Today's Trucking May/June 2020

INSIDE

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Feeding the Need

Careers, Equipment Deals PG.21

The steps to keep truckers fed. PG.25

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The

SPECIAL EDITION

Essentials THE TRUCKS KEEP ROLLING AS THE WORLD CLOSES ITS DOORS Inside the fight against Covid-19

INSIDE May/June 2020

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Frontline reports Fleet strategies Economic forces Cleaning cabs And much more!

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Thank you to all the Trucking Heroes that are keeping essential Canadian goods moving.

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Contents

May/June 2020 | VOLUME 34, NO.5 V

INSIDE

Strategies

10

14

23

30

33 Home Team New measures for fleet office staff

35 Clean Living How to keep truck cabs clean – and keep safe

By Jim Park

Opinions 7

Going for Broke Are freight brokers taking advantage of truckers?

By James Menzies

9

The Essentials Truck drivers deliver an essential service. Covid-19 serves as a reminder.

By John G. Smith

38 Reflections on Mayhem Now we find out what we’re made of

By Rolf Lockwood

10 ‘Our truck drivers are these heroes’ The world closes its doors, and trucks continue to roll

Plus 20 Covid Quotes What can be said about trucking and Covid-19?

25 Feeding the Need Keeping truckers fed and nourished

27 #ThankATrucker Shows of support for an essential service

29 War Room Inside the CTA’s pandemic planning strategy

NEW

Features

By John G. Smith

14 ‘Unprecedented’ Covid-19 brings immense, sudden pain to the economy and trucking

By James Menzies

23 Covid Chronicles Truck driver Nicole Folz describes her personal fight against the coronavirus

By James Menzies

30 Help Wanted The economy has tanked, so why are there still worries about a driver shortage?

By John G. Smith

Retail deals and career opportunities in our new regional Marketplace section. PAGE 21 MAY/JUNE 2020

3

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Letters Drivers need access to essential services The Business Magazine of Canada’s Trucking Industry

PUBLISHER Lou Smyrlis lou@newcom.ca • 416/510-6881 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, TRUCKING AND SUPPLY CHAIN John G. Smith johng@newcom.ca • 416/614-5812 EDITOR James Menzies james@newcom.ca • 416/510-6896 CONTRIBUTORS: Derek Clouthier, Abdul Latheef, Rolf Lockwood, James Menzies, Jim Park, John G. Smith DESIGN / LAYOUT Tim Norton, Frank Scatozza production@todaystrucking.com • 416/614-5818 SALES AND MARKETING CONSULTANT Nickisha Rashid nickisha@newcom.ca • 416/614-5824 RECRUITMENT AND SPONSORSHIP SALES MANAGER Kathy Koras kathy@newcom.ca • 416/510-6892 QUÉBEC ACCOUNTS MANAGER Denis Arsenault denis@newcom.ca • 514/947-7228 CIRCULATION MANAGER Pat Glionna 416/614-2200 • 416/614-8861 (fax) PRODUCTION MANAGER Alicia Lerma alicia@newcom.ca • 416/510-6845

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Today’s Trucking is published monthly by NEWCOM MEDIA INC., 5353 Dundas Street West, Suite 400, Toronto, Ontario M9B 6H8. It is produced expressly for owners and/or operators of one or more straight trucks or tractor-trailers with gross weights of at least 19,500 pounds, and for truck/trailer dealers and heavy-duty parts distributors. Subscriptions are free to those who meet the criteria. For others: single-copy price: $5 plus applicable taxes; one-year subscription: $50 plus applicable taxes; one-year subscription in U.S: $90 US; one-year subscription foreign: $180 US. Copyright 2020. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher. The advertiser agrees to protect the publisher against legal action based upon libelous or inaccurate statements, unauthorized use of photographs, or other material in connection with advertisements placed in Today’s Trucking. The publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that in his opinion is misleading or in poor taste. Postmaster: Address changes to Today’s Trucking, 5353 Dundas Street West, Suite 400, Toronto, Ont., M9B 6H8.

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Member

Re: From trucker to essential worker in one month We all have a tendency to appreciate things in life more when it is not there when we want it – whether it is to feel, to touch, to use, or even to eat.

The truck driving profession is not for the feint of heart. It is a tough job, always has been. But there has always been someone to take the wheel.

Today the prime minister of Canada has deemed truck drivers an essential service – because everyone relies on the trucking industry. Period. But he needs to go further – much further – because we don’t need our drivers to be called an essential service.

They need access to essential services.

— Murray Mullen Mullen Group Editorial

By James Menzi es

Don’t label truckers as virus carriers

Going Viral Truckers have role to play in mitigating spre ad of coronavirus

O

ver the last few weeks, it has been impossible to go online, turn on the TV, or listen “CCOHS has always to the radio without being immerse been a great partner d in news media source of informat and excellent Covid-19/novel coverage of the ion for coronavirus pandemi public affairs, Jonathan our industry,” said CTA’s director c.

The severity of the of Blackham. “If CTA situation was initially looking for informat member carriers with reports ranging difficult to gauge, are ion related to Covid-19 from the horrific outbreaks, this is /coronavirus-type (thousands of passenge being quarantined an excellent place in terrible condition rs to start.”

Most of the resource s on cruise ships) (wash your hands, s are inexpensive to mild it’s no more deadly complete or free of charge. list can be found than the common But in recent weeks A at www.cantruck.ca. flu). it has become clear The Center for the situation is dire. truck drivers, by Disease Control the nature of their And (CDC) website good resource, especiall jobs, are now finding selves on the front is another y if traveling to high-risk themlines as this has U.S. It includes daily morphed into a regions in the pandemic. Preparat updates on the spread full-blown ion is key. But just out the U.S., including of the virus throughhow do you prepare something that a heatmap that allows is potentially beyond for identify high-risk visitors to quickly anything the world seen? I attended areas. If there’s any the Truckload has good news in all that borders are Carriers Association’s annual of this it’s free of non-essential convention in early traffic.

March, and queried As Today’s Trucking fleet managers on went to press, cases how they’re handling of Covid-19 were the situation. Most increasing rapidly fleets are falling back across Canada and the on generic disaster U.S. In Canada, preparedness plans Ontario and B.C. were the that are not specific epicenters of the to a widespread virus outbreak, with fatalities outbreak. in both province But the coronavi s.

Public health officials rus was top of mind still contend the the event. Hand for everyone attendin risk of infection sanitizin g in also emphasize Gaylord Palms conventi g stations were placed througho the need to be diligent. Canada is low, but roughou utt the ntion on center, Longhau whose and work l truck drivers, their use was enforced at mealtime takes them across ealtimes. s. Social media North America is rife with anecdota interactions with with frequent shippers and receivers customers and l reports that are placing restrictio other carrier for a highly drivers, are an to facilities and ns on driver access ideal contagious disease donning gloves such as the novel virus. At the same before accepting from drivers. Truck coronatime, they play an documents drivers should also essential role in supplies needed interacting with exercise caution delivering to mitigate the outbreak customers and other when icine, and yes, even , such as masks, drivers at shared If slipseating, be medthe toilet paper facilities. sure to wipe down that’s been flying shelves as a result handles, gearshift surfaces such as off store of panic buying. door s and steering While the risk of wheels with antibact wipes. It only takes infection may currently erial a minute. Consider imperative we all be low, it is still it a part of your inspection. do our part as an pre-trip industry to keep and others healthy.

The Canadian Trucking ourselves TT Alliance (CTA) with the Canadian has been working Centre for Occupat ional Health and (CCOHS) to assemble Safety Safet resources for the James Menzies trucking industry, is the editor of Today’s too.

You can Trucking.

Re: Going Viral (April, 2020)

I disagree that longhaul truck drivers are an ideal carrier for a highly contagious disease such as the novel coronavirus.

The reality is that all carriers are working to minimize the interactions of drivers with anyone else. Preparing and carrying food (two to four meals) is a recommended activity to minimize driver-to-driver interactions. As most drive their assigned or owned units, the cab is exclusive to them and they are work-isolated.

No-sign transfer of documents – whereby name and date are printed by the driver or the shipper/receiver – minimizes transfer potential. Many drivers load at the shipper without getting out of their truck, with [the bill of lading] transferred through the window at a distance.

— Scott Tilley Tandet Group “Most fleets are falling back on generic disast er preparedness plans.”

reach him at 416-5106896 or james@ne wcom.ca.

APRIL 2020

TT April 2020.indd

9

9

Mandate fully equipped truck stops Re: Stop denying basic services (online) The provinces and states should mandate fully equipped truck stops on all major corridor routes. Considering trucking an essential service, [not] classifying its supply chain components as essential is not logical.

— Barry Prentice

The world is watching Re: War Room The whole world is watching how frontline workers are treated in this disaster. This is an excellent chance to bring status back to trucking, or make it a job that people will not want to go into.

