Fleet Executive May June 2014 by Annex Business Media

Professional Connection MOTORTRUCK

SEE PAGE 37

MAY JUNE 2014

CANADA’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR FLEET OWNERS

Brick by brick: EPA expects to create fuel efficiency gains with trailer improvements

Taxing times: Tips to help trucking companies keep Canada Revenue Agency happy

A WOMAN’S

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Trucking needs women. But what does she need from trucking?

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nbins.com/trucking

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04_Contents.indd 3

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Volume 83, No. 03

May/June 2014

contents

Cover Story 22 A WOMAN’S JOB

It takes a special mindset for women to succeed in the trucking industry—one that allows them to see opportunities where others don’t, and one that allows them to deal with the harsh realities of working in a man’s world.

Features 20 Leaders

Before retiring, the MTA’s Bob Dolyniuk offered advice about making transitions in both business and personal life, and spoke about some of his past accomplishments.

28 Oils and Lubes

Departments

In order to keep up with changing engine technology, oils are having to evolve. Fleet Executive takes a look at the upcoming PC-11 standard.

6 WHAT’S ON TRUCKNEWS.COM

30 Green to Gold

7 THE VIEW WITH LOU

Trailer design is the next battlefront in ongoing fight to improve fuel economy.

8 CHECK CALL 11 MAILBAG 12 THE BOTTOM LINE 13 TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS 16 THE HUMAN EDGE 18 RISKY BUSINESS

32 Profitability Advice small fleet owners and managers can apply now to make next year’s tax preparations easier.

34 Geared Up Daimler integrates a DD15 powerplant, with its DT12 automated mechanical transmission and rear Detroit axles to offer fuel economy improvements.

38 INSIDE THE NUMBERS

4 FLEET EXECUTIVE ❙ May/June 2014

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WHAT’S ON TRUCKNEWS.COM Brought to you by the editors of Truck News, Truck West and Fleet Executive

BLOGS

Harry Rudolfs questions how the trucking industry treats temporary foreign workers. http://www. trucknews.com/ author/harry

FEATURES The medical marijuana conundrum A driver is caught in the clash between rules about failed drug tests and a doctorprescribed painkiller. http://tinyurl.com/MJ-conundrum Driver left to pick up the pieces after truck used in suicide Driver Adam Lowry shares his harrowing tale of what happened the day somebody decided to walk out onto the highway to die. http://tinyurl.com/truck-suicide Game on Some of Ontario’s best drivers prepare to demonstrate their skills by competing in regional and provincial championships. http://tinyurl.com/drivingchamps HR Q&A: Occupational health and safety policies and practices The rules and regulations that govern how businesses must manage safety. http://tinyurl.com/HR-Q-A-Pt3

Dan Goodwill details what to expect at the 2014 Surface Transportation Summit. http://www. trucknews.com/ author/dan

Web TV:

Transportation Matters TMTV VIDEO ON THE ROAD AT SHELL ROTELLA SUPERRIGS Saskatchewan driver Rodger Nelson took his Peterbilt to North Carolina to enter it in the custom truck competition http://tinyurl.com/ShellSuperRigs

Carolina Billings offers advice about dealing with institutional change. http://www. trucknews.com/ author/cbillings

FREIGHT BIDS—INCUMBENTS VERSUS NEW BIDDERS Shippers on the Transportation Media Surface Transportation Panel explain how carriers can keep existing business and win new contracts http://tinyurl.com/FreightBidsPanel

LOGISTICS: A FUTURE FOR WOMEN A panel discusses why a changing industry needs more women at all levels http://tinyurl.com/women-logistics

SOCIAL MEDIA FIND US ON FACEBOOK facebook.com/trucknews

6 FLEET EXECUTIVE ❙ May/June 2014

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MOTORTRUCK

is written and published for owners, managers and maintenance supervisors of those companies that operate, sell and service trucks, truck trailers and transit buses. MAY/JUNE 2014

VOL. 83 NO. 03

THE VIEW WITH LOU

Don’t be doggin’ it

PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Lou Smyrlis (416) 510-6881 lou@TransportationMedia.ca EDITOR

Carolyn Gruske (416) 510-6809 cgruske@TransportationMedia.ca GEARED UP EDITOR

James Menzies (416) 510-6896 jmenzies@trucknews.com FEATURES EDITOR

Julia Kuzeljevich (416) 510-6880 julia@TransportationMedia.ca ASSISTANT EDITOR

Sonia Straface (416) 510-6890 sstraface@TransportationMedia.ca CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Roy Gaiot rgaiot@bizinfogroup.ca ADVERTISING CREATIVE DIRECTORS

Carolyn Brimer Beverley Richards

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Ken Mark Ian Putzger John G. Smith Carroll McCormick Jason Rhyno Harry Rudolfs NATIONAL SALES MANAGER

Don Besler (416) 699-6966

ACCOUNT MANAGER

Brenda Grant (416) 494-3333

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Kim Collins (416) 510-6779

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Mary Garufi

VIDEO PRODUCTION MANAGER

Brad Ling

RESEARCH MANAGER

Laura Moffatt

VICE PRESIDENT PUBLISHING

Alex Papanou PRESIDENT

Bruce Creighton Head Office: 80 Valleybrook Drive Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Motortruck Fleet Executive is published by BIG Magazines LP, a division of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd., a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and business-to-business information services. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, either in part or full, including photocopying and recording, without the written consent of the copyright owner. Nor may any part of this publication be stored in a retrieval system of any nature without prior written consent. Motortruck Fleet Executive is indexed by Micromedia Limited. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT 40069240 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Circulation Dept. – Motortruck Magazine, Suite 800 – 12 Concorde Place, Toronto, ON M3C 4J2 USPS 016-317. US office of publication, 2424 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls, NY. 14304-0357. Periodical Postage Paid at Niagara Falls NY USA. Postmaster send address corrections to: Motortruck, PO Box 1118, Niagara Falls NY 14304. Member Canadian Business Press. Subscription Inquiries – (416) 442–5600. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage. ISSN Number 0027-2108 (print) ISSN Number 1923-3507 (digital)

Join us for two key events that promise to be some great summer fun Lou Smyrlis

Publisher & Editorial Director • lou@transportationmedia.ca

s Mike McCarron warns in his Bottom Line column this month, we’re about to enter “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer” when people seem to expect less and feel justified to do less. Don’t worry Mike, there will be none of that going on with Transportation Media. We are rolling up our sleeves and getting heavily involved with two industry events we think are crucial to our industry’s image—the Ontario Truck Driving Championships and the Healthy Fleet Challenge. And yes, we are planning on having a bit of summer fun while doing so. The Ontario Truck Driving Championships have been an integral part of our industry since 1947. We are proud to announce that we are now going to be an integral part of OTDC, as official media sponsor. Industry is no different than sport: top performers are always keen to see just how good they are, and at the OTDC they get the opportunity to do so. For almost seven decades the Ontario Truck Driving Championships have been providing a forum for professional truck drivers to display their skills and encourage drivers and their employers to take an active interest in the safety, skill and courtesy needed to conduct a responsible business on our streets and highways. They are designed to create a greater public awareness that truck driving is an important and necessary profession. We believe that the OTDC sends a positive message about our industry and the people who, literally, drive it that needs to be told louder, bolder and more frequently. As the official media sponsor we have committed to providing exciting coverage of the final championships and the competitions leading up to it like you’ve never seen before. We will do what we are best at to bring out the best of the OTDC: We will engage all our media platforms—print, online, social media, WebTV—to highlight the skills, knowledge and personalities behind this year’s contestants. We begin with a major feature on the OTDC entitled “Game On” which you can read on www.trucknews.com.

We hope to see you at the final event in Barrie. Transportation Media will be there with its camera crew to record the exciting competition. Stay tuned to www.trucknews.com, TMTV, Truck News magazine and our Twitter feeds over the coming weeks for coverage of the OTDC like you’ve never seen before. Trucking is known for its long hours, time away from home and stressful situations—all of which can lead to unhealthy eating and exercise habits that ultimately result in illness and premature death for too many of our industry friends and associates. We have joined with Healthy Trucker (a division of NAL Insurance) to announce the Healthy Fleet Challenge. Our goal is to collectively have all industry partners walk around the world during the month of July to promote the importance of better health and wellness in the trucking industry. Walking is something everyone can participate in and is that first critically important step towards a healthier lifestyle. All fleets and allied trades are invited to participate in this event to promote the importance of getting more active. The entry fee for each team is a $1,000 donation with proceeds going to the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Make-a-Wish Canada. Each team can register up to 10 individuals (O/Os, drivers or employees) to participate in this event. To participate, team members will need to download an app to their iPhone or Android device, or purchase a Fitbit device, which will help track the steps participants take each day. Companies can register for the event at www. healthyfleet.com or call 855-422-8333. Participants can upload their logo and team information to an online leader board to show their support of the event and see how they’re doing compared to other companies. And they can turn to www.trucknews.com, TMTV, Truck News and our Twitter feeds for fun and educational updates on the challenge. It’s going to make for a busy summer for us, yes. But it’s also going to be some good summer fun. FE May/June 2014 ❙ FLEET EXECUTIVE 7

Member/Canadian Business Press

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CHECK CALL

Falling dangerously behind the times It’s time to leave Windows XP by the side of the road Carolyn Gruske

