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Racy billboards draw protest
Drivers complain of 'poor taste'
A trucker waits for a traffic signal on Wyandotte Street East at Walker Road in front of a controversial billboard Friday .Photograph by: Nick Brancaccio, The Windsor Star,
Featuring
naked men with coconuts over their genitals and a naked woman with a
guitar between her spread legs -- do new billboards advertising a local
rock radio station go too far?
Some irate residents say yes.
"It's disgraceful," said 63-year-old Frank Michaluk. "I think it's disgusting. I really do."
Lilla
Assiff, a 39-year-old mother of four, said she's already written a
complaint to Advertising Standards Canada. "I feel my kids should not
be exposed to that kind of thing," she said.
Rod Martens,
programming director for The Rock 100.7 FM, said the billboards went up
about two weeks ago, and the station knew they would be
conversation-starters.
One billboard, at Wyandotte Street East
and Walker Road, promotes the Craig & Matt morning show by having
the two on-air personalities pose nude and ham for the camera, coconut
shells barely concealing their private parts.
The billboard's slogan reads: "See they're nuts!"
"It's a double entendre, for sure," admitted Martens.
"We
were trying to show the light-hearted nature of our morning show, that
they're crazy, they're wacky," he explained. "It's been done before in
other markets to great success."
Another billboard, on northbound
Dougall Avenue between Tecumseh Road West and Eugenie Street, shows an
attractive blond woman -- again nude -- with a strategically placed
Fender Stratocaster guitar shielding her breasts and crotch.
The slogan reads: "Now turn US on!"
Assiff
said she has to drive by the billboard regularly to take her
eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old son to school. She said she's
dreading the day when one of her children turns to her and asks about
the image.
"It's not light-hearted humour. It's shock factor...
Sex sells. This is in the public eye. The kids are seeing this. I can't
shelter my kids from a billboard."
Michaluk said he first noticed
the Craig & Matt coconuts billboard when he was returning from a
funeral home where he'd made arrangements for his recently deceased
father-in-law.
"I had my mother-in-law in the car, and my wife.
What an awful thing to look at, coming home from a funeral home,"
Michaluk said.
Told of the station's explanation regarding the
light-hearted humour behind the image, Michaluk replied: "I knew that's
what they would say. In their mind, it's light humour. In my mind, it's
disgusting.
"We've got enough problems here in Windsor.... What
kind of message does that send to our visitors, our tourists? It's just
poor taste. We've got too much class for that, as far as I'm concerned."
Martens
said The Rock has received a few calls and email messages complaining
about the billboards, but the station has received much more positive
feedback from people who enjoy them.
Martens added that the billboards do not contravene any standards. "The letter of the law says there's nothing wrong with them."
He
also pointed out that the station's competitors are no strangers to
envelope-pushing humour. For example, a billboard advertisting the rock
radio station 89X includes the word "P&#!S."
"It's just rock and roll," Martens said.
"If
you're looking to catch the eye of a male between 18 and 54, usually a
pretty girl does it.... There's always going to be images, TV shows,
commercials. There's always going to be something. No matter where you
go, there's going to be something that's objectionable to certain
people."
Martens said he has a six-year-old daughter, and she has
asked him about the coconuts billboard. "I said, 'They're just being
funny.' And she said, 'Oh. That is silly.'"
The billboards are
scheduled to stay up until the end of March, but Martens said he'll be
discussing the complaints with his managers and marketing department.
"We're looking at all our options right now," he said. "I don't want to tick off the entire Windsor populace."
OTTAWA -- Near the end of February, the Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) proposed a fee increase that
didn’t sit well with the Canadian Trucking Alliance.
PHMSA,
a division of the U.S. Department of Transporation, wanted to increase
the registration and fee assessment program for hazmat transporters by
as much as $2,000. Carriers, including Canadian companies that haul
certain categories and quantities of hazardous materials, could see the
annual fee rise to $2,975 (plus a $25 administrative fee) from $975 for
registration years beginning in 2010-2011.
The fee increase would go towards funding the national Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grants program.
In a letter to the U.S. DOT, the Canadian Trucking Alliance
urged the PHMSA to review the proposed increase. CTA reiterated the
importance of funding safety and environmental initiatives such as the
HMEP, but questioned the application and level of need for the proposed
increase.
