It’s not exactly a rebound, but jobs are trickling back into London and area automotive parts plants.

Accuride in London, which makes wheels, got some relief after years of dwindling jobs, with a recent callback of 40 laid-off workers, boosting its total staff to about 130.

The plant employed about 500 four years ago, but the recall is still a sign of some good news, said Tim Carrie, president of the Canadian Auto Workers Local 27, which represents workers at many parts plants in the region.

“It is a good sign. It is good news when a company that supplies the trucking industry recalls workers — that is positive,” said Carrie.

The trucking sector is considered an indicator of economic fortunes: When it does well, it’s a sign the economy is rebounding since consumers are buying goods that need to be shipped.

“It is coming back in dribs and drabs,” said Carrie.

Ceva Logistics is also hiring. It carries goods for defence industry manufacturer General Dynamics Land Systems Canada, which has a large London operation.

Ceva have a job fair Aug. 5 from 10 a.m. to noon and 5 to 8 p.m., at the Progress Building at Western Fair grounds. It is looking to add 30 jobs for clerical workers, warehouse, shipping and receiving staff and forklift drivers.

The GM-owned Cami car assembly plant in Ingersoll is running at full capacity to keep up with demand for its hot Equinox and Terrain crossover utility vehicles.

It will add 100 jobs by summer’s end and another 100 by year-end, after hiring 50 new workers in May. It has recalled all its laid-off workers and added 170 workers laid off from other GM plants, including from Oshawa.

Its suppliers are busy, too. One of those, Rieter Automotive, has added about 40 jobs and is looking to add 60 more. It now employs about 180.

“I don’t think we will ever rebound to the level we were at, but this is a good sign,” said Carrie. “I measure a rebound in workers getting their jobs back, and that is happening now.”

Jim Reid, first vice-president of Local 27, said, “We are cautiously optimistic” about stability in the automotive sector.

“We are anticipating heavy truck will come back quite a bit, but with the U.S. economy still struggling, who knows for sure?”

Brose Automotive in London announced last month it’s adding 150 jobs as the plant undergoes a $20-million expansion.

Takumi Stamping in St. Thomas, supplier to the booming Woodstock Toyota plant, is adding up to 50 jobs.

The news is good in the wider region as well, according to recent CAW releases:

Martinrea in Ridgetown added 80 jobs, and now employs 240.

APPlasman and Woodbridge Foam in Tilbury and Ventra Manufacturing in Ridgetown are all back to full employment.

Meritor in Chatham has secured a new, $12-million investment and is back to full employment.

Source: lfpress

WINNIPEG -- Nearly 900 drivers in TransX’s fleet got a little recognition for their dedication to safety.

The TransX Group of Companies hosted their 25th annual Safety Awards banquets with events at nine different locations throughout Canada and the U.S. The awards ranged from 1 - 32 years of accident free miles driven, with nine new drivers joining the Million Mile Club and four being added to the Two Million Mile Club.

"We are proud that this is our 25th year of giving safety awards to our best,” said Louie Tolaini, president of TransX. “This year we acknowledge 894 Drivers."

"The safe operation of our trucks on the highways of North America is a guiding principle used to operate the business. We are proud to recognize the safest drivers in our fleet." added Ron Joseph, the newly appointed president of TransX USA.

Source: Today's Trucking

Volvo says its newest trucks will put fewer harmful pollutants into the air than the Internationals being made by Navistar.

It’s the latest in the ongoing battle between the big truck companies over whose emission-reduction system is the best.

Navistar went with an exhaust gas recirculation or EGR system that’s designed to burn up harmful gases in the engine. Its competitors – including Volvo, Daimler and Paccar – went with selective catalytic reduction or SCR technology, which treats the gases in the exhaust system by adding urea.

Navistar recently urged federal and state officials to re-examine SCR, charging that truck owners could skip adding the urea and the truck would still run just as well.

Headlights on passenger vehicles manufactured in Canada before 1990 do not turn on automatically when the vehicle is in motion.

