Company in Ontario
Philburn Logistics Inc. is an asset-based trucking company operating primarily out of Mississauga. We have earned our reputation shipping from Ontario to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the other Maritime Provinces making us one of the best Canadian Maritime shipping companies. Most recently, we’ve established a terminal in Moncton, New Brunswick to better serve our Maritime customers and solidify the relationship with our carriers.
We understand all too well the challenges that weather presents and how climate change has exacerbated those challenges. Despite this, we continue to maintain on time, secure transport of all of our freight by accounting for extreme weather conditions. We are aware of our environmental impact of shipping and operate efficiently to minimize our own impact.
If you are looking for a Maritime shipping company in Ontario with whom you can partner and which offers both TL and LTL services, contact us today.
Mark Philpott is the President of Philburn and son of Owner and Chairman Kevin Philpott. working for the family business U-Can express & Universal Transit at the age of nine Mark started cleaning the yard on weekends and later working on the dock as a helper, where he eventually learned every role including forklift operator and shunt driver. Once he finished school was moved into the office environment, Working and learning in every facet of the operation, Dispatch, billing, rating, customer service. The family later started up KLMN Warehousing where naturally Mark learned from as well, Working his way up to Warehouse manager. After the 2004 sale of those businesses Mark and his Father Kevin, not ones to sit around started up Philburn Inc just a few months after the sale. Focusing on the warehousing of Green Coffee. Then two years later opened Philburn Logistics together getting back to their roots of servicing Atlantic. Now operating 2 facilities in Mississauga, ON and one in Dieppe, NB.