OTTAWA, Ont. — For the second time in a row, Census Canada statistics reveal more Canadian males make their living as truck drivers than any other single occupation.

The most recent census figures indicate 255,990 men make their living in the industry, a jump from the 1996 census when 220,000 men said their occupation was truck driver.

When both men and women are included in the total number of Canadians who list truck driver as their occupation, the number jumps to a total of 263,500 people. This reveals that women continue to make headway in the occupation as they now make up 3 per cent of the driver labor force.

The number of men and women behind the wheel increased by 29 per cent while the number of males behind the wheel increased by 28 per cent over 1991 numbers.

The increase reflects higher volumes of international and inter-provincial trade, as well as increased preference by shippers for trucking services.

Trucks move 90 per cent of all consumer products and foodstuffs within Ontario and over 80 per cent, by value, of the province’s trade with the U.S.