“CTA finds it troubling that in the face of federal
budget constraints, U.S. agencies are developing a propensity for
significant fee hikes to maintain programs on a status quo basis,
rather than taking a hard look at programs and determining where cuts
to non-essential components can be made,” said CTA president David
Bradley.
CTA has further concerns that the fee assigned to
large carriers ($25.5 million in gross revenue) is partially based on
revenues that are derived from domestic business in Canada that should
be completely beyond the reach of the U.S. government.
“This is
patently unfair in CTA’s view, and it is our position that the
determination of large carrier status should be based solely on revenue
earned in the United States to haul hazardous materials,” explained
Bradley.
While the public comment period on the proposed fee
hike was closed yesterday, CTA continues to monitor this issue as PHMSA
works toward a final decision.
Motorist drove past a sign indicating that the Wickenberg/Hassayampa rest stop along US route 60 is closed in Arizona.
PHOENIX — The people of Arizona kept their upper lips stiff when
officials mortgaged off the state’s executive office tower and a “Daily
Show” crew rolled into town to chronicle the transaction in mocking
tones. They remained calm as lawmakers pondered privatizing death row.
The rest stop on U.S. 60 near Wickenburg, Ariz., is
among 13 the state closed in a cost-saving move. Many people are not
happy.
But then the state took away their toilets, and residents began to revolt.
“Why don’t they charge a quarter or something?’” said Connie Lucas, who
lives in Pine, Ariz., about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from here.
“There was one rest stop between here and Phoenix, and we really needed
it.”
Arizona has the largest budget gap in the country when measured as a
percentage of its overall budget, and the state Department of
Transportation was $100 million in the red last fall when it decided to
close 13 of the state’s 18 highway rest stops.
But the move has unleashed a torrent of telephone calls and e-mail
messages to state lawmakers, newspapers and the Department of
Transportation deploring the lost toilets — one of the scores of small
indignities among larger hardships that residents of embattled states
face as governments scramble to shore up their finances.
“People in this state are mad about this,” said State Representative
Daniel Patterson, a Democrat from Tucson who has sponsored a bill that
would allow other entities to reopen and maintain the rest stops. “This
bill may have the broadest support among members of any bill this
year.”>>>>>>>>>.............
As many of you know, I work with new and prospective drivers through my
yahoo group. Recently, one of the members told this story during a discussion on
the dangers of deer; I will call this driver ‘Joe’.
Joe is an experienced driver who works for a middle-sized company. One day,
a deer ran out in front of his truck. Joe hit the deer which did about $2,000.00
worth of damage to his truck. His company brought him and his truck to the yard
and repaired the damage. Joe was not charged with a preventable accident.
Another driver with the same company also had a deer run out in front of
his truck the same week as Joe did. This driver tried to avoid the deer instead
of hitting it, hit a guard rail and went in the ditch. The repairs to the truck
alone were $12,000.00 not to mention the guard rail and tow bill. The driver was
charged with a preventable accident on his record and did not understand
why.
What was the difference between the two accidents? Was it the cost of the
repairs? No, it was not the cost of the repairs. It was how the driver reacted
to the deer running out in front of the truck. Joe retained control of the
situation and mitigated damages. The other driver lost control of his truck and
put himself in the situation of damaging the equipment and possibly killing
someone else along with himself. He did nothing to retain control of the
situation.
Another of my group’s members told a story about how he was in a dock and
he did not realize that he was crooked between the lines. Another truck backing
into the dock next to him hit his truck’s fender. His company, after looking at
the photos, charged him with a preventable accident on his record even though he
was sitting still and another truck hit him. Why? He was docked crooked in the
lines, his mistake.
Most accidents are caused because of mistakes, of course not all, but most
are. The driver who rear ends another vehicle was either following too close or
was not paying attention. There are rare cases of someone cutting off another
vehicle and getting rear ended, but honestly, if the driver of the vehicle that
is being cut off is paying attention, shouldn’t they have time to hit the brakes
or at least slow down? This is how a safety department and most law enforcement
officials, looks at things.
