ST. JOHN’S, Nfld. — The CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, David Bradley, invited the marine industry to work with the trucking industry at the annual conference of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities in St. John’s, NF last week.

"There are two ways it can work, other modes can either co-operate with the trucking industry in true intermodal partnerships, or they can try and compete with us. Ultimately the shipper will decide and when it comes to service they have chosen over the road transportation for most shipments within North America," said Bradley. "So if a mode wants to compete with trucking, bring it on. Try and emulate what trucks do."

He said the various modes share so much in common increased security costs, sky-rocketing fuel and insurance costs, a shortage of workers, an infrastructure deficit and government policy that takes transportation for granted that they should be working together rather than throwing money at public relations campaigns bashing other modes.

In particular, Bradley took aim at the recent billboard and radio campaign launched by the St. Lawrence Seaway which portrays the marine sector as being environmentally and socially superior to trucks.

"There is a tendency to oversell intermodalism or modal shift and this campaign is a prime example," Bradley said.

He took issue with the campaign’s proposition that marine transportation is the best solution for the environment and for eliminating highway congestion.

He said there has been and there continues to be a need for co-operation amongst the modes at all Canadian ports to ensure the transfer of freight on and off ships is conducted as efficiently as possible. The ports are the best example of intermodalism in action, he added.