TORONTO — Most American carriers and owner-operators have historically avoided the Canadian border as much as they could help it. Too many headaches — border congestion, FAST cards, pre-notification — and not enough return. But with a U.S. dollar now more competitive relative to Canadian exports, could we see more stars-and-striped trucks on this side of the 49th?

The OTA’s David Bradley says he isn’t particularly worried about a massive influx, but wouldn’t be surprised to hear stories of a return of the “Friday night specials,” in which Americans were able to poach headhaul freight from Canadian carriers immediately after deregulation.

While there will always be a preference for Canadian companies to use domestic carriers, Jay Myers of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters says he could foresee more Canadian shippers sending freight south on an American truck’s backhaul. “I don’t think we’ll ever replace [Canadian cross-border lanes], but clearly, there could be an opportunity for more U.S. trucks.”

RBC’s Walter Spracklin predicts a “can’t-beat-’em, join-’em” response from some Canadian fleets. That means more interline partnerships and acquisitions of American carriers. One CEO of a large western Canadian fleet recently told analysts that freight opportunities are now “three-to-one” on a backhaul (from the U.S.).

“Historically, you want more opportunities on your headhaul, so it makes sense for them to get the trucks to come up, and then filling the backhauls if they can,” says Spracklin. “We haven’t seen any big [acquisitions] yet, but I think we’re going to see them down the road.”

— Be sure to check out this week’s online feature ‘Loonie Tunes’ for more on how parity is affecting Canadian fleets (link below).