Editor • cgruske@transportatiomedia.ca

ell-run fleets don’t skimp on routine maintenance. They don’t wait for tires to blow out on the highway. They replace the rubber when it shows significant signs of wear. They don’t wait for engines to seize up. They change the oil on schedule. It’s a basic business practice that puts safety at the forefront and that attempts to maximize uptime and minimize catastrophic and unexpected expenses. It would make sense to think these same fleets apply a similar approach to other aspects of their business, but apparently that’s not the case—at least when it comes to computer security and maintenance. On April 8, Microsoft Corp. officially ended support of its Windows XP operating system. That means no more security updates or bug patches. Admittedly, at the beginning of May, the Redmond, Washington-based software giant did issue an emergency update to address a zero-day vulnerability, and it included a fix for XP users, but that’s not something fans of the old operating system can count on happening again. Despite Microsoft warning customers for years that XP support would eventually end, and despite massive media coverage prior to the April 8 cut-off date, many businesses have not yet made the switch to newer and more secure software. Curious to see how far the trucking industry had progressed on along the O/S migration path, we conducted a poll on trucknews.com, asking visitors “Are you still using Windows XP in your trucking business?” Just under half of respondents indicated they were and that they had no intention of changing. In total 119 people answered the poll. The answer that got the highest number of responses, with 57 people selecting it, was “Yes, and will continue to do so.” In second place, with 48 responses, was people answering that they don’t use XP. Five people ticked the answer that said, “Yes, but we’re migrating to a different O/S soon” and nine people didn’t know what software their companies ran. To be honest, I wasn’t really surprised by the results (as unscientific and inaccurate as they may be). I know that experts and analysts estimate there is still a large number of businesses running XP. In early April, Gartner Inc., a Stamford, Connecticut-based IT research and analyst firm, released figures about O/S usage. “We estimate that 20-25% of enterprise systems will still run XP and that one third of enterprises will have more than 10% of their systems remaining on XP.”

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Even assuming that both Gartner and our poll are erring on the high side, our figures show that nearly 15% of the visitors to the trucknews.com website that use a version of Windows as their O/S are still on XP. While this could indicate people are surfing from older, home-based computers and not corporate devices, there is no denying that Windows XP is far from dead in the trucking world. Tim Brunt, program manager of personal computing and technology at Toronto-based IT research firm IDC (Canada) Ltd. told Fleet Executive that companies clinging to the old O/S for financial reasons are making a mistake. “The little upfront costs [of upgrading] certainly pale in comparison to the potential losses that can happen due to a major threat—or losing everything,” he said, adding businesses “are definitely at higher risk because they’re running XP.” For businesses that haven’t migrated because they fear mission-critical software won’t run on newer operating systems, Brunt says there are ways to keep the old programs functioning. “There are different solutions where they can run XP in a virtualized environment and still be perfectly up-to-date with modern software. It’s not too difficult and even for a small business, it’s quite cost effective.” For those who think that because they’re running anti-virus and anti-malware software, their XP systems will be safe, don’t count on that being a long-term solution. “I know a number of [anti-virus and anti-malware companies] pulled product development on XP a while ago. They are just running old versions of their software, keeping it up to date, looking for the latest threats out there, but I don’t imagine they will be putting too much support behind that,” said Brunt. The take-away from all of this is simple. If you have a computer that can send and receive e-mail or surf the Web (or is connected to other systems with those capabilities) and it is running a version of Windows XP, you really should upgrade now. As to which version of Windows you replace it with, that depends on your environment and your users. “Whether it is Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1 depends on the applications,” said Brunt. “It takes some people a little bit to get used to using 8 or 8.1 but once they’re in it and have gone through the growing pains, it’s a pretty decent operating system. “It’s like driving in Canada versus driving in the UK. It’s still driving. It’s just that you’ve got to do things a little bit differently.” FE

trucknews.com

14-06-03 11:23 AM

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14-06-02 11:46 AM 14-06-02 5:57 PM

MAIL BAG Concerns about the MTO Lou, I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for your presentation to the Fleet Safety Council a few weeks ago. I would also like to reflect and vent on a few topics. My latest concern is the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s Operation Policy Office. This is an office that has always run on the personality of the managers and the auditors without too much included in legislation. Over the years, if a trainer knew how to manipulate the system and stroke the egos of the auditors they would always come away with good grades. Although they are finally structuring a training curriculum, I fear it will be an impediment to getting better drivers. While this structure is more in line with the Ministry of Colleges, the hours still don’t match. They are also thinking about mirroring the Colleges with a pay-for-audit recertification process. I can see where Recognized Authorities and Signing Authorities will see this as a cash grab by government and as a cost they can no longer afford. This could mean these companies having to pay about $4,000 to have a Signing Authority trained, plus the salary or hourly costs for the person to attend the courses.

trucknews.com

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Then, add on the actual costs for the expected 92 hours of training. Finally, the auditing—which has traditionally been done on a yearly basis—may now cost around $1,000 per visit. If the government is concerned with road safety they need to better align all classes of licenses to a more standardized system like the G1 and G2 classifications. They need to assist companies and schools who are willing to extend themselves to promote quality drivers and ensure fair auditing across the board. I also understand there is a movement to increase the 400 series of expressways to a higher speed limit. While I do advocate the higher speed, I see this as being a danger with truck “speed limiters”. Truck drivers already do not drive in a professional manner by blocking centre lanes as they drive under the posted limits. They need to drive more courteously using the right lane to allow other vehicles to pass to the left. When you put a bunch of four-wheelers going faster with a major speed differential, it will be a recipe for an outcry of bad truck drivers. Rob Simpson, www.robbysroost.ca

To read and comment on our industry blogs, visit http://www.trucknews.com/blogs

May/June 2014 ❙ FLEET EXECUTIVE 11

14-06-03 11:25 AM

BOTTOM LINE

Lazy, hazy, crazy opportunity Combatting the summer sales doldrums By Mike McCarron

I’

m convinced that Nat King Cole moonlighted in sales. There is no other way to explain how he could so perfectly perform a song that so accurately describes the mindset of the sales department come July 1. That’s the day “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer” (music by Hans Carste and lyrics by Charles Tobias) kick into gear. In North America, our state of mind does a 180-degree turn once the kids pile out of school for summer holidays. People seem to expect less and feel justified to work less. Too many sales reps think that when customers are easing back it’s OK for them to follow suit. Why work on Friday afternoons when no one else does? This can be a serious problem for your company. Your bottom line doesn’t take July and August off and neither should your salespeople. Two months represent 17% of the calendar year. In a business with razor-thin margins no one can afford to pay sales reps to fill their baskets full of sandwiches and weenies, lock up the house and head down to the beach. Every sales team needs a fresh approach during this perceived downtime. Consider these ideas for turning “those days of soda and pretzels and beer” into opportunities:

a message for someone who won’t see it for three weeks. That doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel. Summer is all about getting creative and finding new ways to get the job done. Try networking with other influencers within your customers. How about doing research on prospects that fit your company’s sweet spot for follow-up in the fall? Personally, I use the summer to hook up with old buddies and soak them for as many referrals as I can. Sometimes I even twist their arm and do it on the links! Vacation tsunami

Your expectations aren’t the only thing that will change on July 1. If you have children, so will the decibel level at home. I know first-hand as I have three kids who attend university out of town. When this tsunami hits the house at the start of summer break, it washes away any hope I have of accomplishing anything from my home office. If you have sales reps who work from home, make sure they have a place to work where they can be productive. The house is not one of them! Invest in you

Close your deals

Every pending deal loses momentum over the summer. The commitment you get in May is a distant memory come September if you don’t get that new business on your trucks before vacation season. Close those deals now or you might as well add May and June to your list of wasted sales months. Don’t fight it

The good news is Nat King Cole Syndrome also affects your competitors. A lot of their reps are more worried about lowering their golf handicaps than increasing their prospects. Outthink and out-work your competitors now and you can salvage one-sixth of your yearly sales cycle.

Very few of us spend enough time investing in ourselves. Every summer I spend time working on my brand and improving myself. Read a sales book (try Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive, by Harvey MacKay), learn a new app, or update your online presence. My big project this summer is to switch my mobile device from the comfort of Blackberry to Apple. I know it’s going to take time, so I figure I might as well take advantage of my three iPhone experts being home for the summer. Summer is a great time to take a vacation but don’t take a holiday while you’re at work. Come September, with a productive summer of selling under your belt, hopefully, “You’ll wish that summer could always be here.” Just like Nat! FE

Shut-down season

Mike McCarron was one of the founding “M”s in MSM Transportation before the company was purchased by the Wheels Group. Based in Toronto, he currently works for Wheels in mergers and acquisitions and can be reached at mmccarron@wheelsgroup.com. Follow Mike on Twitter @AceMcC.