Almost all accidents are preventable in most cases. Of course, one has no
control over wildlife or other drivers who might come across the median or
center line and hit you. In those cases, one can only try to mitigate damages
and retain as much control over the equipment and situation as possible.
During the course of our careers as truck drivers and with as many miles we
all drive a year, accidents of some sort or another are bound to occur. This
does not mean that we can become complacent or blasé about any sort of accident,
even just a scratch on the fender from a tight backing situation is preventable.
It does mean that we have to be even more diligent than ever to avoid having a
preventable accident on our records. The safe operation of our equipment is the
most important part of our jobs. By being safe and avoiding accidents we not
only protect our careers, but also the motoring public and our company’s
bottom-line.
Vancouver ended its time hosting the 2010 Olympic games on a
light-hearted note, with a closing ceremony that featured floating
moose, dancing Mounties and gigantic cut-out hockey players wearing the
gold medals Team Canada had won hours before.
The
upbeat ending was in stark contrast to the grim beginning of these
games, which were marred by protests, the death of a Georgian luger,
and then by unseasonably warm weather that left organizers postponing
events and trucking in snow on Cypress Mountain.
``You took on a stubborn mountain with all your might,'' said
Vancouver Organizing Committee CEO John Furlong, lauding the games'
blue-garbed staff in a speech during the ceremony. ``The final result:
Blue Jackets 1; Cypress Mountain weather zero.''
During the closing ceremony, Vancouver passed the baton to Sochi, Russia, which will host the 2014 winter games.
RCMP have laid charges against the drivers of both vehicles involved in a highway collision Friday night.
Early indications are that the driver of a Dodge Stealth failed to
stop for a red light while travelling southbound on Highway 59 and
collided with an eastbound semi-trailer truck on Highway 101 through
the intersection. The truck driver, a 55-year-old man from Mississauga,
Ont., stopped a short distance from the accident but left without
providing particulars.
The three occupants of the Stealth received aid at the scene by an off-duty nurse and paramedic and were taken to hospital.
The 20-year-old driver of the Stealth suffered non-life-threatening
injuries and was arrested for impaired driving. She will appear in
court on April 9.
The truck driver was charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
He was later located at Deacon’s Corner on the Trans-Canada Highway.
The front female passenger of the Dodge remains in hospital in
critical condition while the backseat passenger was treated and
released.
Mirror, signal, shoulder check, change is the chant that we all know to
follow for a successful lane change. We also use our rearview mirrors
to give us a better view than our eyes alone when we are backing up. Is
this all that mirrors are used for and are these the only times that we
use them?
Most of us do not give the rear view mirrors the attention that they
deserve. A defensive driver will scan ahead to see what they are
approaching, to the sides to see what is around them, to the rear to
see what is behind and finally check the instrument panel to monitor
their speed and vehicle condition. This cycle repeats every five to
eight seconds, so their mirrors do get a regular workout.
The rearview mirror must be consulted before you put your foot on the
brake. This may be the only way to decide if you will be hit from the
rear if you slow or stop. Being aware of vehicles following you too
closely or overtaking you too quickly may make you change your mind
about braking or show you that you need to take evasive action.
One last thought concerns moving back into the lane after passing an
overtaken vehicle. You should not do this until you can see all of the
vehicle you have passed in your rear view mirror. Failing to do this
will put the overtaken driver in the position of unintentionally
tailgating you.
WINNIPEG -- Imagine a truck smart enough to
tell you that up the road, about 500 feet, another vehicle is
approaching the intersection, on your right, and not slowing down fast
enough to come to a complete stop in time.
So, you take your
foot off the accelerator, cruise up to the intersection a little slower
and a few seconds later than you would have, and sure enough that
vehicle you were warned about obliviously blows through their stop sign.
How far off in the future is technology like that, 10, 20, 30 years?
Implementation of these Intelligent Transportation Systems in the trucking industry may be years away, but that kind of technology has been developed.
As
well as technology advancements, economic conditions and environmental
concerns will play a big role in changing the landscape trucking
operates in.
According to Antonio Benecchi, partner with Roland Berger Strategic Consultants,
there will be five million more people in Canada by 2030. More people
means more people using goods, which means more freight needs to be
moved.