Most professional drivers in the '70s and '80s, however, turned their headlights on manually for safety reasons. Not only did oncoming cars recognize these professionals first, but also thought the approaching professional drivers were closer than they really were. This first recognition and greater attention to the headlights during daylight hours resulted in fewer crashes involving these drivers.

In some jurisdictions, where headlights were used during the day, crash rates for such vehicle operators were reduced by as much as 50 per cent. More and more drivers caught on to this simple way of getting noticed and the federal government mandated the behaviour in the 1990 vehicle models. Today, an overwhelming number of vehicles on our roads have running lights operational when in motion. It is rare to see a vehicle without headlights on during the day.

Drivers who do not have their headlights turned on while driving, are at greater risk of a crash. There is a simple reason for this. We are more likely, as vehicle operators, to be aware of a light source than not. In fact, We pay so much attention to the light source that we often overlook oncoming vehicles which are not using headlights to warn us of their presence or relative proximity.

Many older vehicles are driven by younger, less experienced drivers anf these older vehicles are often not as well maintained. (This is not always the case. Many owners of older vehicles are proud of their cars and trucks and do take meticulous care of them but they are, sadly, in the minority.)

Pedestrians will often take a chance and cross a street when an approaching vehicle does not have running daytime lights. These vehicles will seem further away than the vehicles with full daytime running lights. Drivers crossing an intersection will often look for a headlight source during the day and may simply fail to see other traffic.

It is highly recommended that all pre-1990 vehicle drivers turn their lights on at all driving times.

The tail lights on most vehicles do not come on automatically when in motion but some European manufacturers are including this feature.

It is a good idea to put the parking lights on when driving on the highway. This is a good way of drawing attention to your car or truck. Following traffic will see you first on multi-lane freeways and highways and generally pay more attention to you, often allowing more space.

Many newer cars and trucks have sensors that will turn the headlights to the "on "position when it begins to get dark and to the "off" position when the sun rises again.

High beams should be used when a driver feels it is necessary to see much further down the road at night. They should never be used during the clear light of day. Always dim your lights for approaching traffic. A simple flash of the high beams may be needed to remind oncoming traffic to dim the lights but never keep the high beams on to teach the oncoming offender a lesson. Blinding an oncoming driver is not a good idea.

Drunk drivers are often drawn to a light source. It is best to look at the right shoulder of the road, in order to gain a sense of lane position, when facing oncoming high beams.

There are strict guidelines that govern headlight brightness. Newer bright blue and ultrawhite headlights fall under this regulation. When using bright lights remember courtesy is contagious.

Steve Wallace is a longtime teacher and owner of the Wallace Diving School in Victoria

By Steve Wallace

Source: Times Colonist

Port Metro Vancouver emissions reduction programs have received international acclaim, having been awarded the Globe 2010 ecoFreight Award for Sustainable Transportation. The Port has also been credited for its Air Action Program, having been nominated for the International Sustainable Shipping Award.

"Port Metro Vancouver has received international recognition for the forward thinking sustainability initiatives we have underway, thanks in large part to the support of our terminal operators and industry partners, like those in rail and trucking," said Robin Silvester, Port Metro Vancouver President and Chief Executive Officer, "By working together, we have seen significant improvement in ongoing emissions reduction efforts and as a direct result, the Port is well ahead of the curve when it comes to lowering our carbon footprint," he said.

The Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy 2009 Implementation Report outlines progress by the Port and its regional partners, the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, to meet jointly established short- and long-term clean air goals for ships, cargo-handling equipment, rail, trucks and harbour craft.

"I'm very pleased that Port Metro Vancouver has made good progress in a number of sectors, and emerged as a regional leader in air emissions standards and results for truck emissions and Port administration," said Darrell Desjardin, Director of Environmental Services, Port Metro Vancouver, "There is always more that can be done, but we have set the bar high, and will continually work to reduce air emissions across all of the sectors," he said.

Source: Digital Journal

SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- John E. Irving, a man described by former New Brunswick premier Richard Hatfield as a “gentleman with a gentle soul" -- and perhaps the only Canadian tycoon to ever get kidnapped -- died Wednesday at 78.

Irving, who went as Jack, was known as the quiet one of three Irving brothers who grew the J.C. Irving empire from a small family business into an oil, forestry and transportation enterprise that sprawled the globe. His brothers are J.K. and Arthur Irving.