Many truck drivers over 50 are scared of medical care and treatment if they get sick away from their home. Both the [Canadian Trucking Alliance] and government need to [ensure] strong protection for truck drivers and other frontline workers.

— Stephen Webster

EMAIL:

SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

johng@newcom.ca james@newcom.ca

Newcom Media Inc. 5353 Dundas Street West, Suite 400, Toronto, Ontario M9B 6H8 MAY/JUNE 2020

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Editorial

By James Menzies

Going for Broke Freight conditions are tough, but are brokers to blame?

W

hile truckers are widely being feted as heroic frontline workers by a suddenly adoring public, there’s a growing sense they’re being taken advantage of within the industry by opportunistic or predatory brokers.

Accusations of price gouging by brokers, while difficult to quantify, have even attracted the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who said during a recent appearance on Fox & Friends it’s his belief that brokers are gouging truckers. When truckers took their rigs to Washington, D.C. in protest of low rates, Trump tweeted “I’m with the TRUCKERS all the way.”

Meanwhile, it wasn’t only the U.S. president taking to social media to voice his opinion, as tensions between trucks and brokers mounted.

An email making the rounds from one freight broker taunted a trucker, fueling the fire.

“I’m not a salary paid employee. I’m commission, I determine what I make,” it read. “I average around $200,000 a year…I know what I’m doing. I paid you $800 and had $1,300 from customer. Tell me how smart you are. Oh and I put a new truck in your place for $650.”

Did that opinion reflect the way brokers widely feel about their freight-moving partners? Or was it simply a tone-deaf, vile missive from a frustrated broker? Are brokers padding their margins while exploiting desperate truckers?

Robert Voltmann, president and CEO of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, dismissed any idea brokers are to blame for low rates.

“Brokers don’t set prices, the market does,” he pointed out.

“When there are too many trucks chasing too few loads, rates go down, and since mid-March rates have plummeted. Nobody has gotten pre-virus rates.”

He says broker margins average 16%, but acknowledged both shippers and brokers will test the market.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), for its part, called for greater transparency of broker pricing, but stopped short of accusing brokers of price gouging.

Instead, it called on government to better enforce U.S. federal regulation CFR 371.3, which requires brokers to keep transaction

records and make them available to carriers.

I asked TransCore Link Logistics to drill into its data to see if there was any evidence of price gouging by Canadian brokers.

It uncovered nothing out of the ordinary, except for a supplydemand imbalance that favored shippers.

As an example of how rapidly conditions were changing, and how quickly the pendulum was swinging in the favor of shippers and brokers, TransCore Link Logistics highlighted the busy Quebec-Ontario lane. It went from an outbound truck-to-load ratio of 1:1 in the third week of March – a perfect balance – to 6:1 for the month of April.

There were fewer outbound loads from Quebec to Ontario in all of April than in the third week of March alone, and instead of one truck for every load, there were suddenly six.

That imbalance goes a long way to explaining rapidly falling rates. It’s not necessarily because a greedy broker is padding his or her pockets.

The spot market story was similar south of the border, where most of the bad broker allegations were emanating from. When I approached industry analyst Avery Vise, vice-president of trucking for forecaster FTR, he reasoned: “It’s not a broker’s job to save a carrier from its own poor decisions. Sure, there are bad brokers just as there are bad carriers, but fundamentally what we are seeing is a tough freight market that unfortunately will not recover as quickly or consistently as it collapsed.”

So, don’t expect Trump to come to the rescue of truckers and hold big brokers’ feet to the fire, demanding they reduce their margins to keep truckers viable. You’re on your own here. You can help your cause by leaving cheap freight at the dock.

I’ll leave the last word, as unpopular as it may be, to Voltmann.

“It’s the motor carriers that accept it. If carriers don’t accept the rate, both shippers and brokers will offer higher rates until the load is accepted. That’s the free market economy.” TT

“There were fewer outbound loads from Quebec to Ontario in all of April than in the third week of March.”

James Menzies is the editor of Today’s Trucking.

You can reach him at 416-510-6896 or james@newcom.ca.

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By John G. Smith V

www.trucknews.com/videos/the-essentials-thankatrucker/

The Essentials Truck drivers deliver an essential service. Covid-19 serves as a reminder.

Essential.

It’s a word that people have come to use when describing the work of truck drivers – the men and women who remain on the job during these days of Covid-19. They’re the ones who keep food on store shelves, fuel in our cars, masks and ventilators in our hospitals.

These are vital supplies. Essential supplies.

While most Canadians are told to shelter in place, to stay at home, to close the doors and “flatten the curve,” society asks truck drivers to answer the call. To climb back behind the wheel.

To hook up, head out, deliver and repeat. Day and night.

The work has to be done. It’s essential work.

Did you ever hear stories about the merchant navy, and how it maintained supply lines as a war once raged in Europe? It’s that important. This time it’s not a shooting war, of course. The enemy is unseen, this Covid-19. But make no mistake about it.

The fight is real.

It’s an essential fight.

As Canada and the U.S. close our shared border in the fight against this virus, the trucks continue to roll. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assured the nation that – in his words – “truckers will not be affected.” It’s because Canada relies on these services.

These essential services.

Oh, the job won’t be easy. Remember to wash your hands, but please don’t use our washrooms. Line up over there, but keep a safe distance. Try to stay close to your family in these troubling

times, but do it from afar. Dinner time? You’ll have to walk up to the drive-thru. The truck stop dining room is closed.

But the job of a truck driver has never been easy. The 300,000 Canadians who do this work, who drive every manner of truck in all sorts of applications, know this very well. They keep on the move so Canada can keep on the move. Under all conditions. In all weather. Just in time. All the time.

The work is simply too essential to leave undone.

We will all emerge from the fight against Covid-19, of that I’m sure.

But when this particular fight is over, we should try a little harder to recognize the work of those who always do the jobs that need to be done.

When the heavy traffic returns and delays occur. When equipment breaks down and needs repair. When customers call and change the rules of the game. Whenever someone looks at the numbers on a chart and forgets about the faces behind the figures.

We’ll need to remind everyone to thank a trucker, and why.

It’s essential. TT

“The work has to be done. It’s essential work.”

John G. Smith is the editorial director of Today’s Trucking.

You can reach him at 416-614-5812 or johng@newcom.ca.

MAY/JUNE 2020

9

‘Our truck drivers are these heroes’ The world closes its doors, and trucks continue to roll

By John G. Smith The doors began to slam shut in mid-March, leaving the outside world to truck drivers and other essential workers among them.

Today’s lighter highways offer proof of that. Typical bottlenecks and delays have in many cases disappeared.

The Canada-U.S. border is left to the business of commerce.

But truck stop dining rooms, the industry’s unofficial social hubs, were silenced as well. Drivers were suddenly asked to gather takeout containers and leave, consuming the contents inside sleepers and truck cabs.

“You never know what you are going to find when you arrive. Some places are open, some not, hours are reduced,” said John Power of S&M Trucking in Nova Scotia, only weeks after public health orders began to emerge. “Even during the SARS and H1N1 scare, it wasn’t like this.”

But the impact of those epidemics pale in comparison to

10

TODAY’S TRUCKING

Covid-19 – the global health scare that brought the hum of everyday life to a standstill.

Dave Legge, a driver with Ontario-headquartered Shandex Truck, was unfazed by the closed truck stops at first. He always stocks his truck with a five-day supply of food, the coffee and tea, a case of Mr. Noodles.

“I’m ‘self-isolated’ in the truck. Always have been,” he said, using a phrase that’s become commonplace in the days of a pandemic. “I don’t use restaurants that often.”

He was admittedly caught off guard during a trip between York and Greenville, Pa. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation temporarily closed all rest areas on March 17, re-opening the locations only after industry and political pressure.

“The day before, they said they were shutting the rest areas down,” Legge said. “I didn’t realize they were going

to shut all the food places.”

They aren’t the only doors that have been shut to drivers, of course.

“Shippers don’t want us in their building. Instead, they bring us the paperwork to the truck, and we have to stay in our truck,” said Rene Robert, an owner-operator with Trappers Transport. After some “unscrupulous idiots” tried to break into a few of the company trailers loaded with fresh food, he was even advised to avoid non-secure truck stops or from parking at the side of B.C. roads.

Locked bathrooms Locked bathroom doors have presented some of the most frustrating barriers of all, leading politicians and industry groups alike to push businesses to offer some essential services to the drivers who have been identified as an essential service.

“Why is the industry that is driving the supply chain

consistently being refused to use washrooms to wash their hands at customer sites?” asked Guy Broderick of Toronto-based Apps Transport. “We have all heard Health Canada and the World Health Organization’s comments: The best way to fight this virus is to wash your hands.”

Even that practice comes with specific guidelines these days. Wash for 20 seconds, if you please. And forget the handshakes. Keep your distance, and stay at least six feet away from other people.

