TORONTO — New Communications Group (NCG), the publisher of Today’s Trucking, and Newport Communications, which offers the most comprehensive stable of media for the U.S. trucking industry, announced plans to publish RoadStar Canada, a new magazine for truck drivers and owner operators.

Premiering in September 1999, RoadStar Canada will be a monthly, tabloid-sized magazine for Canada’s men and women behind the wheel. It will build on the strength of Newport’s RoadStar magazine, which debuted in the United States this month, and have no other mission than to serve the over-the-road trucker in Canada.

RoadStar Canada will be issued free via the most comprehensive truckstop distribution network in Canada.

“A magazine dedicated to truck drivers in Canada is long overdue,” said NCG editorial director Rolf Lockwood. “Today’s Trucking is and will continue to be the essential business resource for owner-operators and truck-fleet professionals. RoadStar Canada will address the personal and professional life of truck drivers, from equipment trends to lifestyle issues to job opportunities.”

The alliance between Newport’s RoadStar and NCG’s RoadStar Canada will unite North America’s most experienced truck reporters, including five commercially licensed drivers, said Lockwood.

For advertisers, the magazine is an opportunity to reach drivers exclusively, said RoadStar Canada publisher Niel Hiscox. The new title will be offered to advertisers at a variety of combination rates with Newport’s RoadStar and NCG’s Today’s Trucking. “Buying RoadStar Canada with Newport’s RoadStar will create a powerful way to reach drivers across North America,” Hiscox said. “Then again, for advertisers who desire a national buy in Canada reaching drivers, owner-operators, and fleet owners, the combined reach of Today’s Trucking and RoadStar Canada will be unmatched.”

New Communications Group is Canada’s leading publisher of magazines for the trucking industry. In addition to RoadStar Canada, the company publishes Today’s Trucking and Truck & Trailer, and also operates two Internet ventures: www.equipmentfinder.com, a database of new and used heavy-duty equipment, and NewsFIRST, Canada’s only live online news service for the transportation industry, at www.todaystrucking.com .

Newport Communications is the top U.S. producer of trucking media. The addition of Newport’s RoadStar magazine to its other industry publications, Heavy Duty Trucking, Truck Sales & Leasing, Truckstop/Travel Plaza, and Camiones (Mexico), gives the company a total magazine circulation of more than 300,000 readers. Newport’s other ventures include the Newport Poster Network, its magazine web sites, and Hotline Newsletter.