Within the trucking industry, the Irvings are probably most associated with carriers Midland, Sunbury and RST.

However, Irving also owns Irving Oil, marine and rail interests as well as a vast array of manufacturing and raw-materials processing operations.

(Jack was mostly responsible for the family construction, engineering and steel fabrication operations.)

Born in 1932, Irving made front pages across Canada in 1982 when he was taken hostage by a gunman demanding $50,000. He was held for 10 hours before being released and the kidnapper charged.

One biographer called the incident a “brush with mortality” that contributed to Jack’s genteel persona.

Irving passed away after a brief illness and is survived by his wife, three children and six grandchildren. Tributes have poured in from around the globe.

His passing coincides with another dramatic loss for the company. Just hours before the family announced Irving’s death, they also stated that his nephew, Kevin Irving, the CEO at Irving Oil, was taking health-related leave of absence of indeterminate length.

The loss of the two leaders leaves a major gap in the upper echelons of the $4-billion enterprise.

Source: Today's Trucking

Small trucking companies remain locked in a battle with Marine Atlantic over the ferry booking system.

Frustrated truckers are threatening to stage protests at the ferry terminals in North Sydney in Nova Scotia and Port aux Basques, in southwestern Newfoundland, which could disrupt ferry service in the Cabot Strait.

They say the new reservation system is resulting in long waits, and that's putting them out of business.

"If Marine Atlantic keeps taking food from our table, we got no other choice. We have to do something," said Chris Howlett, with Akita Equipment, based in Mount Pearl, N.L.

But the Crown corporation has a threat of its own.

Marine Atlantic CEO Wayne Follett sent an email Friday warning truckers that any interruption of service won't be tolerated. He said protesters could be refused service for a period of time.

Tara Laing, spokeswoman for Marine Atlantic, isn't saying much more.

"We've informed people that if there's a disruption in service we would take that very seriously and ask for authorities' help," she said.

Truckers used to board the ferry on a first-come, first-served basis. Since March, they have had to book ahead.

While Marine Atlantic says the new system means fewer and shorter lineups, small trucking companies complain they can't get a reservation because bigger companies are block-booking ahead and cancelling at the last minute.

Howlett said one of his trucks arrived in North Sydney from Ontario on Tuesday, but he couldn't get on the ferry until Aug. 20.

He said Marine Atlantic's email crossed the line.

"It's a federal government agency and, again, we live in a democracy. It's pretty simple. No, it's not fair and I think someone should be doing something about it," Howlett said.

Since the reservation system has been in place, he said, his business has dropped $150,000 from the same period last year.

Dennis Porter, with Porter's Trucking in St. John's, said he supports a protest. He runs fresh produce and fish on eight trucks across Eastern Canada and the eastern U.S. If his cargo isn't delivered on time, it's worthless.

"If we can disrupt the service, maybe if this went national, maybe we could get some attention," he said. "We're going into five months here now. Honestly, truthfully, I won't be around in five more months."

Howlett said truckers are consulting with a lawyer.

Laing said these are the three busiest weeks of the year and there are always delays at this time. She said two new larger ferries will be in service next summer.

A private initiative to ship goods to eastern Newfoundland from central Canada can't start quickly enough, a local trucker said.

Greer Hunt, a Mount Pearl-based trucking company owner, is leasing a barge for the next three years to ensure speedier shipment of goods from central Canada.

Chris Howlett, who owns Akita Equipment and Auto Transport, is applauding the move.

"I'm sure he's not looking to go into competition with ... Marine Atlantic," said Howlett. "But maybe some day someone will, and then we'll see what we've got for a ferry system."

Like Hunt, Howlett has has problems with the reliability of Marine Atlantic's commercial reservations system and with chronic waits and delays.

Howlett tried to land a spot on Greer's barge immediately, to no avail.

"He was booked up for this week's sailing but hopefully in the future maybe sometime I might be able to secure some space," said Howlett, whose company is also based in Mount Pearl.

Howlett said Hunt is sending a strong message about the quality of service that truckers require.