“Energy consumption is going up and will continue to
grow,” says Benecchi. We’ll see more and stronger policies to reduce
CO2 emissions. There is no expectation of further emission standards in
the U.S. after EPA 2010. “The technology will be used to reduce fuel
consumption and there are many ways to do this. Right now people are
focused on the powertrain.”
Representatives from Cummins,
Detroit Diesel, Mack, Navistar, PACCAR, and Volvo, all took a turn to
speak during the symposium and the general consensus was that Benecchi
was right, fuel efficiency would be a top priority.
OEMs in
North America have spent billions of dollars in research and
development to prepare for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
emission standards and the engines they’ve developed will likely be
around for years to come.
“We don’t foresee an engine platform
change for many years,” says Steven de Sousa, manager of powertrain
sales with Mack. “The platform we retired had been around for 30 years.”
“In
the future there will be no great revolutions, just small changes that
continue to evolve that make the process more efficient,” says Tim
Tindall, director of sales with Detroit Diesel/Daimler Trucks. “Trucks
will be around for a long time and powered by diesel engines for a long
time.”
The
focus of hybrid technology has mainly been in the vocational market,
but further developing hybrid engines for launch assist in the
long-haul sector is expected to improve fuel economy by using smaller
engines, reducing idling, utilizing electric power takeoffs, quieter
engines, and essentially using less fuel.
As well as improving
fuel efficiency in truck engines, further efficiencies are expected to
be gained by continued advancements in operational technology.
Claudia Milicevic, senior director and general manager of TransCore Link Logistics,
says advancements are continuing to be made in dispatch, operations and
in-cab technology to better maximize productivity, which in turn will
help improve fuel efficiency of a fleet’s trucks.
Truckstop electrification could also play a role in the future of trucking, and Alan Bates of Shorepower Technologies
notes his company recently received a grant from the U.S. Department of
Energy to expand their network to 50 locations across the States. And
Canada is a good market for possible future expansion.
But as many presenters pointed out, there is no silver bullet. As Bill Van Amburg, senior vice-president of CALSTART, put it, “there needs to be a silver buckshot.”
Dr.
Paul Larsen, director of the Transport Institute, summed it up by
noting, “we need a melding of public policy and innovation to move
things.”
Perhaps the biggest wildcard in how the future of
trucking will look might not have anything to do with the physicality
of trucks at all.
“More importantly, what is the future of our
lives going to look like? What is this life going to look like for
people? As we contemplate this future of trucking it behoves us to
think about what lifestyles will be?” asks Don Streuber, president and
CEO of Bison Transport.
“Our
lifestyle changes and the number of trucks changes. We’ll look for ways
to change the way everything is packaged because we want less waste,”
he adds. “We have to be adaptable to what we haul. We don’t know what
the future will be but our lifestyles will mandate it.”
TransX named top Walmart trucker; consolidates Big Horn
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- Walmart Canada has rewarded TransX for its 99.6 percent on-time record, delivering 89,000 shipments.
As a result, the retail giant has named the Mississauga-based LTL fleet carrier of the year.
Andy
Ellis, senior vice president of supply chain and logistics for Walmart
Canada presented the award to TransX president Louie Tolaini at a gala
dinner in late February.
Ellis recognized the TransX Group of
Companies for being an outstanding partner, and for leading by example
in efforts to train other Walmart carriers on LCV (Long Combination
Vehicle) program in Ontario and Quebec.
Meanwhile, the company
recently announced the restructuring and renaming of its Big Horn
Transport operating division. Effective April 1, 2010, Big Horn
Transport will become part of TransX's DeckX Transport.
DeckX
plans to actively grow the new operating center based in Alberta and
this week rolled out a new fleet of 53 foot tridem axle flat decks.
The
consolidation of Big Horn into DeckX will bring synergies for the
entire operating group in western Canada and the western U.S., says
TransX, which purchased Big Horn Transport two years ago.
The TransX Group of Companies is one of Canada's top five largest for-hire carriers, with a tractor-trailer fleet of over 6,000 units and revenues in excess of $500 million.
From the Road to the Campaign Trail: Alaskan Owner-Operator Runs For Governor
Operator Runs For Governor By Diana Britton, Managing Editor
While you'd typically see "Singin' Sam" Little hauling produce in his
Kenworth truck between Seattle and Alaska, this spring and summer you
might see his truck and trailer out on the campaign trail, as truck
driver Little is running for Governor of Alaska on the Republican
ticket.
