Transportation and warehousing industries were among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. As businesses reopened and travel restrictions eased in 2021, supply chains were beset by a series of challenges, including a shortage of inputs from shuttered production and dwindling inventories as well as labour shortages and port congestion. Moreover, severe weather and geopolitical events served to intensify such challenges. Although initial impacts have subsided, other issues - productivity, labour disruptions and trade realignments - have emerged. The national Supply Chain Office (SCO) was established in 2023 to help stakeholders better respond to such disruptions.
Statistics Canada is collaborating with Transport Canada to develop supply chain data and metrics to support the SCO. This paper begins by reviewing post-pandemic supply chain disruptions and their economic manifestations. It then provides a recap of the work to date, and outlines planned data development. Next, it features two of the data products under development. The first is a composite Supply Chain Services Price Index to measure the distribution and delivery costs across the entire transportation and warehousing sector. The second is a pilot Survey of Marine Vessel Operators to gather critical financial and operational statistics on Canada's commercial marine industry.