Marine Atlantic declined a formal interview, although an official said the corporation wishes Hunt well.

The barge can move about 50 trailers at a time, and will ship goods from Hamilton, Ont., to a dock in the Long Pond area of Conception Bay South.

Model 15 White fuel tanker truck Bob English for The Globe and Mail

When Hank Doornekamp’s Model 15 White fuel tanker truck was built in 1919, the number of vehicles on the still mainly dirt roads of North America had grown from less than 5,000 at the turn of the century to more than nine million, virtually all of them powered by gasoline.

In the motoring age’s early days, the affluent few who could afford cars purchased gasoline from fuel company depots and then in cans or from hand-operated pumps installed by entrepreneurial general store owners.

Dedicated “gas stations” began to appear by about 1910 as oil companies started to create distinct brand identities for their products. Tankers like the White, with its capacity of about 600 or so gallons (2,300 litres) and side compartments to hold motor oil and other products, would have spent their days making deliveries to these newfangled city stations, with their increasingly imaginative, Greek temple, Chinese Pagoda and Swiss chalet themed eye-catching architecture. Or perhaps running rural routes to those mom and pop operations, their limited capacity and speed easily meeting the public consumption needs of the day.

The modern tankers we share highway space with today have the capacity to haul 30,000 litres or more to meet the volume demands of the 20 million vehicles now on Canada’s highways and approximately 250 million on U.S. roads, which now consume some 400 million U.S. gallons (1.514-billion litres) of fuel a day – more than a gallon (four litres) for each and every one of us.

While growing up in Oshawa, Doornekamp lived near a White Rose gas station, which obviously struck a chord, as he not only collects White Rose service station memorabilia but his tanker is dressed in the livery of Canadian Oil Companies Ltd. The firm was the Canadian subsidiary of U.S.-based ENARCO (the National Refining Company of Cleveland) whose newly created automotive brands included Black Beauty axle grease and White Rose gasoline.

Born in Holland, Doornekamp came to Canada in the early 1950s with family. His father was a stonemason/bricklayer and Doornekamp also learned the masonry trade, which paid for his civil engineering degree at Queens. After working for a couple of Toronto construction companies, he launched his own general contracting company, H.R. Doornekamp Construction Ltd., in Odessa, Ont., near Kingston.

His first old truck was a 1951 GMC single-axle long-nose highway tractor purchased in the late 1970s but then sold to finance another vehicle for his expanding company. He reacquired it a decade later but the project languished until a visit to a fellow construction firm owner’s extensive collection of trucks “motivated me to get going.”

The GMC was fully restored and since then he’s says he’s “never looked back” – now owning some 30 trucks, cars, tractors and pieces of equipment in original condition, restored or in the works.

He’s also acquired an extensive collection of paraphernalia – pumps, signs, etc. – related to the automobile from the 1920s to the 1960s, much of it related to the White Rose brand. And he has plans to turn his home-based workshop into a replica of an early White Rose gas station.

The 1919 three-quarter-ton Model 15 White was purchased 15 years ago in the U.S., an older restoration he has since taken completely apart and rebuilt to a much higher state of detail, including the addition of the side boxes.

White was a sewing machine manufacturer, whose founder Thomas White purchased a steam-powered Locomobile in 1898. Its drawbacks resulted in his sons developing a better steam power system which was employed in a series of successful White automobiles and later trucks and buses. But steam car sales had vaporized by the early 1920s and White stuck to trucks in the decades ahead. The company eventually ran out of steam again in 1980, and Volvo stepped in to buy its U.S. assets, later dropping the White name, while two Canadian companies acquired its Western Star brand operations here, which later merged with Freightliner.

The 1919 is powered by a big flathead four, mated to a four-speed transmission both built by White, which made virtually all its own parts. It’s started with a hefty yank on a starting handle crank, followed by a dash back to the open-sided cab to twiddle the choke, throttle and spark levers.

It usually fires up easily and, after it’s warmed up, “idles smoothly and quietly at what seems like about 10 revs per minute. You almost have to lean against it to know that it’s going.” Two oil sight glasses on the dash let the driver make sure oil is being delivered to the working parts.