While Little is somewhat of a household name among Alaskan truckers for
his song "Kamikaze Trail," which has been featured on the History
Channel, he's now trying to make a name for himself in politics.
Getting Into Trucking
Sam's been playing guitar and singing since he was a kid. In 1969, he
recalls singing in a gospel tent in California, where he met a girl.
That's when he realized he had to get a job.
Over the next 20 years or so, Sam did both driving and singing. His
trucking career eventually led to a job with Vic Hoskins Trucking in
Washington, hauling produce into Alaska.
Little still contracts with Hoskins, but in 2003, he started his own
trucking company, Little Country. He now runs three to four trucks
along his Alaska-Washington route. "I've always been independent," he
said.
While he's been fortunate these days, Little understands what it's like
to be a small business owner. His campaign was born out of the beating
this sector has experienced, and he'd like to work to keep projects and
cash flow going. "I would like to bring it back to the working people."
Lindsay Fox's company had its best year ever and helped raise the Australian's worth to $1.5 billion.
The
global economic downturn was bad news for most businesses but not for
the one belonging to Australian trucking billionaire Lindsay Fox.
Suntanned after a Christmas break at his $20 million beach house in
Portsea, near Melbourne, Fox responded bluntly to questions about tough
times: "No, no, no. It's the best year in the history of the company.
Most of our business is FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods], food and
beverages, plus we do a lot in the mining sector. Everyone's eating
more at home, everyone's drinking, and everybody who's a miner is
digging."
The downturn boosted demand for chocolate, ice cream,
biscuits and beverages, items that his 5,000 red-and-yellow trucks
deliver. (Signs on the backs of all trucks read: "You are now passing
another Fox.") Alcohol sales were up 5.9% in Australia last year, good
news again for Fox, whose privately held Linfox says it carts a bit
more than half of the country's booze. It also moves 5.4 billion liters
(1.4 billion gallons) of gas, $51 billion worth of retail products and
a million tons of timber a year.
Fox,
72, who dropped out of school at age 16 and bought a secondhand truck,
is now worth $1.5 billion, $500 million more than a year ago and enough
to rank No. 10 among Australia's 40 Richest. Linfox, which also owns
Melbourne's second- and third-biggest airports as well as the Armaguard
cash-transport business, has $3 billion in sales, up from less than $2
billion in fiscal 2007. Net profits, which the company does not
disclose, are conservatively estimated to be $100 million for the
fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. Linfox does claim that ebit, ebitda
and free cash were all up about 20% in the past year.>>>>.....................
Quick! Somebody throw Matty Moroun a life preserver. His plan to
twin the Ambassador Bridge appears to have gotten stuck in a current of
red tape along the shores of the Detroit River.
The U.S.
Coast Guard lowered the boom this week on Moroun’s plans to expand
operations at the border bridge that connects Detroit with Windsor,
Ontario. The privately owned Ambassador Bridge, with 10,000 commercial
trucks crossing each day, is the busiest border point in North America.
Coast
Guard officials wrote to inform the billionaire’s Detroit International
Bridge Co. that unresolved land issues with the city of Detroit have
worn out his welcome.
“The Coast Guard has determined that
the (Ambassador Bridge Enhancement Project) permit application remains
incomplete, after 3.5 years, and is returning it to DIBC,” Coast Guard
Administrator of Bridge Programs Hala Elgaaly wrote in the letter dated
Tuesday, March 2.
Courts recently ordered Moroun to tear down
a gas station and other structures that he built on property owned by
the city of Detroit.
The Coast Guard has a say in building
permits that involve navigable waters. Officials said they see no
reason to approve Moroun’s application.
“The Coast Guard has
received no credible indication that the property rights issue is any
closer to being resolved now, than it was over three years ago,”
Elgaaly wrote. “Moreover, the results of recent cases in Michigan
courts, coupled with Detroit City Council declarations, underscore the
Coast Guard’s conclusion that DIBC is not likely to obtain the
necessary property rights in the near future.”
According to
the law, Moroun is allowed to keep trying and can resubmit his
application for a Coast Guard bridge permit at any time.
