Bradley keeps carrying capacity, rates message

KINGSTON, Ont. (Sept. 16, 2004) — Many in the trucking industry are finally getting paid what they have long deserved, and it’s about time, the CEO of the Canadian Trucking Allaince told a group of shippers.

Bradley continues to meet with the shipping community and spread the word that “a correction in trucking rate structures is underway with carriers looking at the best opportunity they have had since deregulation to improve their financial performance.”

The CTA and OTA chief was most recently in Kingston, Ont. speaking first to the annual meeting of the Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Logistics Association (PPCLA), then later that same day to the Kingston Centennial Transportation Club (KCTC).

“The markets work in slow and disjointed ways, but the mood in the marketplace is more accepting of rate increases, surcharges and accessorial charges,” he said. “The reality is that the trucking industry can no longer afford to absorb all its cost increases. Nor should it have to.

“Moreover, our drivers expect to be paid a fair wage for their work and they are demanding that they be paid for delay times and who can blame them. Remember, they are not only integral to a carrier’s business — they are also integral to the shippers’ businesses. Who else knows your products, your logistics systems and your customers better than the truck drivers that move your goods?”

Bradley lauded the shipping community, adding that many shippers seem to have an understanding of the situation and many are working with their carriers to improve efficiency and productivity together.

There is still a long way to go, he says, “but more and more the trucking industry is realizing it’s its turn.”

The CPCLA includes amongst its membership companies like Abbott Laboratories, Apotex, Avon Canada, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Shoppers Drug Mart, etc. The KCTC membership includes companies like Alcan Rolled Products, Tyco/Ludlow, Interface Flooring Systems, and Hartford Fibres.