“There are a few awkward moments when it comes time to sign the bill of lading,” said Serge Bukvic, an LTL driver with TransPro Freight Systems. “You’ve got to remember not to be offended, to keep your distance.”

But the steps are needed to stay healthy.

“You don’t want to be on the road. No drivers want to be. They want to stay home safe, but if you stay home now, you could lose your job,” said Nissan Varghese, a driver based in P.E.I. He was worried about how the disease would spread in the early days of the pandemic. “If this thing flies around, that is going to be scary.”

He responded by hooking

‘Unprecedented’ Economy PG. 14

Covid Quotes PG. 20

A Driver’s Covid Recovery PG. 23

Trucking has been clearly identified as an “essential service” during the fight against Covid-19.

(Photo: Jim Park)

up to another load of the province’s famous potatoes, and headed south.

The focus on keeping clean to remain healthy has even meant adding wipedowns and washdowns to typical pre-trip and post-trip inspections. Cleaning solutions and hand sanitizer are added to the list of fluids that need to be gathered, along with the diesel, the oil, the windshield washer fluids.

“Every time, before and after I touch paperwork, I have a bottle of hand sanitizer I use,” said Terry Van Ooyen of Challenger Motor Freight. “When I wake up in

the morning, I wipe down my truck with Lysol wipes. And around lunchtime, when I take my half-hour break, I do another wipedown, just in case I’ve picked up anything.”

Above all, the trucks continue to roll – even in cases where traditional distribution schedules have been thrown into disarray.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said 44-year driver Keith McMurdo of Associated Grocers in Calgary, as he supported small and mid-sized grocery stores in Western Canada. Locations that typically need nine pallets of goods per week were request-

ing 25 pallets or more, replenishing the shelves that had been raided by consumers who packed kitchen pantries.

Such business surges have clearly eased in the weeks since mid-March, though. The bigger challenge these days is securing backhauls for any loads that can be found.

Signs of support There are unprecedented signs of support for the work that remains.

When traditional truck stop access was limited, governments cleared the way for food trucks in rest areas, and rolled Port-a-Potties

into inspection stations.

Community centers have been transformed into makeshift truck stops in their own right. Special offers available for truck drivers continues to grow by the day.

Drivers have even been greeted by homemade signs and banners. Social media feeds are filled with messages to #ThankATrucker, recognizing the roles they play.

Lisa Smith had to lay off staff at Lisa’s Lakehouse in Christina Lake, B.C. But she continued to feed the drivers who rolled through. “I made the call and thought that those are the people we need to feed,” she said.

“In these extraordinary times, we have extraordinary heroes. Our truck drivers are these heroes,” said Ontario Deputy Premier Christine Elliott and Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney.

“Who would have ever thought of trucking in such an essential way?” said Erb Transport driver Lyoness Woodstock, taking a pause from one delivery.

“Weeks ago, we were recognized as a necessary evil.

My, how quickly things have changed.” TT — With files from Derek Clouthier, Abdul Latheef, Arleen Lively, James Menzies

MAY/JUNE 2020

11

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Ministry of Transportation, Ontario’s Large Trucks Studies, Major Findings, 12/09/19 Ministry of Transportation, 2018 Ontario Road Safety Annual Report, Preliminary Findings.

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B. Jonah, et al., Best Practices for Truck Safety (Ottawa: Traffic Injury Research Foundation, 2009), p. 22.

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Dispatches Border volumes have plunged even though there are no restrictions on truck traffic, which remains identified as an essential service. (Photo: Jim Park)

‘Unprecedented’ Covid-19 brings immense, sudden pain to the economy and trucking

By James Menzies Skyrocketing unemployment. Cratering freight volumes. Plummeting spot market freight rates. Record-low Class 8 truck orders. These are just a few of the new realities the trucking industry is grappling with in the days of the Covid19 pandemic.

The North American economy is largely consumer-driven, but consumers in the U.S. and Canada are losing their jobs at an unprecedented rate, bringing an abrupt end to what Mullen Group chairman and CEO Murray Mullen refers to as the “wants” economy.

“I don’t want to even guess on how our business can or will perform over the next couple of months. The next two to three months, I really expect business to be challenging,” he said during an April 23 earnings call with analysts.

The fleet laid off 1,000 employees, and it wasn’t the only company forced into such drastic measures.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 88,300 trucking jobs were lost south of the border this April. “This was more than the total job reduction in the industry during 2008,” tweeted Bob Costello, chief economist for the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

14

TODAY’S TRUCKING

In Canada, the numbers were nearly as grim. The country shed nearly 2 million jobs during the month, on the heels of a million job losses in March, according to a Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey published May 8. Many who remained on the job were working reduced hours. TFI International, the nation’s largest fleet, shifted 1,000 employees to four-day work

weeks, among a series of temporary layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.

Canada’s drop in employment was “unprecedented,” according to Statistics Canada. Unemployment in April hit 13%, second only to the 13.1% rate observed in December 1982.

The Conference Board of Canada issued a release on April 15 declaring “Canada is in the midst of an economic downturn unlike anything most of us have ever experienced,” and predicted Canadian GDP will fall by 25% in the second quarter – its steepest drop ever.

If you’re looking for good news, Alicia Macdonald, associate director – economic forecasting for the Conference Board of Canada offered this: “Our forecast expects that the downturn will be short-lived and growth will resume in the second half of the year, assuming businesses slowly re-open over the spring and summer.”

Dropping sales As the North American economy was virtually shut down to slow the spread of Covid-19, freight volumes took a nosedive and spot market freight rates plunged as well. This after a fleeting

Labour Market Report Statistics Canada reported near-record unemployment in April, execeding numbers experienced during the Great Recession

Source(s): Table 14-10-0287-01 (formerly CANSIM table 282-0087).

Dispatches bump in volumes related to the retail sector’s restocking of panic-bought items such as toilet paper. In mid-March, Guelph, Ont.-based Wellington Group told Today’s Trucking the company’s volumes increased week-over-week, thanks in part to the delivery of 28 loads of toilet paper to one region in the U.S. alone “We are seeing the healthcare, home essentials, food goods, and cleaning supplies sectors all pick up, while automotive, electronics and want-vs.-need items were flat,” fleet president and CEO Derek Koza said at the time.

But the spike in demand was temporary as panic-buying eased.

“In April we did experience a 10% drop-off in sales compared to budget, as we were impacted by want items continuing to slow down as consumers froze spending,” he said on May 8. “Wellington experienced some customers which closed their manufacturing due to Covid-19, along with several large-scale special projects in the nursery space.”

May looked more promising, though.

Canadian spot market volumes told a similar tale. TransCore Link Logistics reported that spot market volumes surged 19% in March, reflecting the restocking of retail inventories and essential goods.

However, April load volumes reflected a “considerable decline” in certain markets and commodities.

“TransCore Link Logistics saw April

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH OIL? On April 20, the price of crude oil turned negative for the first time in history as storage capacity maxed out and production outpaced demand. The May futures contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark U.S. crude, hit minus $40.32 a barrel before settling at minus $37.63 on the day.

But unprecedented negative prices didn’t mean truckers were being paid to fill up their diesel tanks. Far from it.

“Diesel is the only refined product that shows any sign of stamina as the on-road transport sector is answering the call to keep the shelves full for the housebound consumer,” said Roger McKnight, senior petroleum analyst at En-Pro International.

On April 20, he noted diesel prices were 10 cents higher per liter than gasoline, which is the opposite of what it should be at this time of year.

“If refineries start to slow down or even shut down due to no demand for gasoline, this will force up diesel prices significantly as a result,” McKnight said.

volumes fall in line with predictions made at the end of March,” the company told Today’s Trucking May 8. “Volumes were seen trending downwards and the busy Quebec-to-Ontario lane clearly demonstrated the decline. This lane saw an outbound truck-to-load ratio of 1:1 in the third week of March. This truck-toload ratio ended up averaging out at 6:1 for the month of April. For perspective, there were less outbound loads from Quebec to Ontario in all of April than in the third week of March.”

In the U.S., spot market rates fell to unsustainable levels in many markets.

U.S. freight exchange DAT Solutions reported truckload van rates hit a fouryear low in April, with load-to-truck ratios hitting historic lows. In a May 7

Most Recent Class 8 Orders Class 8 truck orders fell to record lows in April

Source(s): FTR, Trucks OEMs – Total N.A. CI. 8 Orders (US/CAN/MEX/EXP)

update, DAT’s data began to reflect a bounce. “For the first time in well over a month we are starting to see earnest signs of a rebound in the spot market,” the company reported, attributing the bump to produce season, seasonal goods shipments, and relaxed social distancing requirements.

Low border volumes Nowhere was the impact of falling freight demand more evident than at the CanadaU.S. border, where truck traffic thinned substantially. Trucks entering Canada fell 33% for the week of May 4-10 compared to the same period last year, according to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

That was on the heels of a 36% decline the prior week.

