The modern shipping industry has drastically influenced the
complexity of cargo movements. Not only has the advent of
intermodal shipping processes expanded the parties involved in
moving cargo to its destination, a proliferation of freight
forwarders, load brokers and other intermediaries has placed layers
of separation between shippers, carriers and consignees.
All of this has the effect of increasing the risk to the
carriers who actually move the cargo from one location to another.
With the growing complexity of logistics transactions and the
industry as a whole, carriers often risk losing out on the payment
of freight charges if an intermediary goes bankrupt or otherwise
decides to withhold payment. As Hearn et al., discuss, the
US approach is a principled policy stance that the carrier always
gets paid,1 be it from the shipper or the
consignee.2 Although the law in Canada is not so
straightforward, carriers have a myriad of legal tools to collect
on unpaid
