CALGARY, Alta. — Truxpo, the Western Canadian trucking trade show that alternates between Alberta and B.C., has been postponed this year due to lack of interest.

The Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) has decided not to host the show this year because there simply wasn’t enough interest, says the association’s director of member services, Peter Vaudry.

"We didn’t have the interest that we needed, so we decided to postpone it this year," confirms Vaudry.

The B.C. Trucking Association (BCTA) and the AMTA take turns hosting the trade show, which alternates between the two provinces. Earlier this year, there was discussion on the AMTA’s part to move the show to Calgary this fall rather than hosting it in Edmonton, where it took place in 2001.

Last year, Truxpo was held in Abbotsford, B.C., where the show drew a crowd of more than 10,000 people.

BCTA president, Paul Landry, was surprised by the news. He says the BCTA may examine the possibility of holding Truxpo each year if the AMTA opts not to hold one of its own.

"We might give consideration to having an annual show," says Landry. "But I would want to know for starters why it was that the AMTA wasn’t able to put on a show this year."

Landry says the BCTA has enjoyed "tremendous support from our suppliers" over the last few years, despite the challenges facing the industry.

Vaudry says the AMTA would like to see the other western associations join forces to host one, big Western Canadian truck show. Landry, on the other hand, feels that one big show won’t necessarily be any more successful than four provincial shows.

"These shows are really regional in nature," says Landry. "We don’t attract a great deal of traffic from Alberta when we have a show."

He says a more in-depth examination of who attends trade shows may be in order.

"We need to know more about who attends these shows, why they attend them and where they come from," says Landry.