Data collected by the Logistics, Transportation and Cross-Border Committee of the Windsor-Essex Covid-19 Economic Task Force showed truck traffic on Huron Church Road was down 43%, while the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel saw an 88% decrease in traffic.

The Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry was forced to cease operations for the first time in its 30-year history.

A Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) survey of fleets collectively representing 60,000 workers reported an average 27% drop in revenue, and a 300% increase in empty miles – with a drop in backhauls sacrificing margins and the ability to cover full costs. Sixty-three percent of respondents said customers have asked for payment deferrals or simply not paid for trucking services.

More than half (52.4%) of those MAY/JUNE 2020

15

Dispatches surveyed by Today’s Trucking said their trucking businesses have laid off staff and/or downsized in the wake of Covid-19.

Erb Group of Companies, a refrigerated fleet based in New Hamburg, Ont., saw a year-over-year increase in March as grocers scrambled to restock emptied shelves.

“About 10 days ago that’s completely reversed itself,” president and CEO Wendell Erb said in late April. “It’s totally unpredictable…We’re working harder than ever to keep the trucks moving.”

Drivers are sitting longer waiting for loads, where traditionally they never stop.

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TODAY’S TRUCKING

trucks and every one of them has a driver waiting for a load to go somewhere,” Erb said. “In the meantime, we’ve got customers that are telling us that we’re switching our terms from 30 days to 60 days. We say yes, we smile, we thank them for the business… If the phone rings and they’ve got freight, we need it.”

Equipment demand evaporates Those who produced trucks faced challenges of their own.

All North American truck OEMs halted production this spring, both to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and respond to falling demand for new equipment. Orders for U.S. trailer manufacturers, including the sales to Canadian fleets, fell 54% in March from already depressed February levels,

TELEMATICS TELL COVID-19 TALE On-board telematics are telling a gripping tale about how the North American trucking industry is impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“One thing we’ve come to learn with Covid-19 is just how important data is – whether for businesses trying to operate, governments trying to re-open or the everyday consumer trying to understand the impact of this pandemic,” said Mike Branch, Geotab’s vice-president – data and analytics.

It’s why the company created a digital dashboard to track the recovery, now found at www.geotab.com/covid-19-recovery.

Lytx data has even reported a benefit as trucks interact with fewer cars on the road.

Its tracked collisions are down 28%, avoidable near collisions are down 25%, and unavoidable near collisions are down 23%.

Delivery times are quicker, too, according to data collected by Route4Me (R4M).

The driving speeds for deliveries in Seattle, for example, have increased from 52 to 68 km/h due to reduced traffic.

“Most people are home all day, so delivery windows are wide open, and being early or late is probably no longer relevant, since people have few places to legally go,” said Dan Khasis, the company’s founder.

Dispatches according to industry forecaster FTR. The 6,500-unit order month was down 55% year-over-year, with dry van orders particularly weak.

“The trailer market is mirroring the Class 8 side, as fleets are extremely cautious due to the anxiety about the virus,” said Don Ake, FTR’s vice-president, commercial vehicles. “The orders placed in March are for units that are perceived to be absolutely necessary for relatively short-term needs.”

And how about Class 8 orders?

Preliminary data from ACT Research showed a 46% drop in April, to 4,100 units, down 72% year-over-year.

“April represents the first full month of Covid-19 impacts on the trucking industry, and given broadly halted economic output leading to a sharp drop in freight volumes and rates, as well as more empty miles from fragmented supply chains further impacting carriers’ profitability, a negative order number was within the realm of possibilities,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst.

OEMs, in response, began offering attractive financing options including low-to-no down payments and extended deferrals on initial payments. And by early May, truck manufacturers were beginning to ramp up the temporarily silenced North American production.

the assumption the restart is going to take place sometime toward the end of this (second) quarter.”

FTR expects U.S. GDP to fall 23.6% in the second quarter, but when stripping out services and adding back imports to better reflect the impact on trucking, the numbers are worse. FTR projects a 44.5% decline in the goods transportation

sector in the second quarter of this year.

“We don’t see a noticeable jump until the fourth quarter,” said FTR CEO Eric Starks, adding the trucking industry won’t return to normalized levels until mid- to late-2021. “I think that’s a big deal for us to understand.” TT — With files from Abdul Latheef, John G. Smith and Derek Clouthier

What’s next?

Bill Witte, chief economist for FTR, quoted baseball legend Yogi Berra when trying to make sense of the current economic situation: “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”

This is especially true since the Covid-19sparked recession is unlike any other.

“I don’t think this is a normal recession-recovery situation. It’s not a business cycle event, it’s a completely artificial event,” he said.

FTR breaks the current economic scenario into three phases: the shutdown; containment; and the restart. Mid-April marked the early containment stage, and the longer this phase lasts, the slower the recovery will be, Witte predicted.

“If the containment period is short, the restart could be a pretty rapid event,” he added. “We are working on MAY/JUNE 2020

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Dispatches

Covid-19 expected to infect vehicle demand ACT Research expects commercial vehicle manufacturing to drop significantly in the face of Covid-19.

“With shutdown orders in key supplier states, as well as across Mexico, the supply chain is so fragmented at this juncture that it would be difficult for the OEMs to assemble vehicles beyond the parts that were in the pipeline when the industry stopped production,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst.

He also expects dealers to downsize inventories as early as possible, “as this is not a time for them to have oversized floor plans.”

The demand for medium-duty trucks is expected to take a particular hit, because the trucks are aimed directly at the consumer portion of the economy, he added.

WardsAuto reported 1,469 Class 8 truck sales in Canada this April, with 251 Class 7s, 50 Class 6s, and 330 Class 5s.

Canada – April 2020 SALES CLASS 8

U.S. – April 2020

MARKET SHARES

SALES

April

YTD

April %

YTD %

CLASS 8

Freightliner Kenworth International Peterbilt Volvo Truck Western Star Mack Hino Total CLASS 7

412 265 240 250 108 114 80 0 1,469 April

2,229 1,189 865 856 781 573 326 0 6,819 YTD

28.0 18.0 16.3 17.0 7.4 7.8 5.4 0.0 100.0 April %

32.7 17.4 12.7 12.6 11.5 8.4 4.8 0.0 100.0 YTD %

Freightliner International Hino Kenworth Peterbilt Ford Total CLASS 6

56 94 36 36 24 5 251 April

392 392 194 142 123 18 1,261 YTD

22.3 37.5 14.3 14.3 9.6 2.0 100.0 April %

Freightliner Hino International Ford Isuzu Kenworth Peterbilt GM Total CLASS 5

10 17 6 12 3 2 0 0 50 April

75 75 69 40 5 5 1 0 270 YTD

197 10 64 32 25 1 0 0 0 1 330

1,905 329 326 240 62 2 0 0 0 2 2,866

Ford Dodge/Ram Hino Isuzu International Freightliner Mitsubishi Fuso GM Kenworth Peterbilt Total

Source: WardsAuto

MARKET SHARES

April

YTD

April %

YTD %

Freightliner Kenworth Peterbilt International Volvo Truck Mack Western Star Hino Total CLASS 7

4,315 2,290 1,553 1,961 951 1,063 504 0 12,637 April

22,202 9,508 8,884 7,499 5,462 4,723 1,926 15 60,219 YTD

34.1 18.1 12.3 15.5 7.5 8.4 4.0 0.0 100.0 April %

36.9 15.8 14.8 12.5 9.1 7.8 3.2 0.0 100.0 YTD %

31.1 31.1 15.4 11.3 9.8 1.4 100.0 YTD %

Freightliner International Peterbilt Kenworth Ford Hino Total CLASS 6

1,263 985 535 394 83 41 3,301 April

6,955 4,489 2,802 1,993 438 346 17,023 YTD

38.3 29.8 16.2 11.9 2.5 1.2 100.0 April %

40.9 26.4 16.5 11.7 2.6 2.0 100.0 YTD %

20.0 34.0 12.0 24.0 6.0 4.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 April %

27.8 27.8 25.6 14.8 1.9 1.9 0.4 0.0 100.0 YTD %

Freightliner International Ford Hino Kenworth Isuzu Peterbilt GM Total CLASS 5

697 395 497 523 222 74 0 100 2,508 April

4,433 3,991 3,078 1,842 963 341 18 367 15,033 YTD

27.8 15.7 19.8 20.9 8.9 3.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 April %

29.5 26.5 20.5 12.3 6.4 2.3 0.1 0.0 100.0 YTD %

59.7 3.0 19.4 9.7 7.6 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0

66.5 11.5 11.4 8.4 2.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0

Ford Freightliner Dodge/Ram Isuzu GM Hino International Kenworth Peterbilt Mitsubishi Fuso Total

3,478 3,166 538 261 376 135 115 1 2 0 8,072

16,487 3,889 3,834 1,636 1,117 717 428 10 5 0 28,123

43.1 39.2 6.7 3.2 4.7 1.7 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0

58.6 13.8 13.6 5.8 4.0 2.5 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0

MAY/JUNE 2020

19

Dispatches

Covid Quotes There’s a lot to be said about the fight against Covid-19, especially in the context of trucking.