Filling the sales funnel with prospects is a lot harder in the summer. It takes three times the effort to get the same results. Networking is almost non-existent as every business club and association on the planet shuts down. Trying to get people on the phone is virtually impossible, and there’s no point leaving 12 FLEET EXECUTIVE ❙ May/June 2014

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trucknews.com

14-06-03 11:27 AM

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

The untold story Why business needs a content creation and management strategy By Mark Borkowski

ne key (yet underutilized) resource available to every business is its content. Most companies think of content in terms of what they post on their website, blog, or Facebook page, but content is much broader and more far-reaching than that. “Effective content should not just reach a particular audience,” according to Jason Helfenbaum, president of ClicKnowledge, a writing and consulting company, “it should also resonate with them and compel them to think or act in a certain way.” For employees, good content makes them more informed and efficient, and for customers, good content leads to conscious, informed purchases. “Often companies don’t proactively think about what kind of content they need. They miss opportunities to develop strategies that leverage their existing knowledge to solve problems or to expand markets,” explained Helfenbaum. “For example, a company fulfills its obligation to create an employee handbook, but instead of planning for the project to meet objectives or goals, the handbook becomes an unnecessarily expensive binder left untouched on a shelf. Management misses an opportunity to guide employees to reinforce key principles while avoiding common pitfalls.” Instead of being an afterthought, both training and content development should be part of essential business operations with resources allocated to them. Though any content strategy should focus on making a company’s information accessible and applicable, it should be scaled according to an organization’s complexity, size and needs. Regardless of whether you are an organization of 10, 100, or over 1,000, there are several universal guidelines that can simplify and enhance your company’s content goals and objectives. Know all the variables Before you can develop an effective content strategy you first have to know all of the variables at play. Helfenbaum is used to seeing lots of initial gaps and incorrect assumptions, especially when creating online courses. “When we had to problem-solve in school, we were given all of the necessary variables. In real life and in business, however, we don’t always know or have all of the information. Organizations need to ask questions until they uncover all of the moving parts. Then they can address challenges head on.” Doing a needs-analysis helps to ensure the success of content objectives within projects such as online courses. Professionals and departments that do not engage in this type of exploration run the risk of falling short of meeting their goals and objectives, or missing the mark entirely. trucknews.com

13_Taking Care of Business.indd 13

Avoid information silos It is not uncommon to find other departments often have plenty of pre-existing content you can leverage. Unfortunately, while the information is there for the taking, you usually have no idea of its existence. A common example of this is when marketing creates content without any input from sales, and sales withholds their knowledge of what they need to close a sale based on customer feedback from marketing. Worse still, are situations where only a single employee possesses particular knowledge or expertise. When that employee leaves, that knowledge and expertise leaves too. In knowledge-based industries, lack of preparation for this can be especially devastating. This happens because of what are known as information silos. To break down these silos, companies need to create a culture and system for sharing information and content. Doing so will lead to improved knowledge, efficiencies, and opportunities. Create content for your audience The goal is to target your content by personalizing it for your audience. “Most corporate websites are narcissistic,” noted Helfenbaum. “Most often, they tell you ‘this is who we are’ instead of ‘this is how we can help.’” Once, the seller controlled the flow of product information, but in today’s age of the Web and social media, customers can find any information they want. If your customers do not understand what you’re trying to say, and if you can’t address their needs and concerns, they will simply look elsewhere. Continuous and ongoing dialogue Corporate content has evolved. Gone are the days when companies controlled customer exposure to product information. Now your product is on continuous display and evaluation in social media and on the Web. We have evolved from talking at our target market to talking with them. Employees should also be brought into this conversation. And out of this dialogue comes the opportunity to discover missing variables, to share information, and to create a content strategy that increases sales and improves employee performance. FE

Mark Borkowski is president of Mercantile Mergers and Acquisitions Corp. Mercantile is a mid-market mergers & acquisitions brokerage. You can contact Mark or his staff at www.mercantilemergersacquisitions.com

May/June 2014 ❙ FLEET EXECUTIVE 13

14-06-03 11:28 AM

On October 15th 2014, please plan on joining Canada’s top Transportation Executives for a day of education & networking. We have created an agenda that truly addresses the many challenges facing both Shipper and Carrier executives.

2014 SUMMIT AGENDA LOOK AHEAD: The economy in 2015 – what trends will impact your business. Expert analysis from an economist, a transportation market specialist and two transportation company CEOs. THE VIEW FROM THE TOP: The transportation executive’s perspective on the major trends driving truck and rail transportation. SHIPPER – CARRIER COLLABORATION 2.0: What does the new face of collaboration really entail?

Patrick Cain

Elias Dem

CEO Cain Express

President Fortigo Tran Management

Greg Laurin

Carlos M.

SAME DAY DELIVERY SERVICE: Are you ready for this game changer? INSURANCE TELEMATICS: How they will reshape your insurance policy. REGULATORY ISSUES IN TRANSPORTATION: An insider’s look ahead.

President Conestoga Cold Storage

Senior Eco Scotiab

TECHNOLOGY IN TRANSPORTATION: Are you getting the most out of your TMS? WAREHOUSING & LOGISTICS: What makes for a Best in Class distribution network? FREIGHT RATE PRICING: Skipping the tough talk and working on real solutions.

Gary Fast

Sean W

Associate VP International Transportation Canadian Tire

VP of Trans SCI Log

John Oldfield

Jason Son

Registration: 7:30 am • Presentations: 8:20 am sharp

MISSISSAUGA CONVENTION CENTRE 75 Derry Road West, Mississauga, ON

Senior Account Executive Dalton Timmis Insurance

Summit mag spread.indd All Pages 13_Taking Care of Business.indd 14

14-06-02 6:00 PM

VP Bus Develop Supply Chain Ryder Syst

k Cain

Surface TranSporTaTion

ummit

INTRODUCING THE 2014 TEAM OF PRESENTERS...

Elias Demangos

EO xpress

President and CEO Fortigo Transportation Management Group Ltd.

Laurin

Carlos M. Gomes

ident Cold Storage

Fast

ate VP ransportation an Tire

Oldfield

Account cutive Timmis rance

Senior Economist Scotiabank

Sean Watson

VP of Transportation SCI Logistics

Doug Harrison

Jacquie Meyers

Kevin Taylor

Rob Penner

President and CEO VersaCold Logistics Services

President Meyers Transportation Services

VP and General Manager DTA Services

Kris McBride

Mathiew Faure

Mark Seymour

Paul Cooper

Sanchia Duran

Ken Manning

VP of Transportation Metro Supply Chain Group

Kelly Hawes

President ColdStar Freight Systems

VP of Marketing Sales, Intermodal CP Intermodal

David Newman

Equity Research Analyst Transportation & Industrial Products Cormark Securities

CEO Kriska Group

Account Manager Sales Shaw Tracking

Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer Bison Transport

President SLH Transport

President Transportation Costing Group

Michael Bourque

President and CEO Railway Association of Canada

Marc Wulfraat

President MWPVL International

Ed Ryan

CEO Descartes

Alan Taliaferro Director Deloitte Canada

Ryan Fletcher

Canadian Account Manager Private Fleets PeopleNet Canada

Mark Sauve

Senior Manager Distribution Operations, Canada The Hershey Company

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14-06-02 11:15 AM 13_Taking Care of Business.indd 15

14-06-02 6:00 PM

THE HUMAN EDGE

HR BEST PRACTICES IN

Trucking HR Canada’s Top Fleets honoured with awards By Angela Splinter

rucking HR Canada’s Top Fleets program was created to highlight and celebrate some of the best workplaces in trucking. They are the businesses which embrace high standards in human resources, and help enhance the industry’s profile in the process. The following 10 fleets (listed alphabetically) earned the inaugural honours in 2014: • Bison Transport • Erb Group of Companies • Home Hardware • J & R Hall Transport Inc. • Kindersley Transport • Kriska Transportation • Logikor Inc. • MacKinnon Transport Inc. • SLH Transport Inc. • Transpro Freight Systems Ltd. The honours themselves were distributed after a thorough review. Scores were based on a comprehensive, online application process, plus employee surveys and follow-up interviews. It turns out, the fleets which emerged at the top of the list clearly recognize well-designed human resources prac16 FLEET EXECUTIVE ❙ May/June 2014

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tices as key parts of their business strategies. Questions covered a wide range of topics including employee recognition, compensation, employee engagement, wellness, professional development, and recruitment and retention. While each business approaches human resources in a distinct way, several best practices did emerge when the results were tabulated. Employee engagement

The best companies do a better job of involving staff members in their operations. Transpro Freight Systems Ltd., for example, conducts employee surveys whenever it implements a new initiative. Bison Transport reaches out to employees through a monthly newsletter. J & R Hall Transport Inc. has a confidential, open-door policy to ensure that any employee concerns are addressed. Employee compensation

The recognized fleets also look beyond annual wages or per kilometer rates when considering compensation. Home Hardware offers a performance bonus program. Kriska has a deferred profit sharing plan. Logikor Inc. offers group Retirement Savings Plans (RSPs), and MacKinnon Transport offers a fuel bonus among other incentives. trucknews.com

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Employee recognition

As important as the core compensation may be, these fleets also find other ways to recognize employees. SLH Transport Inc. celebrates milestone anniversaries with a gift of choice from a partner supplier. Kindersley Transport has implemented a VIP points recognition program, and Erb Group of Companies offers gifts to retiring employees. Recognized fleets also carefully tracked employee opinions through formal surveys. Rewards, training and more

Some of the recognized fleets offered separate employee rewards for strong safety records, error-free paperwork, and job referrals. Employee skills were enhanced through everything from formal orientations and mentorships to selfdirected learning programs. And recruiting teams posted clear and detailed job requirements. Compensation programs even included discounts on personal services such as gym memberships and preferred rates on home insurance. Addressing the labour shortage

As important as these approaches are to attracting preferred job candidates and improving safety records, they also play a role in tackling ever-intensifying employee shortages. Canada’s trucking industry faces increasing competition from other industries in the search for skilled workers. Individual human resources practices will make a difference in attracting the people that our industry needs.

This is why every category in the Top Fleets for-hire program was firmly rooted in the core values of the Canadian Trucking Alliance’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Driver Shortage in Trucking, which take into consideration driver demographics, compensation, quality of life, and qualifications. At the same time, private fleets faced categories designed to reflect their unique operating environments and requirements. The vigorous selection criteria also reflect uniquely Canadian HR issues, trends, and working environments, and were validated by a panel of trucking industry experts and a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP). Get involved

Applications for the 2015 instalment of Trucking HR Canada’s Top Fleets program will open this December. We are even enhancing the application process itself to make it easier for fleets to complete the application packages. Be sure to take a moment to recognize the steps that your business takes to recruit and retain preferred employees and enter your fleet in next year’s competition. Along with having the opportunity to earn some honours, you’ll be able to share some of your best practices with the industry as a whole. The 2014 Top Fleet Employer Program would like to thank its partners Truck News and DriverLink. More information will be available in the Top Fleet Employers 2014 Best Practices Report, and published at www.truckingHR.com. FE Angela Splinter is CEO of Trucking HR Canada.

