For over 15 years, Jason Fischer has worked in high-level positions for some of the biggest companies in Canada, dealing with massive rail shipping networks and other forms of transportation.

While he’s come a long way in his career since his first trade-related job as a part-time ramp attendant at the Calgary International Airport, his enthusiasm has remained as vivid as ever.

“One of the highlights of my career has been the chance to see all different types of aircraft up close, especially some of the massive cargo jets like the freight MD-11s, or anything made by Antonov.”

Making container cargo more efficient, and new friends along the way

In 2001, Jason began working at Mark’s Work Wearhouse as their Operations Manager, taking responsibility for all textiles coming into the country.

“I was responsible for the offshore cargoes that were imported into Canada. The majority of the import traffic was containerized and arrived by sea. It was in this capacity that I was instrumental in developing an Inland Container Depot (ICD) to ensure that our breakdown terminal had enough containers over the course of the day. We used metrics to determine how many containers and staff would be required to manage it. So we engineered a timeline and volume that produced the most efficient results for the capacity of the facility and manpower.”

He excelled over the course of his seven years at the company, and claims one of the main reasons is that he was unafraid to ask questions and never stop learning.

“There are no lone rangers in this occupation – do not be afraid to reach out and ask questions or for help – because one day you will be providing the answers as well.”

He also discovered that reaching out could lead to fun cultural experiences, such as one instance where he got to meet and greet the crew of a container vessel and eat dinner with its captain in Vancouver.

“The crew was largely from Bangladesh and the dinner represented that region of the world. It was a unique experience that expanded my world view.”

Building his skills with formal training and certification

Beginning in 2004, Jason also sought to add to his knowledge by taking the FITTskills online courses. He completed his final course to earn his FITT Diploma in International Trade in 2007. Jason credits the courses with helping him to thoroughly assess his existing level of international trade knowledge and fill in some crucial gaps.

Taking the FITTskills courses allowed me to benchmark my learning and establish greater credibility for my abilities and skills.

“I also really enjoyed completing a project for one of the courses on exporting hay from Alberta to Japan. I ended up gaining a whole new appreciation for the breadth of international trade – and, coincidentally, also discovered I’m allergic to hay!”

Shortly after earning his FITT Diploma, Jason applied for and earned his CITP®|FIBP® designation. He has now maintained his designation for over a decade, having witnessed the positive impact it has had on his career ever since.

“I initially applied for the designation so I could be part of FITT, an organization that has been at the forefront of trade and development for many years. Earning it was a defining accomplishment in my life, and I’m very proud of it.”

“Obtaining my CITP designation was instrumental in my career progression as it benchmarked my experience and provided me with credibility in the workplace. My designation has since opened doors to new employment opportunities, and given me the confidence to contribute more within the international trade field by mentoring others.”

New challenges mean travel opportunities and innovative solutions to transportation questions

While he enjoyed his time with Mark’s Work Wearhouse, a major life change in 2008 prompted a change in priorities that resulted in a new job for Jason.

“My life changed dramatically when my wife and I adopted a boy from the United States. I was in need of a change as my role and responsibilities at Mark’s included a lot of travel. With all the effort of adopting – I didn’t want to be a passive father – so after much thought I transitioned to Canadian Pacific Railway.”

He spent the next five years working his way up through the organization, starting as a Transportation Manager Trainee and fitting into many different roles before reaching the position of Chief Train Dispatcher. While the role involved shift work in a 24/7 environment, it also gave him more opportunities to spend time with his son, which made a big difference for him.

He then briefly worked in CP’s Fuel Optimization Group, before finally moving to a role as Service Delivery Analyst – Carload, scheduling private rail car fleets for CP customers. One of the customers he scheduled for was Diageo, one of the world’s largest alcoholic beverage company, which opened some doors for unique experiences.

“Because of my relationship with Diageo, I was able to go to Gimli, MB and tour the Crown Royal distillery, which was a highlight for me. I also helped them transition to Lakeland Rail Road as CP decommissioned the rail line between Sellkirk, MB and Gimli, MB. A co-operative of farmers and investors, with a grant from the provincial and federal governments, provided financing for a Short Line Rail Road to ensure that businesses like Diageo, that needed that transportation, would still be viable.”

Honing his rail expertise with two massive multinationals

When CP embarked upon major structural changes, Jason realized that his position might require him to relocate, so he began looking for other work and started at JPMorgan Chase scheduling rail transport of crude oil.

Not long after starting there, however, his office was purchased by another company, which involved restructuring that eliminated his position. Fortunately, he was recommended for a position as Crude Oil Scheduler with Shell, and has now worked there since September 2014.

On top of managing the rail cargo, Jason has made major strides within the company to improve their reporting and scheduling and consolidate it into a single easy-to-use dashboard.