Here are some of the quotes that emerged as the virus began to affect the supply chain.

“If trucking is essential, then so are truck drivers.

Facilities cannot accept the goods truck drivers bring them while barring truck drivers. Protecting shipping staff does not require endangering trucking staff who need washrooms to hand wash, etc.”

“Trucking will not be affected.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Terry Shaw, Manitoba Trucking Association

Canada and the U.S. banned non-essential traffic from the border, but politicians on both sides of the 49th Parallel stressed that travel relating to trade and commerce – like trucking – would continue.

The executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association took to Twitter with a message for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, calling on shippers to support those who deliver the freight.

“It’s the right thing to do.”

“Throughout history our nation’s truck drivers have been called upon to support Canada, assist Canadians, and keep our economy going.

We are proud how they’ve answered the call once again during this crisis.”

Joe Glionna, Newcom Media Truck World, Canada’s largest trucking industry trade show, was among the industry events to be rescheduled or canceled as the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic.

Truck World will now be hosted Sept. 24-26 in Mississauga, Ont.

Stephen Laskowski, Canadian Trucking Alliance The president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, the largest trucking organization in Canada, stressed the important role of truck drivers in maintaining the supply chain.

“There are major implications for a number of freightintensive economic sectors, and we are just on the cusp of feeling that pinch.”

20

”

“We are hearing a lot of talk about the need to keep our economy running, but nothing about the safety of those who are helping it keep running.”

Kenny Vieth, ACT Research

Joanne Mackenzie, driver

The president and senior analyst of ACT, an industry analyst, warned that the economic implications of Covid-19 were going to spread.

The business of trucking continues in a pandemic, but drivers and fleets also need to follow practices that keep everyone safe.

TODAY’S TRUCKING

”

“They’re asking, ‘Did you fly outside of North America?’

And ‘Did you have any fever?’ Otherwise it’s all normal.”

Anil Raveendran, owner-operator New screening procedures at the border boiled down to two key questions. Where have you been, and are you showing signs of Covid-19?

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2E

TODAY’S TRUCKING

• Marketplace East

Founder of the Erb Group of Companies, Vernon Erb. (Photo: Julia Maier/Erb Group)

A Cool Tribute Trucking pays tribute to Vernon Erb

By Abdul Latheef and John G. Smith Wilmot, Ontario paid tribute to a man who is arguably its most famous resident on May 1, as hundreds of vehicles rolled through town in a convoy to recognize Vernon Erb. The 84-year-old founder of the Erb Group of Companies has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. The convoy was organized by family and friends as a way to say goodbye.

“Oh my gosh, it was incredible,” Erb’s granddaughter Katie Erb said, reflecting on the day.

She said he was “overwhelmed” by the display that included some 300 vehicles.

“He is so modest and humble that he just didn’t expect anything of that magnitude.”

Katie Erb also said that Vernon chose to leave the hospital so he could be with his friends and family. “(Otherwise) he wouldn’t be able to have visitors in the hospital due to Covid-19.”

She said less than 24 hours after the event was created, it brought out the whole community, with people lining the streets and watching from their driveways.

Town Councillor Angie Hallman, who was among the participants, said the event was filled with emotions.

“The trucking community is tightly knit and they showed up to show their appreciation for Mr. Erb and offer their respect,” she said. “Mr. Erb’s legacy is a profound one. My heartfelt thanks to him for his generosity and commitment to our community throughout his life.”

The company founder and recipient of the 2008 OTA-Trailmobile Service

to Industry Award established the fleet with a single dump truck in 1959, after driving for Don Sindall Transport in New Hamburg, Ont., and marrying his wife, Viola. A feed truck and egg truck followed. And in 1965 he bought his first refrigerated truck – establishing the foundation for the fleet’s specialization in refrigerated goods.

Viola served as his accountant, payroll administrator, and office manager.

And together they built a business that spanned a continent.

Erb has also been recognized with honors including the 1993 Governor General’s Commemorative Medal, 2003 Colonel Robert Hardie Award of Lifetime Achievement from the Ontario Trucking Association, and a 2003 induction into the Waterloo County Hall of Fame.

His son, Wendell, has led the fleet since 1999.

Today the business has 1,500 employees and owner-operators, with terminals in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba. The group also has a regional truckload carrier based in Pennsylvania.

In an interview with Today’s Trucking in August, when the company celebrated its 60th anniversary, the elder Erb said he was quite happy the way things were going.

“It doesn’t seem like 60 years. It sort of went way beyond what I had anticipated back 60 years ago,” he said, noting the industry had changed “an awful lot” in that time.

“Hard to say what it is going to do in the next 60 years.” TT

(Photo: Julia Maier/Erb Group)

MAY/JUNE 2020

3E

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Meals to Go Groupe Trans-West keeping drivers fed on the road Groupe Trans-West drivers have one less thing to worry about when they head out on a run in an uncertain Covid-19 world.

The company’s Lachine, Que., facility is equipped with a full kitchen and chef, and has long provided drivers with the option of buying meals for their journeys.

But with the Covid-19 pandemic reducing options for good meals on the road, the company recently decided to eliminate the cost and now sends all drivers out with enough meals to get them through their trip. The smaller Mississauga, Ont., satellite location doesn’t have the luxury of a full kitchen and chef, but recruiter Michael Hahn wanted to provide the same benefit to the Ontariobased drivers.

So he, along with wife Robin, have been scaling up the output of their own home kitchen, to send team drivers off with a week’s worth of meals when they head out across Individually-prepared meals cooked in North America.

Mississauga recruiter Mike Hahn’s kitchen are ready to be delivered to team drivers “We started lookwho will be on the road for five to six days. ing at how we could turn our kitchen into a semi-commercial kitchen,” Hahn said. “It’s like cooking for a major holiday event – we’re cooking for 10 to 12 people. The difference is, it’s all different meals, separated and packaged individually, so it’s a little more labor-intensive.”

He added that feeding drivers also allows them to better recover and enjoy their downtime at home.

“If you know your fridge is full with enough food to get you through your five- or six-day trip, it’s going to take a lot of anxiety off your plate,” he said. TT

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5E

Wellington provided transportation to get donated food to local food banks.

(Photo: Wellington)

Banking on Support Wellington keeps donated food on the move When global food producer Bonduelle wanted to give back to the Southwestern Ontario communities in which it operates, it turned to its transportation partner Wellington Group of Companies to help. Producing food was the easy part for Bonduelle – getting it to the food banks where it was desperately

needed was the challenge.

The company has three facilities in Southwestern Ontario, where it produces frozen and canned vegetables under the Arctic Garden and Del Monte labels.

“As part of the Covid situation, we are trying to be supportive of the local communities in which we are present,”

said Patrice Legare, Bonduelle’s director of supply chain services.

“I know Wellington has always been highly involved in community projects, so we reached out to Wellington to see if they could offer transport services.”

Over two days in early May, 17 skids of donated food products were delivered to area food banks in Hamilton, Guelph, Waterloo, and Cambridge, Ont. The loads were delivered personally by Mark Lunshof, vice-president of supply chain and part owner of the Wellington Group of Companies.

Derek Koza, president of Wellington Group, said the company was honored to play a part in the initiative.

“It’s easier to donate to charity when times are good, however, it takes a special group of people to give back when people need it the most,” he said.

When delivering the donated food, Lunshof was struck by the commitment of the frontline workers and volunteers at the local food banks.

“A lot of these food bank volunteers are exposing themselves to Covid to help their communities,” he said. TT

A Second Chance for Food Shipments Ian MacLeod had just unloaded two tractor-trailers laden with produce, and none of it was destined for a grocery store. But it would all fill a vital need in the fight against Covid-19.

Toronto-based Second Harvest – an emergency service that distributes meat, dairy, and produce to charitable organizations – has recently seen a surge in donated food. Much of it would otherwise have been destined for restaurant tables, before the restaurants closed their doors. That’s on top of the usual goods picked up by the skid load, piled with products that are rejected by receivers but still perfectly safe to consume.

“It’s incredible,” said MacLeod, the organization’s fleet and warehouse supervisor. “There’s a lot of people stepping up … As fast as it comes in, it goes out. It’s almost cross-docking.”

“There’s a lot of people in need. We all saw the surge in the grocery stores [sev-

6E

TODAY’S TRUCKING

• Marketplace East

eral] weeks ago, due to the panic buying,” he added, referring to retail shelves that were stripped bare of many products. “A lot of people we serve, they don’t have money to buy one week’s groceries, let alone three weeks worth of groceries.”