Meanwhile,
government officials in both the U.S. and Canada are in the planning
stages to build a new Detroit River bridge about two miles away.
– By David Tanner, associate editor Courtesy of LandLine Magazine
Truck Demand Remains Flat As Freight Trends Upward
Despite the fact that signs are pointing to increased demand for truck
freight, demand for Class 8 trucks is not trending upward along with it.
In its February North American Commercial Truck and Trailer Outlook
Report, FTR Associates forecasts marginal gains for Class 8 truck
demand for 2010.
FTR indicates that while freight is turning positive and GDP should
continue to grow in 2010, excess capacity and the Environmental
Protection Agency's emissions mandate will keep heavy truck equipment
demand relatively flat compared to 2009. Meanwhile, demand for trailers
is expected to improve this year, as production levels are stabilizing.
"While many would like to see a good upsurge in Class 8 demand this
year because of the improving economy, our analysis continues to see a
disconnect between the 2010 freight and equipment production outlooks,"
said Eric Starks, president of FTR. "We continue to caution against
optimism especially in the first half of the year because of the huge
overhang in excess, idle equipment. The current lack of Class 8 orders
supports our view."
HALIFAX -- The Halifax Gateway Council
released its new five-year strategic plan focused on realizing the plan
to make Halifax the preferred eastern trade gateway for North America.
The 2010-2015 Strategic Plan:
Building the Halifax Gateway highlights the gateway's role as a key hub
for the movement of goods to and from the east coast of North America
and the world.
"As a key component of Canada's greater
transportation system and network, improving the efficiency and
competiveness of the Halifax Gateway will produce economic and social
benefits for all of Canada," said Joyce Carter, Chair of the Halifax
Gateway Council. "A more efficient gateway reduces costs and increases
the competiveness of Canada's exported goods, while an increase in
imports creates jobs and business opportunities for Canadians.
The
Port of Halifax, notes the report, creates over 11,000 jobs and $1.5
billion in economic impact, including $170 million in rail economic
output, and $160 million from long-haul and regional trucking.
Over the next five years, the Council will focus on achieving five overarching goals:
--
Ensuring the Halifax Gateway offers efficient transportation networks
to meet shipping and travel needs; improving Gateway infrastructure;
ensuring government policy helps minimize barriers to trade and travel;
establishing the Halifax Gateway brand internationally; and
coordinating with other gateway and business councils and organizations
in supporting the enhancements.
This column is dedicated to the middle aged male driver who turned left
in the intersection and completed the turn half way into my lane as I
approached him and half way into the lane that he was supposed to be
using. Was he being inattentive, careless or did he not know any better?
Unless you are using an intersection that allows a left turn from
multiple lanes, you approach the intersection in the lane closest to
the center line. Enter the intersection itself with your vehicle still
positioned to the right of the center line. If it is possible, turn
your vehicle in an arc with an apex to the right of the center of the
intersection. Enter the first available lane for your direction of
traffic, with your vehicle positioned to the right of the center line
of that road before you leave the intersection.
If multiple lanes are allowed to turn left, exit from and enter into
the corresponding lanes on either side of the intersection in the
manner outlined already. Of course, it may not be possible to remain to
the left of the center of the intersection depending on the lane that
you are in. Also, while it may not be illegal to change lanes in an
intersection, a defensive driver will not do so.
Sir, you stick to your lane and I will stick to mine. While you may
otherwise be a nice person, I don't want to accidentally meet you at an
intersection!
Manitoba's trucking industry Tough times for trucking business
If declining demand and plummeting profits were not enough for the
trucking industry to deal with, more expensive equipment and tightening
credit conditions will continue to wreak havoc even after the economy
turns around.
Those were some of the issues about 200 members of the Canadian
trucking industry are discussing at the Future of Trucking Symposium
that began Thursday and continues today in Winnipeg.
Rocky road
There is too much trucking capacity, but that could be cured by a decrease in the size of fleets and an increase in traffic.
Development of CentrePort is hoped to provide a boost to the
industry, which still includes some of the largest fleets in the
country.
Trucking contributes about $1.2 billion to provincial GDP.
There are about 400 for-hire trucking firms in the province.