May/June 2014 ❙ FLEET EXECUTIVE 17

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14-06-03 3:18 PM

RISKY BUSINESS

Making safety pay Incentive programs with good participation rates can decrease losses and increase productivity By Rick Geller

otor carrier safety performance is more visible and transparent since the implementation of the CSA program in the US. This, coupled with Canadian legislative changes that made it easier to add shippers and receivers to negligence lawsuits, has led many carriers to look for quick fixes to get their carrier profile numbers down. Often these quick fixes take the form of safety incentive programs that are not well thought through and frequently have inherent problems that lead to their demise. One carrier, for example, began paying a bonus of $250 for every clean inspection a driver turned in. How long do you think it took the drivers to realize they could make more money passing inspections than they could by driving the truck? The end result is that trucking company owners become convinced that safety incentive programs do not work which leads to companies missing opportunities to turn their safety programs into a money-makers. Safety incentive programs should never be considered as a quick fix in a crisis situation. They should be created with the goals of motivating and encouraging employees to work safely and productively. Your safety incentive program should: • Identify training requirements • Ensure availability and correct use of equipment • Promote use of proper procedures. Carriers should begin by developing an action plan with clear objectives. Start with a situation analysis and describe what corrective measures will be taken. The program must present ideas/measures that will correct a situation and eventually cut costs/losses for the company. To be successful, the following factors should be considered: • Participants must see the reward as being desirable • Value of the incentives should grow progressively with continued good performance • Employees must see the program as being fair • Rewards must be seen as attainable • Offered benefits may have tax implications. Incentive programs must be innovative and progressive. They require on-going evaluation to determine whether or not they are delivering the desired result. It is imperative to understand that incentive programs need time to become effective after implementation. This often requires several cycles of bonus payments before the full benefits are realized. Creating a successful program involves a willingness to

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experiment and learn by trial and error. Be flexible to adjust, revise and fine tune the program. Consider creating an advisory team, representing all areas of the company, who meet regularly to identify problems, suggest solutions, and develop action plans. Drivers do not operate in a vacuum and the actions of others can influence their performance. Think about including those other people in the program—dispatchers, trip planners, dock workers, foremen, supervisors, middle managers, and even the top management! Most importantly, include consultations with the people the program is intended for. People are more likely to work toward goals that they have helped define! A communication plan is an essential element of every safety incentive program. Before launching the program, meet with employees, both individually and collectively, and offer them a forum where their concerns can be addressed. Expect a certain amount of negative feedback at the outset and be prepared to increase the frequency of communication to counteract this. Hold information and training sessions as needed to facilitate participation and buy-in to the program. Lastly, safety managers must be able to demonstrate the value for investment associated with the safety incentive program. Incentives are based on achieving a standard or target within a specified time frame. Ongoing evaluation of the program has to include progress made toward the standard/target, tracking costs associated with the program, and calculating savings realized in terms of increased productivity or decreased losses. Progress reports should be provided on a regular basis both to senior management and the participants in the program. Safety incentive programs do not come in a one-size-fits-all format. What worked at one company may or may not work at yours. And always remember that the target is to keep drivers motivated to improve! FE

Rick Geller, CRM has been providing innovative and cost-effective risk management solutions to the trucking industry for more than 30 years. He serves on the board of directors for both the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (TTSAO) and the professional Truck Driving Institute (PTDI). He is also the incoming chair of the Toronto Chapter of the Fleet Safety Council, as well as an executive committee member for both the Ontario and Toronto Regional Truck Driving Championships. trucknews.com

14-06-03 11:32 AM

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14-06-02 6:03 PM

LEADERS

HIGHLIGHTING THE INSIGHTS OF INDUSTRY LEADERS ON KEY TOPICS AND ISSUES

SAYING GOODBYE TO MTA’S BOB DOLYNIUK

By Lou Smyrlis

It’s a hard to believe, but after 43 years in the industry—17 of them as head of the Manitoba Trucking Association (MTA)—Bob Dolyniuk has retired. Fleet Executive publisher and editorial director Lou Smyrlis travelled to Winnipeg to spend some time with the industry icon before his final day on the job.

Q: After 43 years in the industry, 17 of them with the MTA, can you believe the moment to leave is actually here? Does it feel real?

Dolyniuk: It’s hard to imagine that it’s here but it is. No, it doesn’t feel real. You keep thinking “I have to remember to do this” and “I have to remember to do that” and then you realize: No, I don’t have to. We’ve been in a transition period here with Terry (Shaw) for a couple of years now and as we get closer and closer to the final hour there are all the little things you try to remember to pass on. That’s what I’m focused on frankly, to make sure the transition is smooth. Q: Forty three years is an incredibly long career. After so many years, how does one actually decide it is time to retire? Is there a defining moment? How did you come to that decision?

Dolyniuk: The 17 years I’ve spent with the MTA is the first position I’ve had in my life that I’ve had for such an extended period of time. It has been a good experience, which has allowed me to help the MTA grow and become more recognized. But you reach a point where you say to yourself you’ve done as much as you’re going to do and perhaps it’s time to turn the reins over to someone younger to carry forward. Q: There are a lot of leaders in the industry right now who are contemplating exactly what you’ve been contemplating because they are getting close to retirement. Any advice for them in terms of what to think about in deciding when it’s time to move on to the next chapter in their lives?

Dolyniuk: Prepare yourself psychologically that the time is 20 FLEET EXECUTIVE ❙ May/June 2014

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going to come, because it is a major change in your life. You have to think about what you are going to do after it. You have to have a plan beyond the day that you retire. The one thing I’m learning is that if you are busy before retirement, you are going to be busy post retirement, that’s a given. I sit on a number of voluntary boards and as soon as people hear you are retiring, everybody assumes you are going to have a whole bunch more time to dedicate to them. Q: On the very first day of your retirement, what will you be doing?

Dolyniuk: Not getting up early. I’ve already told my wife that for the first week don’t expect too much from me. I’m basically going to do what I want, if I want, when I want. At least for the first few days and then I have some things to do around the house and the cabin. That’s what’s going to occupy my time initially and then I want to plan a trip with my wife when it’s appropriate. But eventually I will be involved with local boards and committees. I couldn’t see myself not doing that. Q: You are one of the most recognized and respected leaders in our industry. When you look back, what will you miss most?

Dolyniuk: The people. Without question. I was talking with someone just yesterday about that. Not just people from the MTA but people from all over our industry. I sat on the board of the Canadian Trucking Alliance for a period of time and I have gotten to know people from Newfoundland to Vancouver, from industry and government and they are such great people. That will be the hard part—disengaging from that community. trucknews.com

14-06-03 11:33 AM

“

The one thing I’m learning is that if you are busy before retirement, you are going to be busy post retirement, that’s a given. I sit on a number of voluntary boards and as soon as people hear you are retiring, everybody assumes you are going to have a whole bunch more time to dedicate to them.

Q: Tell me about your early years in the industry. How did you get your start?

Dolyniuk: My introduction to the industry was loading and unloading trailers as a dock worker. I was out of school, I was making minimum wage—90 cents per hour—working at a sheet metal factory and a friend of mine told me of a neighbour who was looking for some young fellas to load and unload trailers for $3 per hour. That was with Kingsway Transport back in the early ’70s. I had a very good career with them right up to 1989, when they were purchased by Federal Industries. I transferred over to Motorways for five years till they were wound down and then Arnold Brothers for a few years and then came to the MTA. Q: How did those early years spent in the industry, and really working from the ground up, shape the kind of leader you became for the MTA?

Dolyniuk: As a youth growing up I had the opportunity to be part of the Air Cadet movement, from the age of 12 to 18. They taught me leadership skills, people management skills, effective speaking. There was a gentleman there who I would consider one of my first mentors and who got me turned on the right track. There were other mentors along the way who worked off my rougher edges and pointed me in the right direction. Q: Of all the things you’ve been through over the past 43 years of your career, any regrets? Is there anything you won’t miss?

Dolyniuk: When I was a dock worker I had an opportunity to move into the office. I knew very little about the trucking industry and the general manager told me there were two jobs open—a dispatcher job and a claims clerk job. I had no idea what the responsibilities for either position were. The only question that came to mind was which job has the most paperwork? And of course it was the claims clerk job and I told them I don’t want to do that one. I guess the one thing I would take off the table is the administrative work but that goes with the job. Q: What would you say is the achievement you are most proud of?

Dolyniuk: I’m leaving the MTA in a very healthy position, both membership-wise and financially. We’ve got a good staff, an excellent board, and engaged members. Although we are a small organization, I consider the MTA one of the stronger associations in Canada.

”

Q: That has to be a challenge because one of the things we’ve seen over the past 20 years is that as companies get leaner, everyone is working longer hours and it becomes difficult to find the time to devote to associations. How do you keep an association vibrant under such circumstances?

Dolyniuk: Unlike other associations, we do not rely a lot on committees. You’re right, people don’t have a lot of time for meetings. That’s something we realized years ago so what we try to do is focus on the issues of importance to our members and deal with those issues. We have mechanisms in place when we require feedback from our members that don’t require them to come in for meetings. When I first started here we used to have a board meeting every month. We now have one every two or three months. What we’ve tried to do is take as much of the grunt work away from the members and take it on ourselves and then present it to the members for their signoff. Q: Aside from people working much longer hours, what else would you say has changed in the industry over the time you’ve been in it?