And Doornekamp says it’s surprising how fast it is for a working vehicle of its vintage. “I can get this baby up to 40 mph. But you’re doing a whole lot of wiggling and wobbling when you do.” Solid axles and leaf springs front and back are fitted with artillery wheels and beefy tires, with brakes only at the back.

“It’s turned into a bad habit,” laughs Doornekamp of his collection. But that’s just fine with him. He had realized in his 40s, after working hard for many years, that he needed to enjoy life a little more. And now, he says, his life after working hours revolves around his trucks, reading about them, working on them in his shop, polishing them up on a Sunday afternoon, attending events or just driving them.

“I don’t like competing. I’m not in it for trophies or prizes,” he says, but shows give him an excuse to exercise his fleet. “And every weekend I use one of the trucks to drive into the village to go to the hardware store. Or to visit the grandchildren. They love it.”

And why shouldn’t they? What kind of kid wouldn’t think it neat to have a grandfather who turns up in a yellow vintage tank truck, or a bright-red highway tractor and flatbed trailer?

Source: The Globe and Mail

Canadian trucker Scott Mooney of Fergus, Ontario, continues to fight a speed-limiter infraction in provincial court.

Mooney was one of the first truck drivers to receive a citation after the Ontario Ministry of Transportation began enforcing the speed-limiter law in June 2009.

Mooney is fighting his ticket on the grounds that the law itself creates an unsafe environment on the highways with vehicles traveling at different speeds.

He had his day in court, or at least a partial day, on July 21 in Napanee. The judge in the case set another date for Sept. 2 to complete the testimony.

“At that time, we’ll be finishing up the last witness, the police officer, and we will do summations,” Mooney told Land Line Magazine on Monday, July 26.

“We will not be expecting a decision on that date,” Mooney said. “The judge made it clear that there is a lot of information to review.”

A 35-year-old South Carolina trucker suffered a gunshot wound during an apparent attempted robbery early Wednesday morning, July 21.

It’s a case with similarities to the robbery and murder of truck driver Jason Rivenburg. More than a year ago, Rivenburg was shot and killed in the cab of his truck at an abandoned gas station in South Carolina. He was planning to get some sleep before an early delivery the next day and due to the lack of established truck parking, was forced to park where the security was questionable.

According to The Dillon Herald, police in Dillon, SC – which is just off Interstate 95 near the North Carolina border – say the trucker had pulled off onto a grassy lot Tuesday just south of the downtown area to sleep and planned to make a delivery nearby the following morning.

At 2 a.m. a man knocked on the cab door and asked for directions to a motel. Two other men stood in the background. The man at the door then fired a shot through the window. The bullet grazed the trucker’s hand and then penetrated his shoulder.

According to the Herald, the assailants were described as three black males, one had dreadlocks.

An unexpected demand for fuel this summer has left the pumps at many Shell Canada gas stations in Alberta high and dry.

Outlets in Calgary started posting “no gas” signs on the weekend.

The fuel shortage later surfaced at stations in Edmonton and other areas of the province.

Jeff Gabert, a Shell spokesman, says the company is trucking in gasoline from the U.S. and Vancouver to meet the demand.

But Mr. Gabert expects most stations will have their tanks refilled by the weekend.

Shell encountered a fuel shortage last October when regular maintenance work at its Edmonton upgrader took longer than expected.

Source: CTV NEWS

The California Air Resources Board reached settlements last month with 16 companies that had violated state diesel regulations.

Violations included failure to:

• Conduct smoke inspections on heavy-duty diesel vehicles;
• Report diesel-powered cargo handling equipment;
• Comply with trash truck regulations; and
• Install certified emissions reduction equipment on diesel engines.

The fines totaled $114,350, of which $85,762 will be given to the California Air Pollution Control Fund for projects and research to improve the state’s air quality. The remaining $28,588 will go to fund emissions education classes around the state.

“California has achieved cleaner skies largely through industry’s compliance with state, federal and local air quality laws,” James Ryden, CARB enforcement chief, said in an agency statement.

“Most companies follow the law; those that don’t are only making it harder for Californians to breathe clean air.”