Trucking is responsible for about five per cent of the provincial workforce.
"The highway truckers have been ravaged," said Doug Harvey, CEO of Winnipeg truck dealership Maxim Truck & Trailer.
From an equipment sales point of view, he said 2009 was the worst year since 1962.
And for many firms, things might get worse before they get better.
Lou Smyrlis, editor of the trade publication Canadian Transportation & Logistics,
who spoke at the conference, said Canadian trucking companies have lost
45 per cent of their value and the Canadian industry is operating the
oldest fleet in 20 years.
Easy credit made it possible for the trucking fleet to grow by 25
per cent in the run-up to the recession, but Smyrlis said excess
capacity and declining demand over the last 18 months has meant about
10 to 15 per cent has fallen by the wayside. Tightened credit markets
will mean more bankruptcies when the banks believe valuations are
strong enough to foreclose.
"Banks have not been too aggressive because there is no market for
freight terminals and other assets (because of overcapacity in the
market)," he said.
Bob Dolyniuk, general manager of the Manitoba Trucking Association,
said so-called zombie fleets are operating at low or non-existent
margins and if they fall into arrears in their loan payments, lenders
are likely to pull the plug when the economy turns around.
He and others in the industry say they believe that kind of scenario
will play a role in restoring the balance of supply and demand and
allow carriers to start increasing freight rates, which have fallen
because of the increased competition and lower demand.
And while truckers are struggling to survive, there is also pressure
to purchase more expensive equipment that cuts greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions and increases fuel efficiency.
Bill Van Amburg, senior vice-president of CALSTART, a California
non-profit organization of more than 140 firms, fleets and agencies
worldwide developing clean advanced transportation technologies, said
four major truck manufacturers are now producing hybrid trucks.
But he said the higher cost of those models and the newness of the
technology mean other fuel-efficiency technologies are more likely to
be implemented first.
Dolyniuk said he wants to see more harmonization of regulations
throughout North America so truckers can implement fuel-saving
technologies like broad-base tires and boat-tails to reduce drag and
burn less fuel.
New engine technology introduced in 2010 models reduces GHG
emissions but adds weight, reducing fuel economy and the amount of
cargo the trailers can carry.
Many at the conference concurred that jurisdictions need to align a broad swath of regulations affecting the industry.
Van Amburg said policies are jumping from one focus to the next. For
instance, he said California has a policy that provides incentives to
get older, dirtier trucks off the road in favour of newer and cleaner
engines. But since the new ones are not fuel-efficient, the industry
could be stuck with them for the next 15 years when fuel prices are
expected to rise dramatically.
INDUSTRY -- A big-rig hauling an empty car carrier careened off the
westbound Pomona (60) Freeway in Industry Friday night and crashed into
a Ford dealership.
The accident happened around 9:40 p.m. near South Azusa Avenue.
About a dozen cars at the dealership were damaged.
The big-rig blew a tire, and then went over the side of the freeway and
into a fence before hitting a pole, according to the California Highway
Patrol.
An ambulance was called, but no injuries were reported, CHP Officer Patrick Kimball said.
Rain was falling in the area and roads were slick at the time of the crash, but the CHP did not indicate road conditions were.
Most don't understand they are on a clock. It happened in the 1970s
when manufacturing pursued the Japanese system of "on-time delivery."
It
consisted of a system, for small parts were made in your homes and a
three-wheeled bicycle picked them up and delivered them to larger
buildings a few blocks to a plant that finished the assembly. This
system was designed to eliminate inventory.
Today,
inventory is stored on a tractor-trailer traveling down the highway for
on-time delivery. The people have no idea that if the truck drivers
parked their big rigs for a week the USA would grind to a halt. The
unemployment lines would be miles long, and people would be going
hungry in three days. Grocery shelves would be empty. Crime would jump
to proportions the American people have never seen before.
Truck
drivers didn't change the system, American industry did. At our plant,
we carried months of inventory that was shipped by rail. Now all this
is on a tractor-trailer on the highways to be delivered on time so you
can have milk and bread on the shelves because you don't have any
inventory in your house to eat.
Give
the truck driver a break. He is just trying to put food on the shelf.
When you slow down in front of him with your cell phone stuck in your
ear hope he doesn't run over you.