Second Harvest typically distributes about 1.5 million pounds of donations a month, coordinated by a 13-member crew that includes eight drivers. The final reports had yet to be completed, but MacLeod expected March totals would double those volumes.

It’s all keeping most of the fleet’s 11 trucks on the move across Ontario, supporting destinations including shelters, food banks, faith-based organizations, and other programs.

The destinations have been evolving more quickly than usual, though. Some operations, based in public spaces like community centers, have been forced to shut down. Almost one-third of the

Ian MacLeod, Second Harvest (Photo: Second Harvest)

300 agencies that traditionally receive the food have had to close their doors.

But new locations are quickly emerging to fill the gaps, in spaces known to be clean and safe. On Manitoulin Island, this includes a local curling rink that has been transformed into a giant cooler.

Second Harvest is also participating in a national task force including food suppliers such as Loblaw, Sysco and Walmart, as well as charities such as Food Banks Canada and Breakfast Clubs of Canada, looking to ensure such food supplies continue to move. And there’s an ongoing search for offsite cold storage that could be needed to stage deliveries and “slow release” the donations if food becomes harder to access. TT

Connecting Charities Trucks for Change, ShipNorthAmerica matching loads and charitable need When ShipNorthAmerica signed up to help coordinate charitable trucking shipments through the Trucks for Change (T4C) network, account manager Christina Conforti was told to expect one or two loads a month.

In one recent week she matched 10 loads to donated and discounted truck services, supporting organizations such as Food Banks Canada and Feed Ontario.

“Yesterday alone we booked in three loads for them,” she said, referring to the surge in activity during Covid-19.

Trucks for Change offers a coordinated hub for charitable giving in the trucking industry, helping to ensure that donated goods are distributed at a discount or for free. For its part, ShipNorthAmerica offers in-kind load management services, matching requests that charities post through the MoveMatrix system. The latest loads of food have been stored in warehouse space offered by AMJ Campbell and Mackie Group. From there, many of the April shipments were destined for the Moisson Montreal food bank. One LTL load made five drops in King City, Ont. Another was off to London.

Aggregate Haulers Support Hospital

A cheque for $15,000 was presented by Ontario aggregate haulers. (Photo: OATA)

The Ontario Aggregate Trucking Association has raised $15,000 for the Brampton Civic Hospital to help fight Covid-19.

The money, which was raised during an appreciation convoy, will be used to procure personal protection equipment and other vital supplies, the group said.

The convoy of 10 trucks drove past the Brampton hospital and another medical facility in Orangeville, Ont. The event was organized in appreciation of the work being done by all frontline workers as well as all levels of government, the group said.

“More than 40 healthcare workers including doctors, humbled us by stepping out of the Brampton hospital and expressing their thanks by clapping,” it said.

The event was supported by the Sikh charity Khalsa Care. TT

Teams in the AMJ Campbell warehouse are packing around 8,000 emergency food boxes per day – the equivalent of 120-130 pallets. (Photo: Kriska)

Participating carriers have included Trucks for Change members such as Kriska Group, Polaris Transportation, Mackie Moving, Erb Transport, Arnold Bros., Manitoulin Transport, and Gardewine. Martin Roy Transport also supported a shipment.

“It’s just been pretty busy,” Conforti says. “I’m seeing a lot of crackers, dry food products.”

“February and March started slow, but things have changed recently,” said Scott Tilley, president of the Tandet Group, which includes ShipNorthAmerica.

The support has not been limited to food banks. One load included four skids of Red Cross comfort kits, which include personal hygiene supplies for those displaced by disasters such as recent flooding in Fort McMurray, Alta. TT

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MAY/JUNE 2020

7E

Ontario Truck Driving School (OTDS) instructor Carole Dore teaching online. (Photo: OTDS)

School Days Covid-19 puts the brakes on truck driving training schools

By Abdul Latheef Public school, high school, college and university students weren’t the only ones who were sent home during the pandemic. Truck driving schools across Ontario had to shut their doors as well, leaving students in limbo and owners in financial distress.

Owners say it just wasn’t possible to operate in the days of social distancing.

Drive Test centers suspended the related road tests anyway.

The closures have hit some particularly hard.

“There are some students who quit their jobs in order to pursue a trucking career,” said Raj Walia, president of Trukademy, based in Mississauga, Ont. “I really feel for the students…They were learning it, and suddenly the schools are shut down.”

He said Trukademy had 15 students at the time of the closure.

Online learning Ontario Truck Driving School (OTDS), with nine learning centers in the province, said it was forced to lay off some 70 instructors. It switched to distance learning for theory-based

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TODAY’S TRUCKING

• Marketplace East

lessons, using just a couple of instructors.

“Basically, we run a live classroom with an instructor, and it is working out very well because everyone is at their home in front of their computers,” said Gus Rahim, president of OTDS. “It is like a webinar, but designed for a classroom.”

Each session is open to a limited number of students, who still have to complete the practical part of the course when schools reopen, Rahim said.

Pre-Covid-19, OTDS schools had about 400 students, roughly half of them pursuing the A/Z licence, he said. Many more were wait-listed.

“Well, when we go back, we need to reshuffle things. And, the ones who are ready to test will get the priority.”

For now, Rahim said his main goal is to keep the business running until things get better.

It won’t be easy. Income has evaporated and fixed costs such as lease installments, insurance premiums and rent still have to be paid, he said.

Looming debt Ontario Truck Training Academy (OTTA), another major school with five

branches, has launched its first virtual class in co-ordination with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, said president Yvette Lagrois.

The Oshawa, Ont.-based school has 20 staff, including 15 instructors. Most of them have been laid off.

Lagrois said the driving schools are no different than any other organization, and that they will go into heavy debt if things don’t improve quickly.

“We operate in highly expensive labor and time. And as the time goes by, we can’t make that money back, we can’t make up time,” she said, echoing warnings from public health officials that the crisis could last months.

“We only have 365 days. That’s it. There is no more. So, if we start losing a quarter, then we are going lose, you know, 25% of our income.”

Like a family Ken Adams, director of operations at Ottawa-based Crossroads Training Academy, said the company decided to close its two locations as a precaution.

“You know, we made the moral decision that we weren’t going to jeopardize either our trainers or our students to catch this and then take it home to their families,” Adams said.

He said it was a difficult decision for all the schools to shut their doors.

“Being a small business, our employees are our family,” he said. “And, you know, it’s difficult as business owners to see our family go through hard times.”

Crossroads had to lay off all of its 15 instructors.

He also said that the company decided against offering an online course because doing so would create a backlog of candidates waiting for practical training and road tests.

One school taking the closure as an opportunity is KnowledgeSurge Institute of Barrie, Ont. “We have our staff in the community helping deliver groceries to seniors,” said Samantha Clarke, commercial driver solutions manager at KnowledgeSurge.

“We are still being very safe. We just pick up their orders from a Walmart or a dairy, and then deliver them.” TT

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15E

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16E

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2W

TODAY’S TRUCKING

• Marketplace West

Petko Ganachev has formed a group that uses 3D printers to produce protective face shields.

(Photos: Petko Ganachev)

Petko Ganachev, Ken Johnson Trucking

Facing the Challenge B.C. trucker uses talents to produce protective face shields in Covid-19 fight

By Derek Clouthier Petko Ganachev didn’t expect to be on the front lines in a battle against a worldwide pandemic, and certainly never imagined he’d be pulling double duty. A truck driver in B.C. for 10 years, he is also employing skills as a hobbyist, having created a 3D printing group that is making face shields and mask straps to help ease personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages.

“I never expected me to be at the center of this, because I was waiting for somebody else to start it so I could just join with my one printer,” said Ganachev.

But he stepped forward to establish a related group through social media, after coming across a Reddit discussion with

someone whose partner worked in a care home. In just one week it included more than 300 volunteers, including around 110 who could print the face shields and mask straps.

Using laminated sheets donated by Staples, they were soon producing thousands of units per week.

“We can print about two of them every hour, per printer,” said Ganachev. An alternative design approved for hospitals takes up to two hours to complete, depending on the printer being used.

Soon after its launch, the group partnered with LNG Studios, which has offices in Vancouver, Toronto, and San Francisco, and produces 3D architectural

visualizations, among other projects. LNG started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the production of face shields, and eventually combined its efforts with the B.C. Covid-19 3D Printing Group.

“They have the money and we have the people with the 3D printers and the organization to produce things, and it’s been a fantastic partnership that has worked out great,” said Ganachev. “What we want to do as a group and what they wanted to do when they started the GoFundMe campaign matched up perfect.”

His group was planning a fundraising campaign of its own to continue raising funds for production.

“We’ve got a fairly big leadership group, and lots of knowledgeable people, so I don’t have to babysit it all the time anymore,” he said. “We’re about as organized as a manufacturing company would be. Maybe a little bit less.”

In the midst of it all, Ganachev continues to drive for Ken Johnson Trucking, where he’s been working since he was 20.

