GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — Mandatory speed limiter rules in Ontario and Quebec deter U.S. owner-operators from the Canadian market, according to a survey conducted by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

Nearly 25 Percent of American truckers surveyed said speed limiter rules are the main reason they don’t haul north of the border, states the survey, which, OOIDA says, was conducted for Canadian stakeholders who wanted to find out why U.S. truckers were taking fewer loads into Canada.

More than 83.5 percent of drivers said they no longer engage in cross-border trucking, but, out of those, 62 percent said they have operated in Canada in the past.

OOIDA, a vocal critic of mandatory speed limiters, has not been shy in accusing the rule’s Canadian proponents of orchestrating the regulation as a way to limit American truckers from taking freight southbound from Canada.

OOIDA says that before the survey, many shippers believed a new bonding requirement set to take effect in April 2011 was the culprit for the low flow of U.S. truckers.

While that’s certainly one factor (as indicated by 13.7% of respondents), speed limiters remains the number one reason, says OOIDA.

Lack of access to southbound freight (19.6%); licensing permitting (15%); and e-manifests (13.8%) were some of the other top responses.

"As a one-truck operation, we will not even consider going into Canada. We will not comply with their sped limiters and do not care for the hassles associated with the border in either direction," reads one typical comment out of the hundreds submitted to OOIDA. "Lastly, not enough pay for freight going into or out of Canada to make it worthwhile to consider."

OOIDA Director of Regulatory Affairs Joe Rajkovacz says the survey lends credence to the argument the group makes about the speed limiters shutting American competitors out of the Canadian market.

"We made the case … and it’s clear from this survey that that’s what happened."

Though, defenders of the policy counter that Canadian carriers transporting freight to the U.S. must similarly comply with specific American rules that don’t apply in Canada — mandatory drug testing, for example.

Fifty four percent of respondents said they would participate in the Canadian market if there were a "one-stop shop" that could help them with regulatory compliance and take care of paperwork.

Approximately 2,100 truckers responded to the OOIDA survey, almost all of which were U.S. operators.