TORONTO, Ont. –The economy will be front and center at this year’s Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) convention Nov. 20-21.

This year’s convention will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Toronto. The theme is ‘Regaining our Edge.’

Award-winning industry forecasters James Meil (chief economist, Eaton Corp.), John Larkin (managing director, transportation, Stifel, Nicholaus and Company) and Robert Hickey (senior director, CIBC) will offer insight on how the trucking industry is coping in the US and in Canada.

Other sessions will include a look at the auto sector, as automotive industry analyst Dennis DesRosier delivers the presentation ‘Is the Auto Sector Coming Back?’

Shippers will voice their concerns and expectations for 2009 and beyond in ‘What Customers Want Going Forward,’ organizers of the OTA convention have announced.

Meanwhile, some leading trucking company CEOs such as Darshan Kailly of Canadian Freightways, Ron Tepper of Con-solidated Fastfrate and Doug Duncan of FedEx Freight will discuss the evolving economy on both sides of the border and how it is forcing them to rethink their business strategies.

Safety initiatives will also be discussed, with representatives from Bison Transport, Erb Transport, Kriska, MacKinnon Transport and Challenger Motor Freight sharing some tips on how investing in safety has delivered a payback.

‘Trends and Practices in Third-Party Logistics,’ and ‘How to Protect Yourself from Organized Crime’ will also be covered.

On the entertainment side, Great Big Sea will perform as well as comedian Mike MacDonald. For more info and to sign up, visit www.ontruck.org/convention.