“I got really lucky with that…if I had started with one of the not-so-nice companies that we have in our industry, I probably wouldn’t be a truck driver anymore.”

Ganachev called Ken Johnson, general manager of the fleet, to discuss the 3D printing idea while still in a 14-day isolation period after returning from vacation.

“I guess he had lots of time to think,” said Johnson, who thought the idea was worth looking into. “I told him we’d assist where we could. Initiatives, such as (Ganachev’s), are all beneficial. People wanting to help others.”

Johnson’s company has seen its share of side-effects from the Covid-19 crisis, both from a business perspective and day-to-day as a close-knit, family operation.

“We have become, out of necessity, very sterile, both physically and socially, with much less conversation and joking between everyone,” Johnson says.

“I miss the family atmosphere of ‘sibling’ relations.”

But he commends the young driver’s work, and said efforts like Ganachev’s are needed now more than ever. TT MAY/JUNE 2020

3W

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4W

TODAY’S TRUCKING

• Marketplace West

Mindful Matters Drivers will face more mental health issues during Covid-19

By Derek Clouthier As the world stays home to curb the spread of Covid-19, truck drivers continue their work under greater pressures and isolation – both inside and outside the cab.

Under normal circumstances, they suffer from mental health issues more than many other occupations. And during a worldwide crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic, the emotional impact on drivers must not be forgotten.

Kolbi Kukurba, project and public relations manager for the Alberta division of the Canadian Mental Health Association, pointed out that for the time being, truck drivers may be driven by the “altruism of their role” during this worldwide crisis.

But as time goes on, and the world returns to normal once there is a better handle on this pandemic, that could change.

“Initially, the mental health challenges faced by truck drivers will be similar to the general population in regard to increased and prolonged stress related to concerns about infection or passing infection to others,” said Kukurba. “Truckers and the food supply chain play a key role in this pandemic and responses to the needs of Canadians. Demands on their time, health, and relationships based on increased activity and the real need to keep the economy moving will take a toll postpandemic on many individuals and industries that play an essential role in the toughest days.”

Prior to the Covid-19 response, during the Safety Driven – Trucking Safety Council of B.C. Speaker Series, Safe Harbour Consulting president Cathy Cook underscored that psychological disorders and mental health issues are more prevalent in the trucking industry than in the general public.

“Mental health problems affect everyone. It does not discriminate,” said Cook, adding that in Canada there are 500,000 people who are unable to work on any given day due to a mental health issue. Citing a recent survey, she said 75% of those in trucking feel their work is too stressful, and 71% say the same thing about their lives in general.

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Trucking poses several risk factors when it comes to mental and physical health issues. Long driving shifts, disrupted sleep patterns, social isolation, and delivery urgency all create health issues, such as sleep apnea, obesity, diabetes, drug and alcohol abuse, and psychological problems.

These risk factors, for many hauling essential goods during the Covid-19 pandemic, have intensified.

And though we cannot dismiss this possibility and the potential for an increase in mental health issues with drivers in the coming months following the coronavirus response, Kukurba said the general public can learn from the trucking industry.

“Truck drivers already understand many of the challenges faced by isolation in their profession,” he said.

“They may in fact be able to shed light and give tips to the general population about maintaining mental health when isolated.” TT

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Western Woes Alberta truckers face double hit of Covid-19, low oil values

By John G. Smith Canada’s trucking industry was sent reeling by Covid-19, but the economic fallout of a pandemic has added insult to injury in Alberta.

This year was supposed to represent a turning point for the provincial economy, which had sputtered its way through 2019 and marked a deep recession in 2015-16. The federal government’s re-approval of the Trans-Mountain Pipeline project offered hope. The Federal Court of Appeal backed that decision earlier this year.

And there’s no denying the link between oil prices and Alberta’s fortunes. Each of the province’s five recessions in the past 35 years have coincided with a shock in energy prices, TD economists noted in one report.

There was a sense of “cautious optimism” a few weeks ago, agrees Chris Nash, president of the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA).

Then Covid-19 hit. The value of oil futures plunged into negative territory for the first time in history on April 20, as storage tanks were filled to capacity.

Even Fort McMurray, which has been rebuilding in the wake of devastating wildfires in 2016, was left to deal with floods.

“We’re doing a risk assessment on each customer to try to predict who’s strong enough to last through this,” Orlick adds.

“Now the economic challenge is going to creep up on us,” Nash says, noting how fleets across the province will face challenges such as dropping revenues and a rising number of clients that are unable to pay their bills.

Layoffs and cutbacks “Flatdeck carriers are soft, and there’s a bunch of those guys who parked their trucks,” Orlick says, referring to some of his peers in the province. “Our Oil Patch friends are going to suffer.”

“The low oil value hasn’t helped,” agrees Greg Sokil of the Edmonton-headquartered Sokil Group. “It just put more pressure on the market because people won’t buy goods … We haven’t had enough time to adjust our economy.”

In the midst of it all, orders for things like furniture and appliances are placed on the back burner. And if such goods aren’t ordered, they aren’t shipped.

Nash has heard similar stories from other members who haul consumer goods.

“They parked a good chunk of their trucks,” he says. Others have faced bigger struggles. “It was a real challenge when you get into the heavy equipment stuff.”

Reversal of fortunes The Covid-related economic downturn didn’t hit everyone right away. Calgary-based Orlicks Inc. actually had to hire on an extra 30 trucks to meet surging demand for grocery shipments in mid-March. Revenues for the month doubled.

It was an experience shared by many of those who haul food and other essential supplies. At first.

While the grocery-related business is still active, the backhauls of supplies like lumber are now hard to come by. When Orlicks recently shipped loads of Coke out to Saskatoon, Edmonton and Manitoba, there was nothing for the return journeys to Calgary. The 18 daily Edmonton-bound loads of groceries that Sobeys needed in March have dropped to four loads per day. Orders for shipments of bottled water that are placed one week appear to be canceled the next.

The fleet hasn’t laid anyone off, and it remains busy, but the downward swing will hurt.

“We’re going to be financing losses through April and May, and likely June,” says fleet president Gene Orlick. The operation doesn’t qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), either. But he did reach out to his bank for a rare visit on March 12 to secure a 25% increase in the line of credit. At the time it was to deal with the bigger bills associated with surging loads and extra lease-operators.

“There’s a lot of payable clerks that are not really in a hurry to pay Gene,” he says. Forty-five-day payable terms are now being pushed to 60 days. Competing carriers are slashing rates, too.

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The road to recovery The question now is how long the downturn will last, and how quickly the economy can recover after that.

“People that think this is going to open up in two or three weeks, that’s not realistic,” Sokil says. “It’ll take some time to kickstart the economy.”

Murray Mullen of Mullen Group doesn’t expect much good news in the coming quarter, either, but he remains hopeful for the business that will emerge on the back end.

“I believe we will weather this crisis and come out of it stronger,” he said in a recent call with analysts. “Once the economy starts to recover, we will be well-positioned to take advantage of the inevitable opportunities that arise.”

“I am not exaggerating by stating that the job losses in the private sector are staggering,” he stressed. “This health crisis is hurting a lot of people. Obviously, all of us hope that the steps taken by the governments will be successful, but realistically I doubt if we will know for quite some time.” TT

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Dispatches

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MAY 2021

3-6 The Covid-19 Calendar Restrictions on public gatherings have required several trucking events to be rescheduled or canceled outright. The following are among rescheduled events:

Advanced Clean Transportation Expo Long Beach, Calif. www.actexpo.com New Dates TBD

AUGUST

OCTOBER

10-13

1

Alberta Motor Transport Association AGM and Conference www.amta.ca

WasteExpo 2020 Ernest N. Morial Convention Center New Orleans, La. www.wasteexpo.com/en

Toronto Trucking Association Golf Tournament www.torontotrucking.org

Manitoba Trucking Association AGM www.trucking.mb.ca

SEPTEMBER

8-10 Private Motor Truck Council of Canada AGM Marriott on the Falls, Niagara Falls, Ont. www.pmtc.ca

18-20 NAFA 2020 Institute and Expo Indianapolis, Ind. www.nafainstitute.org

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Dispatches

Covid Chronicles Truck driver describes her personal fight against Covid-19

By James Menzies Truck driver Nicole Folz emerged from an undisclosed Toronto airport hotel on April 24, capping off a two-week personal battle against Covid-19. She began feeling ill on April 7, while delivering a load in South Carolina.

“It wasn’t until the following morning that I started getting worried,” she told Today’s Trucking April 23. “I had a sore throat and cough, and that’s when my fatigue from (the previous) night started to be a factor for me.”

Folz had taken all the precautions truckers and the public were advised to follow. She carried hand sanitizer in the truck and washed her hands frequently.

The 26-year-old began living in the truck when the pandemic took hold, so she wouldn’t risk picking up the virus and bringing it home to her parents, her sister, or young niece.

