Canadian Shipper group ‘rebranding’

   The Canadian Industrial Transportation Association is changing its name to Freight Management Association of Canada/Association canadienne de gestion du fret.
   Robert Ballantyne, president of the group, said the change is being made to better reflect the group’s membership and is part of a drive to increase membership.
   The group has about 100 companies that belong to it today, and he feels it should have four or five that number.
   The old name, he said, was not a particularly good reflection of the membership of the group, which is Canada’s chief lobbyist for users of rail, truck, marine and air freight transportation. The group is hopeful the new terminology “makes more sense and resonates” with potential members, he said.
   The association can trace its roots to 1916, when it was formed as the Canadian Industrial Transportation League, taking its current moniker in the 1990s.
   Ballantyne notes that its memberships comes from a variety of industries — retailers such as Hudson Bay and Canadian Tire, natural resources companies in the mining, fertilizer, and forest products industry, agricultural shippers, and food processors.