The Future for Transport to Canada’s North: Airships and Other Options (Winnipeg)

Guest Speaker: Dr. Barry Prentice, Professor of Supply Chain Management, at the I.H. Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba

Transportation is a challenge in the North. The distances are vast. The freight rates are very high because the markets are thin and backhauls are scarce. Consequently, shippers must pay the full costs of the round trip. Harsh climate conditions and construction on permafrost add to transportation infrastructure costs, as do the strict environmental regulations and native land claims. Overland access is denied year-round to almost three-quarters of Canada and Alaska because the cost of building all-weather roads is so expensive. The estimated costs of building 852 kilometres of gravel roads in the boreal forest of Manitoba is $2.8 billion, or $3 million per kilometre.  So what are our options? What is our future of Transportation in Canada’s North?

About the Guest:

Dr. Barry Prentice is a Professor of Supply Chain Management, at the I.H. Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba and the former Director (1996-2005) of the Transport Institute.    His major research and teaching interests include logistics, transportation economics, urban transport and trade policy. Dr. Prentice holds a degree in economics from University of Western Ontario (1973) and graduate degrees in agricultural economics from University of Guelph (1979) and University of Manitoba (1986).  Dr. Prentice has organized national and international conferences on sustainable transportation (Railways and the Environment), supply chain logistics (Planes, Trains & Ships), agribusiness logistics (Fields on Wheels), the potential use of airships for northern transportation (Airships to the Arctic) and food trade between Canada and Mexico (La Cadena de Frio). In 1999 and 2003, he received University of Manitoba Outreach Awards.  Dr. Prentice is the President of ISO Polar Airships that he co-founded in 2005 as a not-for-profit research institute to promote the use of airships as sustainable transport for the northern latitudes. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Transportation Research Forum. In addition, Dr. Prentice has served on Winnipeg Airports Authority, Inc. (1998-2003), Winnipeg TransPlan 2010, the Mid-Continent International Trade Corridor Task Force, the Rapid Transit Task Force, expert committees, and is frequently asked to speak on the topics of trade and transportation.

Event Details:

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