Dolyniuk: The RTAC standards was one of the biggest things we dealt with. It was a major step forward in my estimation for the industry. And, of course, deregulation. There were many companies that benefited from it and some who saw their demise as a result of it. Those were the two major issues which basically changed the industry into what it is today. Q: The generation of folks who shaped the industry is either close to retirement or, like you, actually retiring. There is also a new generation of folks coming up through the ranks into executive level positions. What would your advice be to the industry’s future leaders?

Dolyniuk: It would be no different than what I’ve shared with the staff here. If you want to figure out where you are going, you have to understand where you’ve come from. You’ve got to know your corporate history, the background to the issues you’re dealing with. From that you should be able to set your sights on where you want to go. Q: Any last words?

Dolyniuk: I would truly like to thank all the people I’ve worked with during my career and what they have done to help me become who I am today. FE COMING NEXT ISSUE: Lou Smyrlis interviews the new president of the Manitoba Trucking Association, Terry Shaw.

May/June 2014 ❙ FLEET EXECUTIVE 21

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14-06-03 11:33 AM

COVER STORY

job

A woman’s

By Carolyn Gruske

acking a truck up to a loading dock is one of the basic, required skills of being a driver, but it’s something that men seem to believe is beyond the capability of women—or at least it’s something they often need to see performed with their own eyes. “I used to have people come out and stand in the dock doors to watch me back up. And when I’d get out, I’d get on the running board and bow. I used to tell them, ‘the first show is free, honey; the next one is five bucks!” recalls Beverley Plummer of Barrie, Ontario. Plummer began driving in the 1970s and only retired in 2009 with an accident-free, freight claim-free record after she got tired of paying the costs for the yearly (and since rescinded) Ontario-mandated licence retests for drivers over 65 years of age, but her story of having her skills questioned is something that drivers on the road today still experience. Brenda Ellah, of Alymer, Ontario drives for Trisec Logistics and she has heard plenty of questions about her ability to drive in reverse. “In a lot of places I go, that’s the first question people will 22 FLEET EXECUTIVE ❙ May/June 2014

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ask me: Can you back up? I told the guy last week, ‘Well, I can try.’ Another guy down in Texas asked me ‘Can you back this thing up?’ and I said, ‘No, I only go forward. So we’ll have to figure out how to load this trailer without me in the dock,’” she says, adding, “I don’t ever think they’d ask a guy that. It’s a girl thing.” Being asked questions about basic skills is hardly the worst thing that can happen on a job. It’s not blatant discrimination or harassment. It’s not being put in a dangerous working environment. It is, however, just a small indication that women drivers have different experiences on the road than their male counterparts do. Ellah’s and Plummer’s light-hearted and easy-going reactions to those queries are pretty typical of how a lot of women who occupy the driver’s seat deal with their jobs—they refuse to let things get to them and they tough it out, even when situations get dicey or when they encounter hostility. “The toughest thing about being a woman driver? I would say from when I started to where I am now, I have definitely grown a backbone. You have to be strong, otherwise you get walked all over out there,” says Jenn Duval, a Guelph, Ontariotrucknews.com

14-06-03 11:34 AM

based highway driver and a trainer for the Kriska Group of Companies. “For the most part, most of the male truck drivers are always willing to help, always willing to give you a hand, but you have that certain percentage where they’ll just look at you with that, ‘you’re a woman, you shouldn’t be out here, you should be at home with the kids’ attitude.” Duval, who describers herself as being “a laid back, joking kind of girl,” says women drivers have to learn how to stand their ground and not be intimidated by men, especially when the men are wrong about something but insist they’re not. She tells the story of a male driver who stole a parking spot she was backing into. When she confronted him about his actions, he was very rude and told her she shouldn’t be so slow. “He got very close, it was almost to the point where we were faceto-face, and I thought he was going to hit me at one point in time, but I just took it and walked away. I thought, ‘you know what, this is only a parking spot,’ and I felt good that I at least confronted him. That’s one of the things that always sticks out in my mind as one of the hardest times I’ve ever had with a male truck driver.” While threats of physical violence aren’t part of the typical routine, women drivers often find themselves at the unwanted, receiving end of sexual propositions, including men exposing themselves or masturbating or knocking on their trucks asking if they want company. And just like being questioned about their ability to back a truck up, women drivers tend to make light of the situations. Plummer remembers one day when she saw another driver in his cab with the door open pleasuring himself. “He had a big grin on his face. He thought I was going to be into him. I told him, “If that’s all you’ve got to play with, honey, I feel sorry for you.’ And he couldn’t wait to get away from me. Afterward, I thought, ‘Jackass, why do we have to…?’ But it’s just stuff. If you dwell on it, that’s the big thing. That’s what makes it hard for a person that it happened to. If I dwelled on it, I’d just be gone.” Not dwelling on it and not wanting to make a big deal of things is exactly the reaction that Ellah had when confronted with what in reality was a scary, potentially dangerous situation. She was in a truck stop in Nashville, Tennessee when a fellow driver from the next truck over, who happened to

‘‘

be naked at the time, offered her some pills, after noticing she had been limping a bit due to a lower back injury. “I went and reported him to security because I had to sleep beside this guy all night. They did have armed guards in that truck stop, and they said they would keep an eye on my truck all night. They didn’t approach him, but they took his company name and his plate and said they were going to call his company the next day. That was all right. The chances of me ever seeing this guy again are pretty much next to nothing, so to avoid anything bad happening, I just wanted to report it quietly and get back to my truck and get to sleep. I felt fine after telling them. I knew they were going to look out for me after that.” When recounting her story, Ellah notes one detail in passing that no male driver would ever be likely to include in any truck stop tale. “Actually, when I pulled in there, they thought I was a lot lizard because they said they don’t see too many female truckers.” Although none of the drivers are fearful for their safety, they do admit that as women, they tend to take precautions about where they go and how they present themselves. A.L. is an owner/operator who drivers for a major, multinational transportation and logistics company and formerly worked on-staff for that same company as a driver and a driver trainer. When A.L. participates in social media and trucking forums, she uses a pen name. (For this article, she wants to use her initials, as she doesn’t have permission to act as a spokesperson for the trucking company.) She bought her truck from the company, and didn’t change its paint job. “I left it that way purposefully, so that it doesn’t look like an owner/operator. Maybe that’s my way of staying incognito,” she says. “I don’t like to draw attention to myself. So on the outside, I’ve got the air tabs on it, and I keep the truck clean, but I don’t have some of the gee-gaws that a lot of the guys have on their trucks. I don’t chrome it. I don’t put the wheel covers

You have to be strong, otherwise you get walked all over out there.

ENTICING WOMEN INTO THE DRIVER’S SEAT

When entries are reviewed in the Best Fleets to Drive For contest, one of factors considered is how companies treat women. “We always ask about the percentage of women that are in the fleet. In conversation we talk about harassment programs. But what we’ve found is that there’s really been no change from the time we started six years ago to now in terms of the number of women in fleets,” says Jane Jazrawy, vice-president of product development for Markham, Ontario-based Carrier’s Edge, the online training company that runs the contest. “We find that women are mostly in companies where it’s husband and wife teams.”

According to Jazrawy, in most fleets in North America, women account for 4-5% of the drivers. Companies awarded Best Fleet status typically have about 7%. She says in an industry with a chronic and severe driver shortage, there is no real program designed to recruit women. “If there is a driver shortage that everyone is concerned about, excluding half of the population by just not even addressing them is foolish,” she says adding “women won’t choose to be in the industry if they can’t see themselves in it. And the trucking industry has to decide whether or not they want to make that happen.” May/June 2014 ❙ FLEET EXECUTIVE 23

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cover story on. I just try to make it look as much like a company truck as I can. For me, I spend money making it run better and get better fuel economy—those are the things that allow me to spend my time at home.” The changes she made include installing a boat seat and removing the passenger seat, which giver her extra room to store her bicycle, and adding an APU to cut down on idling. Besides being circumspect about her truck’s markings, she is also aware of both her presentation and her surroundings. She avoids parking at the ends of rows and stays away from being too close to the front doors. By parking in the “back 40” where there are fewer people, she figures she can avoid trouble. “I don’t wear any jacket that says which truck I’m on, nothing that says the company name. I don’t generally make a point of telling people where I’m from or where I’m going. I talk to be polite, but I don’t start up conversations with people I don’t know. I just keep to myself mostly, unless I find another [company] person, or another person I’ve met before. I’m careful where I walk and I watch what’s around me—the usual precautions.” Along with not wearing company logos, A.L. makes other deliberate choices about her wardrobe—choices that won’t garner her any unwanted attention. “I don’t wear jeans anymore because I find them too motion constricting. I do wear yoga pants, but I tend to wear longer

24 Fleet Executive ❙ May/June 2014

jackets. I don’t wear tiny tank tops. I could, but I don’t. Not here, not on the road. I dress properly and professionally.” While drivers of both sexes will often find themselves away from home for longer periods than they’d like, women are typically the primary caregivers to their children, and balancing driving schedules with the demands of parenting can be difficult. Duval’s children were young when she started her driving career, and she had to make some hard choices about their care. Her son was born in 1999, while she started at Kriska, which recruited her out of driving school, in 2006. At the time, she was separated from his father. “It was my decision to let him stay with his dad while I went out on the highway and started getting my life together again,” says Duval. “My daughter went and lived with my sister for a couple of years too. She would have been 13 at the time. It was very hard.” Despite the challenges, all of the drivers pride themselves on being professionals and being treated as such. In some ways, driving trucks is a wonderful equalizer for a lot of women (although Ellah says she had an employer that underpaid her compared to her male colleagues.) “It’s the only job I ever worked at that I got the paid the same money as men. Whatever was the going rate behind the wheel, that’s what I got,” says Plummer. “I got the same routes [as the men] because I was a good runner. A lot of times they’d give me something to see if I could do it, and I always did it.”

