REGINA, Sask. – The Saskatchewan Trucking Association is asking its members to join its campaign to bring full weight parity for the use of wide based tires in the province.

The STA said it has been lobbying for the use of wide based tires for more than a decade, and that the New Generation Wide Base Single Tires currently permitted can only be used at an 80% weight allotment to duel-tired trucks, which the association said applies to roughly 5% of the truck transport community in the province.

The STA claims that in addition to lower maintenance costs and increased road safety, wide based tires can improve fuel efficiency, and in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 8.5 tonnes per truck based on a fuel savings of 10%.

The STA said the focus of this initiative has shifted and joined forces with associations in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.

Any member companies interested in assisting with this campaign, or interested in using wide based tire technology, are encouraged to contact the STA.

Port of Raymond

The STA is also advocating that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reconsider its proposal to limit operating hours at the Port of Raymond border crossing.

The Port of Raymond is located between Regway, Sask. and Raymond, Mon. Should the proposed pilot project come to fruition, those wishing to cross the Canada-U.S. border between the hours of 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. would have to do so either at the Portal, N.D. or Sweetgrass, Mon. Port of Entry.

The STA said it has joined Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall in calling for the port to remain open on a 24/7 basis, as the financial impact on the truck transport community should the crossing limit hours of operation are ‘too great to justify the closure that would detour trucks nearly 150 km to the nearest 24-hour entry point.’

According to the CBP website, the Port of Raymond currently remains open on a 24/7 basis.