Blogs
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Boom in automotive shipments only a short-term reprieve
Anyone feeling optimistic about what the summer’s rise in automotive shipments from the Detroit Three indicated about the future, should be sobered by this week’s news from General Motors about significant layoffs. That development, I believe, is more indicative of…
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Emissions standards should apply to older trucks too
Over the past few years I’ve been telling anyone who would listen about the environmental leaps and bounds being made by the trucking industry. I am always quick to point out that it takes 60 2007 trucks to create the…
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Why 100% scanning of containers is 100% wrong
If you think congestion can make picking up containers at our international ports a real hassle now, wait till July 1, 2012. That’s when the US wants to have its scan-all legislation in effect. The legislation decrees that as of…
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How NOT to help truckers with their costs
When I discuss with industry suppliers the cost challenges their owner/operator and fleet customers face, I’m often asked what would be the best way they could help truckers reduce their costs. Before addressing the ways to help, it might be…
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It’s so crazy it might just work
In the medical profession there’s a saying used, comparing horses and zebras, when a physician comes up with the misdiagnosis of an ailment. Something about looking for zebras instead of horses, or horses instead of zebras… Regardless of the situation,…
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Trucking may be the lion of the transportation industry but it’s not exactly growing fat on its kills
In my past two blogs dedicated to understanding the changes driving today’s motor carriers, we examined the increasing importance of accountability and the greater amount of complexity fleets face today. One thing that has NOT changed is the importance of…
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Complexity will radically change the trucking industry
In my last blog I began examining the three major trends – accountability, complexity and cost — that I think drive the success and fuel the fears of motor carriers. The first trend we looked at was the increasing amount…
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Infrastructure upgrades desperately needed
The tragic collapse of a Minneapolis bridge this week has demonstrated the need for immediate upgrades to North American infrastructure. The deadly collapse comes just weeks after Transports Quebec announced oversized loads will no longer be allowed to cross 135…
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It’s just lip service until you drink from the fountain of youth
I’m sure there has yet to be a generation of young people who have not felt slighted by their predecessors. And likely, along the same lines, there probably has yet to be a generation of decision-makers who has not wished…
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What drives the success and fuels the fears of motor carriers?
I’m often asked by companies selling products into the transportation industry to outline the major trends that are both driving the success and fueling the fears of their motor carrier customers. I put it down to three main trends: Accountability,…
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Ontario waste oil heater ban now official
The June 29 version of the Environmental Registry confirmed Ontario Regulation 280/07, a law that prevents companies from burning waste oil for heat as of June 1, 2009. Truck News has been covering this story in recent months and the…
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Keeping fit is a constant challenge for drivers (and writers)
It’s no secret that professional drivers are generally not the fittest of folks. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but it’s not easy to stay in shape when you spend long hours behind the wheel and the most…
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Road carnage – when’s it going to end?
They say bad things happen in three but we’re beyond three and still counting when it comes to recent truck crashes on major GTA highways caused by four-wheelers. Yesterday a cement truck rolled over on Hwy. 427, closing the well-travelled…
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While we’re at it, let’s limit all vehicle speeds
Ontario Transport Minister Donna Cansfield has unexpectedly announced (amid very little fanfare during a long weekend) that the province is going ahead with an OTA proposal to require the use of speed limiters on heavy-duty trucks operating within the province.…
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Always be prepared!
A reader submitted these photos as a reminder to always be prepared for everything while out on the road. These pictures were taken near Terrace, B.C. The driver apparently rounded a corner in the highway and was greeted with a…