An Exploration of the Freight Village Concept and its Applicability to Ontario

Abstract

This research was carried out for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. The purpose of the research was to explore the concept of a freight village and provide some high level insights on the applicability of the concept in the province of Ontario. A freight village is an advanced form of logistics centre where a cluster of goods movement oriented and logistics facilities are co-located and co-ordinated to achieve synergies. Key attributes include an intermodal terminal, warehousing, manufacturing, wholesaling, logistics services and access to shared facilities, equipment and services. Centralized management and ownership and partnership between the public and private sectors are also central elements. In its pure form, a freight village can serve as an incubator for smaller logistics and related firms.