trucknews.com

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14-06-03 11:46 AM

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COVER STORY One of her more frequent routes was a run between Toronto and New York City. “I think they gave me a lot of New York because I got in and out without hitting anything.” Like Plummer, A.L. says there is no disadvantage to being a woman when it comes to pay. “The people at dispatch, all they have is a truck number and the number of hours you have to work with. That’s what I like about this business: there is no preferential treatment for being a man or a man. They’re not able to choose to pay you less because you’re a woman.” Beyond the pay issue, all of the women, in fact, said they’re treated well as drivers—sometimes they’re even treated better because of who they are. “There are lots of advantages. I get treated really well at the border when I cross. I get treated well at the scales,” says Ellah. “Probably 99% of the places I go, you get treated better as a female,” adding that she is often offered a cup of coffee or use of the washroom facilities at the highway scales. Duval also believes women working in the industry are treated more than fairly. “I think when a woman is driving a truck, she is put on a pedestal compared to a male truck driver. That’s how I feel. That’s why I always say in eight years, there’s not a day I wake up and don’t look forward to going to work, because I get made to feel good at work,” she says. “All around, I find it a very rewarding career for a woman, because you’re looked at as being a little more special, I find. You’re given a lot of credit for being out there and being on the road and working with all these men all the time. I’ve never been ashamed to tell anybody that’s what I do for a living, because I’ve never had anybody say anything bad back to me. I’ve always been made to feel good about what I do and being a woman in the industry.” FE

DOES YOUR PROVOCATIVE RECRUITING AD ATTRACT WOMEN? By Ellen Voie Before the trucking industry existed, the sight of a female’s ankle or exposed arms might have been provocative enough to attract attention (from men.) Today, more than arms and ankles are used in advertising to turn a potential customer’s head. Too often, the models are women and the intended buyer is male. Since the trucking industry is overwhelmingly a maledominated environment, some carriers have used provocative images of women to attract a driver’s attention. Research has proven that men are more attracted to visual content and women are more “textual,” or drawn to written descriptions (think about those trashy novels.) So, a driver recruiting ad featuring a scantily clad female is going to be appreciated by men more than women because of the way our brains are wired. Unfortunately, it seems as if some carriers forget that 5% of the driver population is women and their ads might actually offend this segment of potential drivers. Maybe it’s because they forget that there are women in this industry and the numbers are growing, no thanks to these companies. In fact, in today’s politically correct environment, using suggestive ads to recruit drivers can backfire in more ways than we might imagine. Some consumers take offense at an ad

p36

WOMEN IN CHARGE As with their driving counterparts, women who hold executive roles in trucking companies are rare, but they are also very capable and happy with their jobs. “There are a lot more female customers now, and female decision makers. But in the C-suite, I think we are still underrepresented, just as drivers and mechanics are under-represented,” says Jacquie Meyers, president of Belleville, Ontariobased Meyers Transportation Services. “I guess the upside is there is still so much opportunity for women to get into the C-suite and into driving and mechanic positions. The industry as a whole is hungry for new talent, and yes, we would love to get more women coming into the industry.” Vicki Stafford, vice-president of resource development at Cavalier Transportation Inc. in Bolton, Ontario, also sees a shortage of

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women executives, but says there doesn’t seem to be a glass ceiling. “There are lots of women in the industry. Obviously it is still an old boys’ club at the ownership level, but I would say nothing has ever bothered me. You want the best person in the job. This has traditionally been a male-dominated industry, but I don’t think it is preventing anybody being involved, but women have to get involved. The door is open. We just have to step in.” Both Meyer and Stafford have become unofficial spokespersons for women in trucking. As such they have spent time thinking about how to recruit more women. “It’s up to us to make it exciting for women to come and work for us. When you’re interviewing kids coming out of university, you’re competing against a bunch of different industries, and it’s incumbent upon

us to show them trucking is somewhere they want to be—that we’re innovative and changing. That there is room for growth and room for women in this industry. It is up to us to draw them in,” says Meyers. Stafford says that once young women are exposed to the business, they can see a place for themselves, but getting that first exposure is hard. “I don’t think women, in general, understand what the transportation industry offers. They think there are still a lot of stereotypes. I’ve hired lots of young people. I have three girls here right now that are attending university and working here parttime. I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up with careers in transportation, but they didn’t come where with knowledge of that. Once they get in, it opens their eyes that there are lots of opportunities here.

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14-06-03 3:56 PM

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14-06-03 11:48 AM

OIL AND LUBES The days of your current engine oil are numbered, and the formulas to replace it might come in two decidedly different bottles.

oday’s category of oil officially known as API CJ-4, was introduced almost a decade ago in response to exhaust-cleaning equipment like turbochargers, changes to piston designs, lower sulfur levels in diesel fuel, retarded engine timing, and unwelcome levels of soot and acid. But a new category of oil is expected to unveiled in 2016. Designed for the next generation of engines, the oils are being created to answers the call to improve fuel economy. Temporarily dubbed Proposed Category 11 (PC-11), there will likely be two subcategories of the oil with different High Temperature High Shear (HTHS) properties—one for 15W40 formulas, and another for low viscosities. The split category is a “major issue”, admits Jeremy Dean, Daimler’s supervisor—chemical technology and cleanliness laboratories. “We talk about it all the time.” But there is no question that the new category of oil promises plenty of benefits, maintenance managers were told during the recent annual meeting of the Technology and Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Associations. Volvo Powertrain fluid technology manager Greg Shank referred to PC-11 as “the most robust specification we’ve ever developed” and pledged that engine wear will not be sacrificed on the mantle of fuel economy. Of course, some North American fleets are already familiar with 10W30 and 5W40 grades of CJ-4. Compared to 15W40, low-viscosity oil can boost fuel economy by 3-5%, said John Loop, a technology manager with Lubrizol, a company that produces additives which give oils many of their protective properties. Many new trucks are even shipped from assembly lines with their sumps filled with low-viscosity oil. Every new Daimler engine, for example, can be filled at the factory with such oil after updating no more than the engine software. The manufacturer even allows 30-weight oils to be used in equipment built to meet 2007 emission standards, and for all US or Canadian duty cycles. More than 20 lowviscosity oils have been approved from 10 different marketers of every size. The Engine Manufacturers Association and Truck Manufacturers Association asked the American Petroleum Institute (the API referenced on bottles of oil) to develop the newest standard, while the American Chemistry Council is addressing the lubricant’s additives, and the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) is developing the tests. As important as fuel economy is, the oil still needs to protect engine components in a more challenging environment. Peak temperatures in the combustion process are climbing ever higher and will be sustained for longer periods of time, which can shorten oil life through oxidation, Shank said of pending changes in engineering. “We want to maintain engine oil drains as minimum.” Manufacturers will also need to decide if the new oil can be used in older engines. “With PC-11 being

DUE FOR AN

OIL CHANGE

New low-viscosity oils promise improved fuel economy and performance By John G. Smith

lower-viscosity oil, that may or may not be the case,” he said. The work will not be limited to the oils. Iner Jorgensen, a powertrain technical expert at Paccar, referred to potential changes in clearances and camshaft followers, as well as advanced “diamond-like” coatings for valve trains. But manufacturers will have to ensure that changing oil additives are compatible with the coatings. There will also be other tweaks to piston rings, skirts and liners. The lower oil viscosities could need to be matched by higher oil pump outputs to maintain low idle pressures, he added. A thinner film of oil and tightened clearances between components could require better filters with tighter micron ratings, too. “We’ve been researching new parts geometry to make sure the oil flow is there,” said Dan Nyman, Cummins’ technical advisor—chemical technology, referring to changes that could include new finishes and coatings. “We are also looking at what we have to do if we have to change clearances.” New engine tests

Engine manufacturers will require the PC-11 oils to meet a new battery of tests as well. A Volvo/Mack test, for example, will focus on an engine designed to meet 2010 emission standards, with peak cylinder pressures around 3,000 psi, speeds of 1,500 rpm, oil galleries at 130 Celsius, and exhaust gas recirculation rates increased about 20%. “The engines have changed a lot in the last 10 years, so the oil needs to follow suit,” said Jeremy Dean, Daimler’s supervisor—chemical technology and cleanliness laboratories. There is another reason for updated tests. Aside from ensuring that the oils can stand up to new operating conditions, engine makers also need to make sure that they can find parts

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14-06-03 11:54 AM

LEASING LocaLLy-minded service with nationaL capabiLities soLutions suited to each individuaL customer to conduct the experiments. The older the equipment, the harder it is to source. The low-viscosity oils also present unique challenges that need to be measured. “We’ve seen a potential issue with ringto-liner scuffing with these low-viscosity oils,” Dean says as an example. Left unchecked, it is the type of issue that could lead to cracks and coolant leaks. “That’s a very bad thing.” It’s why Detroit Diesel is introducing a new engine scuffing test. But the HTHS oils have already passed some early tests. Cummins began to run a mid-range ISB engine on HTHS in 2010, and there was largely no change in the pistons, rings, head gaskets, liners, camshaft lobes, followers, connecting rods and main bearings, said Nyman. Issues seemed to be limited to a rough surface on the cam bushing, a little pitting on the oil pump’s lobe, and a bit of extra wear at the top dead centre of the cylinder liner. There was also some pitting on the engine camshaft lobes, and the cylinder block showed some scratching at the top dead centre. The stress of higher heats could make oxidation the deciding factor when setting future oil drain intervals, added Lilo Hurtado, an application engineer with ExxonMobil. For now, fleets anxious to use one of today’s low-viscosity oils should contact the engine’s manufacturer to see if the formula is a fit, particularly when working with older engine models and severe duty cycles. Care even needs to be taken when ordering the oil itself, since some suppliers might equate requests for a low-viscosity oil to a formula for gasoline engines. “Be very specific,” he said. But a clear alternative is on its way. “PC-11 engine oils will be engineered to help conserve fuel and reduce greenhouse gases,” Hurtado assured the crowd. Like the oils which came before them, these formulas will make the grade. FE

