In an effort to further support you, the Canadian Transportation Equipment Association (CTEA) has developed a cooperative relationship with the NTEA – the Association for the U.S. Work Truck Industry. The NTEA represents the leading manufacturers and distributors of commercial work trucks and truck-mounted equipment in the USA.

We are pleased to include for you a FREE admission pass to The Work Truck Show 2012, North America’s largest work truck event. This year, the show will be held March 6-8, 2012 at the Indiana Convention Center (Indianapolis, IN), with special events and educational sessions beginning on Monday, March 5. This trade show and its educational offerings provide a wealth of information critical and beneficial to us as transportation equipment manufacturing professionals.

The Work Truck Show offers more than 500,000 square feet of Class 1?8 vocational trucks and equipment. Many of the more than 550 exhibitors launch new products at this show and make engineering staff available to answer your questions. There is also a dedicated area on the show floor, the CALSTART Clean Technologies and Fuels Pavilion, which showcases the latest hybrid vehicles and alternative fuel technologies. In addition to trade show registration, your free pass entitles you to attend one of the convention’s concurrent educational sessions — more than 30 of which are offered on topics such as government regulatory implications for the work truck industry, federal excise tax implications, the future economic landscape for the work truck industry, the future of fleet operations, vehicle certification labelling requirements, chassis manufacturer updates, and much more.

This year’s event also features the Green Truck Summit, the industry’s leading educational forum on sustainable technologies, scheduled March 5 and 6. Led by distinguished industry experts, this summit covers topics such as funding for clean vehicles, trends in work truck technologies and fuels, idle reduction technologies, deployment strategies, gaseous fuel conversions, and much more. A fee does apply to attend this summit or any of the other special Sessions.

Visit NTEA.com for complete event details, as well as information about Indianapolis and details regarding parking in downtown Indianapolis or hotel accommodations. We encourage you to take advantage of this special partnership and unique offer. To do so, please register for free using the enclosed pass. We look forward to seeing you in Indianapolis!

Wood in Products Bound for the U.S.
The following information was passed along to CTEA, as a member of the Canadian Manufacturing Coalition (MCM) from the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) and may affect those of you who sell product into the US with wood floors: As many of you know, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued regulations to prevent international trafficking in illegal logging products and global deforestation. As a result, companies in the United States and abroad that are doing business in the United States must submit an import declaration with each shipment. It must contain, among other things, the scientific name of the plant, the country of origin, and the quantity and value of the products imported into the United States. In their regulations, USDA expanded the definition of "plants" to include paper, wooden furniture, hammers with wooden handles, musical instruments containing wood and even further manufactured products such as perfume, plastics and plastic components, jewelry and plant-based pharmaceutical products. While enforcement concerns are targeted elsewhere around the globe and Canada is well known for its model forest sustainability programs, Canadian companies must still comply with these onerous reporting and declaration requirements. The compliance and cost burden will only increase as 1) Congress moves to expand the product coverage and 2) your customers upstream in your manufacturing supply chain, either in Canada or in the United States, request detailed transactional information from you. The Lacey provisions require the exercise of "due care" and failure to exercise this care can expose your company and your customers to civil penalties of up to (US) $10,000 per violation and even criminal penalties. Currently only imported products under Tariff Chapters 44, 66, 82, 92, 93, 94, 95 & 97 are scheduled for enforcement of the declaration requirement but the underlying law makes it clear that almost all product lines should eventually be covered.

This is not a forestry or lumber issue, but rather an onerous and unnecessary requirement on Canada’s manufacturing sector. CME is therefore taking the business lead to work with the Government of Canada to find a permanent solution for Canadian shippers and suppliers. Your business voice and expertise will be critical in those efforts but we understand the need for business confidentiality and discretion. To that end, we are organizing a Lacey Coalition of companies who are willing to work with CME and provide us with your company’s experience and concerns with the implementation of the Lacey Act.

If you are interested, contact the following individual. We will organize an initial conference call with you and provide an initial draft action plan for your review and approval. On behalf of CME’s leadership team, thank you and we look forward to hearing from you. Birgit Matthiesen Special Advisor to the President and CEO Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
PH 703-303-8413
birgit.matthiesen@cme-mec.ca
www.cme-mec.ca