economy

New CTA chairman looks to raise regional voices

TORONTO, Ont. -- This isn’t the first time Scott Smith has occupied a seat at the head of a boardroom table. The president and chief executive officer of Ontario-based JD Smith led the Ontario Trucking Association from 2004-06. Now, just a little over a decade later, he has been handed the gavel for the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA). As familiar as the role might appear, this is a time of significant change among some of Canada’s largest trucking associations. Stephen Laskowski is entering his first full year as chief executive officer of the Canadian Trucking Alliance itself. Recent months have seen changes to senior staff at the British Columbia Trucking Association and Alberta Motor Transport Association, too.

Mack VP: Will construction labor shortage harm growth?

LOUISVILLE, Ky.-- With truck order intake expected to hit near-record levels in 2018, Mack's senior vice-president for North American sales, Jonathan Randall, is worried about who will drive all the trucks the company is building. Speaking on the opening day of the 2018 Mid-America Trucking Show, Randall said the construction sector is seeing record spending, lots of job growth, and correspondingly strong order intake from the sector, but he says there are a couple of potentially dampening factors on the horizon. "There's a shortage of labor in that sector today, or more specifically, a shortage of construction workers," he said. "Who is going to drive all the trucks that we're selling?" Randall says U.S. GDP is expected to grow by 2.8% this year, and the strong economy is reflected in the strong order intake the industry is seeing this year. To says the economy is robust would probably be an understatement based on what Mack is seeing in truck orders

Strong 2017 leads Daimler to focus on uptime, expansion, and connectivity in 2018

PORTLAND, OR – Capturing nearly 40% of the North American Class 6-8 truck market, it was a banner year for Daimler Trucks North America, and according to president and CEO Roger Nielsen, the company isn’t done yet. Daimler sold more than 470,000 trucks worldwide last year to the tune of more than CAN $57.7 billion in revenue and a 6.7% return on sales. Nielsen credits the strong year on sales of the New Cascadia, with 46,000 orders for the truck in the first year. That number is a significant boost over the first-year sales of the original model which sold about 25,000 units in its debut year.

TTSAO announces a ‘Touch a Truck’ hiring event for adults

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – The Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (TTSAO) is trying to drive more people into the industry by hosting a “touch a truck” event for adults. The group announced the event and sought marketing ideas for it during the carrier group townhall meeting at their annual conference. The event – to be held in Mississauga, Ont. On May 26 – will be a hiring event focused on bringing in employees to all areas of the industry, not just drivers.