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14-06-03 11:54 AM

GREEN to GOLD

Brick by brick Improving the trailer means reducing the fuel bill By John G. Smith

n the search for better fuel economy, a trailer can be a drag. Its tires add to rolling resistance, any uneven surfaces contribute unwanted friction, and traditional shapes hardly slice through the air with ease. “Basically it’s a brick,” says Rod Ehrlich, senior vice-president and chief technology officer at Wabash International, and the holder of many trailer-related patents. The aerodynamic challenges are not limited to a box-like form, either. The gap between a tractor and trailer alters air pressures, while wheels and bogies create their own disturbances. These are important challenges to overcome as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) looks to limit greenhouse gas emissions—a target that can only be met by burning less fuel. Trailer designs can make a difference, maintenance managers were told during the recent annual meeting of the Technology and Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Associations. The EPA’s SmartWay program already offers its stamp of approval to units which improve typical fuel economy by 5% through the help of side skirts, weight savings, and gap reducers or boat tails. A new SmartWay Elite designation is being created to identify trailers that offer gains of 9% or more. “We’re trying to come up with ways we can make the ideal streamlined vehicle,” Ehrlich says. There have been streamlined shapes before. He refers to models from decades ago which included rounded noses and roof lines, but those were abandoned. “They were expensive to build when you take metals and try to make compound curves,” Ehrlich says. Then there was the matter of fitting square boxes and skids into curved spaces—the classic challenge of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. “Anything that we do to interfere with that primary reason for it to exist is not a good compromise,” he says. Still, there are many gains to be had. Trailer side skirts, now fitted on about half the trailers produced by Wabash, promise fuel savings of 4-7%. Trailermounted gap reducers offer their own gains of 1-2%. At the rear of the trailers, aerodynamic wings known as boat tails can boost savings by 1-6%, while underbody systems promise improvements of 1-2%.

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About one in four 53-foot van trailers are fitted with at least one aerodynamic device, says Mike Roeth, executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiencies. Side skirts are the most popular of all, and they present few maintenance costs. Beyond aerodynamics

The potential improvements are not limited to aerodynamic gains alone. Low rolling resistance (LRR) tires can reduce diesel demands by 3%, and wide-base tires offer savings of 3-5%. By automatically maintaining tire pressures, tire inflation systems contribute another 1%. Then there are the opportunities to shed wasteful weight. A 1-1/8” composite floor can be 265 lb. lighter than a traditional wood floor, and another 100 lb. can be saved with a composite nose. “We can lower the weight of a trailer by 2,000 pounds pretty conveniently,” Ehrlich says. But there’s a catch: “It costs money to take weight out.” As promising as any gains may sound, Ehrlich says fleets need to consider the total cost of ownership behind any trailer changes. This means considering upfront costs, safety, service support, durability and warranties. “These are new devices,” he says. “How well are they going to be able to stand behind the product?” Expected resale values and maintenance costs both need to be considered, agrees Roeth, whose group has studied changes made by “leadership fleets” including Canada’s Challenger Motor Freight and Bison Transport. Claims also need to be proven. The tools for that can include everything from computational fluid dynamics (computer models showing how a trailer flows through the air), to wind tunnels, test trucks and road tests. Universities offer a valuable resource when analyzing test results, Ehrlich adds. CR England, which has 4,300 tractors and 6,800 trailers, now devotes a pair of its own Class 8 tractors and 53-foot trailers to nothing but tests of potential fuel-saving devices. Two full-time drivers are dedicated to the work, while one-third of another employee’s time is used to coordinate the tests and analyze the data. Even though it is running two tests per week, at a cost of $2,500 each, the queue to review new components trucknews.com

14-06-03 11:55 AM

is now six months long. “It does take commitment,” says Ron Hall, the fleet’s senior director of equipment and fuel. But the results have led to proven changes. CR England tractors and trailers are equipped with 44-inch fifth wheel gaps, perforated mud flaps, wheel covers, single-piece composite side skirts, boat tails, low rolling resistance tires, and tire inflation systems. Some fuel-saving tools were still rejected because of costs. Inventories of wide-base tires were thought to be too pricey to manage, and the fleet is “neutral” in its view of aerodynamic changes on the trailer’s surface, behind the tandem, and under the vehicle. Still, Hall stresses that the devices can still have a role to play in other fleets. “It may not be neutral for everyone,” he says. “The more data the better,” Roeth says. But he still believes that smaller fleets can conduct meaningful tests of their own. An operation with 15 trucks traveling the same route, for example, could simply add devices on a few of the trailers and measure the differences. “None of these tests are perfect,” he says. “None of these tests are bad.”

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Potential fuel savings may even be hiding inside the trailer. One option being explored by CR England, which specializes in temperature-controlled freight, includes extra floor insulation. “To us, fuel use on the trailer isn’t just what we save off the tractor. It’s also what we put into the reefer,” Hall says. This means tests also explore British thermal units (BTUs) lost per hour, and use thermal imaging to identify where insulation might need to be improved. The focus on fuel economy continues when the fleet’s equipment is on the road, tracking fuel purchases by truck, cross referencing the numbers to data from Electronic Control Modules, and comparing fuel economy by specification. “If the technology requires some kind of behavioural change by the driver, the fuel test is not going to measure the management of that behaviour,” Hall explains. Trailer boat tails, for example, still need to be opened. And the ongoing costs of trailer enhancements are hardly limited to fuel. Hall adds between 25% and 50% to the cost of a new fuel-saving device to account for installation and maintenance. Even something that looks like it simply bolts into place can create secondary issues. CR England found that it had to mount side skirts aft of the landing gear, to make it easier to reach fuel tanks. Tire carriers also had to be remounted so they could still be reached. Targets for the second phase of the EPA’s limits on greenhouse gas emissions will be published by March 31, 2016, and will focus on vehicles, engines and trailers alike. “We want real-world fuel savings,” says Dennis Johnson of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s technology assessment centre. “Not just data in a test cell.” FE

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14-06-03 11:56 AM

PROFITABILITY

Taxing times Preparing now to make ﬁling next year’s income taxes easier By Jag Budwal, CGA

ow that everybody has filed (or should have filed) their 2013 personal income taxes, it’s time to start thinking about 2014’s tax filing season. Rather than leaving the accounting to the last minute, there are steps owners of small- and medium-sized transportation companies can take now and throughout the year to ensure that they get into (and remain in) Canada Revenue Agency’s good books.

Pay people appropriately The Canada Revenue Agency allows individuals who run a business to pay reasonable salaries to family members. Keep in the mind the following rules of thumb: n Any salary paid must be reasonable given the services performed. For example, if your spouse does the bookkeeping and manages the office, the salary you pay must be in line with what it would cost you if you were to hire a third party (employee). If you have teenagers who help in the business, minimum wage would be very reasonable. n A record should be kept of the time actually spent and the services performed. You can do this by keeping time-sheets for your family members. n Whenever you pay salaries to your spouse or children, ensure the withholding for income tax, CPP and EI (where an exemption is not available) is remitted as required. This is reported on T4 Slips, and is due February of each year. If your trucking company employs independent owner/ operators, ensure you meet CRA’s relevant tests regarding whether you have employees or independent contractors. Realize the distinction between these two categories of service providers creates significant consequences for both the business owner and service provider in a number of areas such as employment legislation, wrongful dismissal actions, and contractual obligations, EI, CPP and income tax. CRA is rigorous in verifying the type of relationship which exists. For help determining employment status see http://jbtax.ca/ category/independent-contractor/

Keep all your receipts for all your preventative maintenance, meal purchases and other business expenses. Remember, any expense incurred to earn income is allowed as an expense deduction for tax purposes. If you have your receipts organized and the bookkeeping prepared (preliminary financial statements), the cost of your accounting fees should be minimized tremendously. If you are incorporated, establish your salary/dividend mix from the corporation. As an incorporated business, you also need to ensure you clearly separate your personal expenses from the corporation. If you end up using your own funds for a purchase which was for your trucking business, a record of the transaction needs to be kept and documented showing the transaction details, justification and expense reimbursement. If you use your office space in your home for your business, whether it is a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation, you can claim a portion of the household expenses as a business expense. Those expenses can include rent, mortgage interest, property taxes, utilities (such as gas, water and hydro), home insurance, and general repairs and maintenance. Please note that you are limited in the amount you can charge— which is based on CRA’s formula. It is proportionate to the size of the home office relative to overall size of your total home.