“I began to realize very early that one of my main jobs was managing people’s expectation of rail. In order to do this I was able to take multiple reports and distribution lists and combine them into a central location. I talked to many of the stakeholders and basically created one reporting dashboard that had all the data that everyone was requesting. I also leveraged technology to develop reporting specifically for crude rail, and this created a stable platform to do scheduling duties.”

Equally proud of his accomplishments and excited for what’s still to come, Jason is thriving in a career he excels in and enjoys. As he continues to find new solutions to old problems or enjoy the unique experiences that arise for many global business professionals, his training and CITP®|FIBP® designation will continue to play an important part in his career development and the success he achieves along the way.

The post Jason Fischer, CITP|FIBP – Crude Oil Scheduler appeared first on Trade Ready.

The town of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada made international news headlines in May, as a massive wildfire damaged homes and buildings.

While the wildfires still burn uncontrolled on nearly 580,000 hectares, the approximately 100,000 people displaced by the wildfires were allowed to return to Fort McMurray and the nearby oil sands operations beginning June 1.

It is obvious that the wildfire, the largest natural disaster in Canadian history, will have a major economic impact on the area. Early estimates put the cost of property damage between $2.3 and $7 billion USD. Businesses have been closed and residents have been forced out of work.

What may be less obvious, however, is the impact the wildfires have had, and will continue to have, on the international economy, particularly in the oil markets.

Wildfires halt oil operations

Just north of Fort McMurray sit oil sands that contribute to Canada’s oil reserves, the third largest globally. As the wildfires raged and winds blew unpredictably, oil producers in the area — including Suncor, Syncrude, Shell, Canadian Natural Resources and Husky — were forced to cease operations and evacuate employees.

For more than two weeks, the oil sands operations were forced to close. That prevented the production of an estimated 1 million barrels of oil each day.

That number is particularly significant for the U.S., which would have received the majority of the exported oil. Each day, Canada exports 3.5 million barrels of crude to the U.S. According to said Michael Green, spokesman for U.S. travel organization AAA:

In recent years, U.S. refiners have increasingly relied on Canadian imports. Midwestern refineries in particular have changed their production methods to take advantage of heavy Canadian crude oil.

Overall, the wildfires reduced Canada’s oil output by an estimated 16 percent daily.

With that, Goldman Sachs estimated 14 million barrels would be lost in oil production due to the wildfire-driven oil sands closures. That equates to more than $751 million in lost oil exports.

Disruption bolsters oil prices

As the wildfires burned, Brent crude oil prices soared above $50 per barrel for the first time in 2016. That’s especially remarkable, as the price was down to a 13-year low of $28 per barrel in February.

Crude oil prices have suffered for the last year and a half, largely due to an excess global oil production of 1.3 million barrels per day. With the Canadian wildfires, pipelines damaged by attacks in Nigeria, and instability in Venezuela and Iraq, that excess in production has been eliminated.

With the decline in production, 30 million barrels of oil had to be brought out of storage hubs to meet demand.

While the world has a record oil reserve of 4.5 billion barrels, the decline in production won’t lead to oil shortages, but it is expected to keep oil prices above $50 per barrel for the remainder of the year. Some analysts have predicted prices could even reach $60 per barrel this year.

How high the Canadian wildfires will bolster crude oil prices remains to be seen.

In a report, financial group Raymond James noted the true effects of the disruption in Canadian production wouldn’t truly be felt in the crude oil market for weeks, because of the time it takes crude oil to travel through pipelines and into the U.S.

Given the material improvement we have already seen to supply-demand dynamics globally, we believe it is likely that much more sizeable storage draws could materialize over the next 3 to 4 weeks.

Higher oil prices: the fallout

The rise in oil prices is being welcomed by many, as the previously low prices were regarded as unsustainable.

For consumers in Canada and the U.S., the higher crude oil prices equate to higher gas prices at the pump. While prices usually peak in early summer, prices could continue to rise or remain high throughout the summer instead of tapering off, analysts said.

On a positive note, analysts have also said that the higher oil prices could lead to increased investments in oil production and the oil industry, which have waned in previous months.

An April report from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers revealed that the oil and gas industry had seen a 62 percent drop in capital investment, and a drop of 66 percent in the amount of new oil wells drilled over the last two years.

Impacts on the Canadian economy

Of course, for the Canadian economy, the impact of the Alberta wildfires is more acute.

With the drastic cuts in oil production, the loss of business and the destruction of homes and buildings, the Bank of Canada predicted that Canada’s second quarter GDP will contract by 1.25 percent. Before the wildfires were sparked, the Bank of Canada had predicted modest 1 percent growth for the Canadian economy from April to June.

For both the global and Canadian economies, the impact from the wildfires is expected to be relatively short lived. As residents and businesses move back in and rebuild, and oil companies resume production, the economy should also regain its normal operation by the end of this year, analysts said.

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