Knowing what is going on

Prepare a simple profit-loss operating budget for your fiscal year. You can setup a basic spreadsheet and budget for your top operating costs such as fuel, wages, tires and preventative maintenance. On a monthly (or even a quarterly) basis, you should see how you are performing against your budget. The purpose of a budget is to act as a control, and show you areas where the costs are increasing each year and areas where you can try to minimize your costs. From a tax perspective, this will ensure you capture all your operating costs, and allow you to plan better as well. Also, consider taking seminars or one day courses, and think about signing your employees up for some too. Seminars and courses which help the business owner and/or its employees run the business more efficiently are valid, deductable business expenses. Examples of useful courses include ones which teach Microsoft Office programs or business leadership concepts. One last thing. Being honest and trustworthy when it comes to declaring your business expenses and calculating your business tax returns can give you a peace of mind and allow you to focus on the operational and customer side of your trucking business. FE

Outgoing expenses

It is a very good idea from a cash flow and taxation perspective to buy capital assets (including trucking and office equipment) right before the end of your fiscal year. For any capital assets acquired in and used before year’s end, you can claim one-half of the usual Capital Cost Allowance (CCA). 32 FLEET EXECUTIVE ❙ May/June 2014

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Jag Budwa is a Certified General Accountant with over 15 years of experience in accounting, taxation, and financial analysis. He is also principal of JBTax, a boutique accounting firm that serves clients in the trucking and transportation, taxi cab and restaurant franchise sectors. www.jbtax.ca trucknews.com

14-06-02 6:08 PM

GEARED UP

Pushing THE FUEL ECONOMY ENVELOPE By James Menzies

Daimler boosts powertrain integration, employs downspeeding Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) has upped its fuel economy gain once again, assembling a fully integrated powertrain that utilizes downspeeding.

he company has set an ambitious goal to improve its fuel economy by 5% every two years. It did so when moving from the Freightliner Cascadia to the Cascadia Evolution two years ago. The next step up comes in the form of a new Integrated Detroit Powertrain (IDP) that combines Daimler’s DD15 engine, its DT12 automated mechanical transmission and front and rear Detroit axles. When spec’d as a 6x2, the package will provide fuel savings of up to 7% over today’s Cascadia Evolution, said Detroit officials during a press briefing at the company’s Redford, Mich. plant. A 6x4 package will still deliver savings of about 5%, they said. The announcement culminates a long-term goal of Daimler’s, to unleash the full potential of vertical integration. “The Cascadia Evolution was our first real effort at integration,” said David Hames, general manager, marketing and strategy with DTNA. “It has been a tremendous success and our first demonstrable example of what vehicle integration really was.” Detroit is now bringing downspeeding to the table. The DD15, DT12 and Detroit steer and drive axles with a 2.28 ratio (for 6x2s, 2.41 for 6x4s) allow the truck to cruise at 1,200 rpm (compared to 1,350 before), providing fuel savings. Further improvements come in the form of a six-blade fan (com34 FLEET EXECUTIVE ❙ May/June 2014

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pared to nine, today) that produces less parasitic loss when cooling. It also runs quieter, officials said. “We now have all the ingredients together and can take vehicle integration to a new level,” Hames said. The IDP package will be aimed at on-highway applications. Officials said the company is looking to simplify the spec’ing process for customers. The goal is to provide customers with the lowest “real cost of ownership,” Hames said, which takes into account driver profiles, turnover, types of loads and how frequently a truck is running empty or full. Brad Williamson, manager, engine and component marketing with DTNA, said the new integrated powertrain will initially be offered with a 400 hp/1,750 lb.-ft. rating. Customers will be able to achieve 8 mpg or thereabouts in typical linehaul applications. The new powertrain marks the first time DTNA has taken advantage of downspeeding. “This is our first venture into downspeeding,” Williamson said. “We think we’ve done it better than anybody.” The new package also represents Detroit’s first 6x2 axle offering. “We know they’ve been coming on,” Williamson said of 6x2s. “They’re really where we’re going if you want fuel economy. You’re going to get less rolling resistance because you trucknews.com

14-06-03 3:31 PM

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14-06-03 11:50 AM

GEARED UP have one dead axle and the second thing is less weight, about 400 lbs less weight than what a standard 6x4 weighs.” There are complications in Canada, however, where 6x2s are technically illegal. A Memorandum of Understanding signed onto by the provinces defines 6x2s as liftable axles— even if the tag axle does not lift—since weight can be automatically shifted to the driven axle in low-traction situations. Still, for US fleets or other customers who want the benefits of a 6x2, this offering will be available with Meritor Wabco’s Electronically Controlled Air Suspension (ECAS) load transfer technology, to provide traction in slippery conditions. But

even when choosing a traditional 6x4, Williamson noted customers will still see a fuel economy improvement of up to 5% compared to today’s vehicles. The new package will be available to order on the Freightliner Cascadia Evolution in January 2015 and on the soon-tobe-launched Western Star 5700 later next year. A new app will go live in June, available for Android and Apple devices. The slick app, previewed for members of the trade press, allows customers to explore the benefits of vehicle integration and each component that comprises that new integrated powertrain. FE

COVER STORY p26

‘‘

DOES YOUR PROVOCATIVE RECRUITING AD ATTRACT WOMEN?

because it is demeaning to them. Why would a carrier focus on a model’s appeal when a driver is more interested in home time, pay and benefits? A study from the University of Georgia found that ads using sex to sell products and services have nearly doubled since 1983. The ads are typically used to sell “low risk” items, which they defined as being “impulse purchases.” Would a driver who just sat for six hours at a loading dock after an argument with his dispatcher be susceptible to an impulse reaction to an ad? Possibly. And since the study reported that 92% of the models used in these ads are female, the intended “buyer” is more often a male. Think about whom the company is NOT recruiting with a suggestive ad. They’re not focusing on women, and they are offending drivers looking for real information, but they are also losing out on drivers who will walk past a booth because he or she has a child in tow (think, family). Some of the images border on pornography and a decent mom or dad will shield a child from seeing these ads. So, why do some companies, or their advertising agencies, think they should include sexy images in their recruiting efforts? An article by Ira Kalb, at the Marshall School of Business gives the following reasons people think “sex sells”: • First, it taps into in inherent part of our brains. As humans we’re just wired to have sexual thoughts and advertisers think this can be used to attract attention to their products or services. • Secondly, we are repeatedly told that “sex sells,” so there is a tendency to start believing that is the truth. Provocative ads do get our attention, even when that attention isn’t positive. (For myself, the sight of sexual imagery in a recruiting ad makes me angry, but then again, I am not the target audience.) Also, since sex is usually socially prohibited, it gets attention. Finally, sex is often used in ads, so we make assumptions that it is acceptable, even if our assumptions are misguided. The author does state that sex IS effective in selling products related to sex (a trucking company does not seem to fall

Unfortunately, it seems as if some carriers forget that 5% of the driver population is women and their ads might actually offend this segment of potential drivers.

into this category in my estimation). A study by the University of Wisconsin found that we are 10% more likely to view ads using sex to sell “un-sexy” products less favorably. Why should the trucking industry refrain from using scantily clad women in their recruiting ads? Kalb gives the following reasons, with the likelihood of offending the potential driver being the most important. Using a less provoking image will attract a greater audience, including women. He says some people feel that using sex to sell something cheapens the image of the company and distracts the intended buyer from the product or service itself. If a carrier has a great benefits package, a decent pay scale and generous home time, do they need to use a provocative image to attract a driver’s attention? Another reason a company might want to forgo a focus on cleavage is that the viewer might not remember the advertiser’s name! Advertising unrelated to the job has a tendency for less recall of the carrier’s name than the image in the ad. The Women In Trucking Association is focused on creating a better environment for women looking for careers (and already employed in) the trucking industry. Provocative recruiting ads have no place in this industry and do not promote a positive image for these women. FE

Ellen Voie, CAE, is president and CEO of the Plover, Wisconsin-based industry association Women In Trucking Inc. 36 FLEET EXECUTIVE ❙ May/June 2014

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INSIDE THE NUMBERS

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Fleet use of retreaded tires past three years NO

15%

The time-tested strategy of retreading threatened by use of offshore tire brands

Retreading tire casings is one of the most effective tire management strategies. It is, however, coming under threat from increased use of offshore tire brands, made in countries such as China and India and sold at considerably lower cost albeit with sometimes questionable quality. Transportation Media Research has been tracking this development annually since 2006. While 8 in 10 Canadian fleets responding to our Tire Buying Trends Survey indicate they retread their tires, more than a quarter plan to either use fewer retreads or not use retreads at all in the future. One fifth of carriers report they’re willing to purchase offshore tires rather than retread the established name brands. Almost a third say they prefer to use offshore brands versus retreads in the drive axle position while more than a third say the same about the trailer position.

31%

YES

Changes in retread use past three years

85%

Expected changes in use of retreads next three years

WILL USE MORE RETREADS

USED FEWER RETREADS THAN NEW TIRES

28%

WILL USE FEWER RETREADS

RETREAD USE HAS REMAINED THE SAME

40%

DO NOT PLAN ON USING RETREADS

32%

EXPECT TO START USING RETREADS

USED MORE RETREADS THAN NEW TIRES

11% 11% 16%

USE OF RETREADS WILL REMAIN THE SAME

61%

Fleet preference retread vs “offshore tire” if both same price

OFFSHORE TIRE

31%

OFFSHORE TIRE

RETREAD

69%

36%

Trailer axle position

Drive axle position

Fleet willingness to use offshore tires rather than retread name brands

64%

20%

YES

80%

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Inside the #s Jun.indd 38

14-06-03 12:01 PM

4th time in last hour he’s jammed on the brakes.

6th time in last hour he’s crossed into another lane.

8th time in last hour he’s sang, “Friends in Low Places”.

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Canada 37_Pro Connect.indd 39

Three Trucks – Size E

14-06-03 8:09 AM

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37_Pro Connect.indd 40

P R I N T S P E C I F I C AT I O N S

BLEED SIZE

8.25 x 11

14-06-02 6:10 PM