Realizing she may have contracted the virus, Folz took additional steps to ensure the safety of others as she finished her trip. She left her paperwork in the back of the trailer for the shipper and wore a face shield. Hearing she was unwell, her carrier Transport N Service found her a truckload for the return trip rather than her previously scheduled LTL assignment.

Load delivered, return load picked up, her struggles were just beginning. She blew a trailer tire in Washington, Pa., and had to engage the roadside service provider from inside the cab, having him submit the invoice by email to avoid direct contact. Folz wondered how best to get through the border without putting Customs officers at risk.

She called Shelley Uvanile-Hesch, head of the Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada, who connected her with Transport Canada. They provided a number for a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) superintendent who was able to process her load in advance by email.

When she approached the border, CBSA was waiting for her. Folz was directed to a specific booth, where she held her passport against the window before being waved through.

Next, Folz had to find a place to go for testing and treatment. She made more than 70 phone calls to various public health agencies looking for an answer and repeatedly got the runaround. UvanileHesch called Ontario Premier Doug Ford

fever of more than 100 F lasted more than a week. Her first test, administered April 10, took four days to produce a result, which confirmed she was positive for Covid-19. By April 20, rapid testing was available. Folz’s first discharge test returned a negative result the next day, but since the rapid tests are more prone to false negatives, she had to return a second negative test before being discharged.

That result came April 23.

The experience was a new one for Transport N Service. Shawn Backle, operations manager, said the fleet has introduced wellness checks and other measures to ensure its drivers stay healthy on the road. The company has sourced hand sanitizer for drivers, and in late May was working to get them face masks.

Folz’s tractor was placed out of service

The pain of Covid-19 was like being “hit by a train,” says driver Nicole Folz. (Photos: Nicole Folz)

on his cell phone on Good Friday and the wheels were immediately put into motion to get Folz help. She was given the address of a Toronto-area care center and told to report there immediately after dropping her truck at the yard.

The facility, which can’t be identified, is run by Public Health Canada and the Canadian Red Cross. The virus wreaked havoc on Folz’s body. She described joint pain akin to being “hit by a train.” Her

and “red-taped” for a week and was to be thoroughly sanitized before she returned to work.

Folz’s advice to other professional drivers is to have a plan to follow if they get sick on the road.

“I wasn’t proactive enough to figure out, if I do get sick, where am I going to go?” Folz said. “My advice is to have a plan yourself, and see what your company’s procedure is.” TT MAY/JUNE 2020

23

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Dispatches Monika MacAlpine (right) of AirTime Express accepts coffee from Tim Hortons on behalf of staff and visitors. (Photo: AirTime Express)

Feeding the Need Inside the extraordinary efforts to keep truckers fed and nourished

By James Menzies When Generations Diner in Windsor, Ont., was forced to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic in late March, owner Jessica Knight-Moodrey and her mother Vikki Knight wanted to ensure their food inventory wouldn’t go to waste.

Vikki, who often traveled with her late husband during his time as a longhaul trucker, had heard drivers were having trouble finding meals on the road.

“I have a lot of trucker friends in my circle and I was hearing it was difficult for them to get food,” Knight told Today’s Trucking. She and her daughter decided they’d cook up their remaining food and offer free meals to truckers. The first day they prepared pasta dishes, the next day it was sandwiches, then macaroni salad, soups and chili.

“It started off as something we were going to do with the leftover stuff in the restaurant,” said Knight. “When we realized there was going to be a really big need for it, we decided we couldn’t stop.”

Generations Diner’s initiative to feed truck drivers is one of many that has taken place right across Canada, after reports that drivers were struggling to find food while delivering the goods vital to keeping grocery stores stocked and the economy moving.

Truck stop service sporadic Truck stops across North America have been forced to close dining areas, and in many cases limit selection as the virus spreads and social distancing measures are enforced by state and provincial governments.

But where some traditional services were limited, other forms of support looked to fill the gaps.

On April 3, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a notice allowing states to let food trucks set up at Interstate highway rest areas. Previously, commercial activity along federally funded highways was prohibited. In Ontario, meanwhile, the province committed to keeping its 23 OnRoute service centers open for business, offering take-out, graband-go, and drive-thru food options, and even offering truckers free coffee on certain days.

Restaurants begin catering to truckers As other restaurants closed dining areas and began taking drive-thru orders only, truck drivers found themselves left out in the cold. Pictures on social media showed desperate truckers trying to maneuver

their rigs through drive-thrus. Others, approaching the drive-thru windows on foot, were turned away due to policies that prohibit restaurants from serving walk-up customers.

McDonald’s was the first fast food chain to come up with a customized ordering method for truck drivers. Truckers can use the My McD’s app to place their order, and select “curbside service.”

Canadian institution Tim Hortons also scrambled to appease truck drivers, after being widely criticized for shutting them out of washrooms and food service. On April 2, the company said it would open more than 400 locations along Canadian highways to truck drivers, providing counter access to food and drink services, as well as washrooms.

The company has also been surprising trucking companies with visits from its snack- and coffee-filled mobile vans.

AirTime Express in Mississauga, Ont., was one recent recipient.

“Head office reached out to me and asked if they could deliver coffee and baked goods for our employees and drivers. Obviously, we said yes right away,” Monika MacAlpine, human resources manager, told Today’s Trucking.

AirTime Express not only fed its staff and drivers, but also the construction workers across the road.

Food trucks for truckers Further west, on April 4 a pilot project was launched to bring food trucks to cardlock locations frequented by truck drivers. The initiative was spearheaded by Kamloops, B.C., businessman Brad Wood, and advanced within the trucking industry by Greg Munden, president of B.C. log hauler Munden Ventures.

“While this originally started as a local initiative to address providing food to truck drivers in Kamloops, we have now involved the B.C. Trucking Association (BCTA) to help us coordinate a provincial rollout,” said Munden.

Sponsors have picked up the bill for free meals served by food trucks along high-volume corridors, too. TT MAY/JUNE 2020

25

HERE, DOWNTIME IS A SWEAR WORD. Everyone hates downtime. So we work overtime to help manage your trailer fleet.

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Trending

#ThankATrucker This is a time that everyone is discouraged from being social – when it comes to gathering in groups, at least.

But social media feeds have given people a chance to offer thanks to those who stay on the job and keep the shelves filled. Whether sharing messages, signs, or offers of free coffee, it gave them a chance to #ThankATrucker.

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister

Ken Rosenau, Rosenau Transport

Marc Garneau, Federal Transport Minister Bison Transport

BCTA

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Jean Marc Picard, Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association

Carolynne Jansen, Manitoba Chamber of Commerce

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Dispatches

War Room: CTA and the Covid-19 strategy The response to Covid-19 is often described in the language of battle. It’s a fight against the virus. We’re mobilizing resources. It’s a wartime strategy.

It’s only appropriate that the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) has come to refer to virus-related meetings of trucking executives and association managers as a War Room.

It’s not a room, exactly. In these days of social distancing, the meetings of Canada’s largest trucking association come as conference calls.

But there was a need for plenty of them, and in a hurry, given how quickly measures to control the virus evolved.

On Monday, March 9, board members were merely wondering how the spread of the virus might affect a scheduled annual general meeting, says CTA chairman Scott Smith. By Wednesday they knew the question would require a closer look.

It was the same day the NBA canceled its season. By Friday there was clearly a need to reschedule the AGM.

Smith explains. “We wanted to be uniform in the messaging so there was no confusion.”

Between 25 and 30 people dialed into the individual calls. Each covered about six or seven agenda items identi-

fied by association staff, covering topics as diverse as border procedures, labor policy, and just about any government announcement that could affect trucking.

“We had excellent participation ... It was remarkable,” Carruth says. TT

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Over the weekend Smith, CTA president Stephen Laskowski, and Ontario Trucking Association chairman David Carruth established the plan for multiple conference calls per day, including association board members and managers alike.

“Nobody thought this would ramp up as quickly as it did,” Carruth says.

“By Friday the 13th, ironically, everyone knew the world was changing,” Smith adds, referring to the day traditionally associated with bad luck.

The group collectively agreed on the need for common messaging, maybe with a few regional nuances to address specific needs. “You saw from time to time, if you had a provincial ministry that went off message … it would cause a lot of angst,”

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Human Resources Recent research suggested that Canada would be short 25,000 drivers by 2023.

Covid-19 introduced other pressures.

(Photo: iStock)

Help Wanted The economy has tanked, so why are there still worries about a driver shortage?

By John G. Smith There was no shortage of work to go around at Kriska Transportation Group a few months ago, as the fleet’s truck drivers helped to restock shelves that were stripped bare in the early days of Covid-19.

“All hell broke loose in the last couple of weeks of March,” recalls senior vicepresident David Tumber. “We’re now in a space where there isn’t enough freight.”

About 140 drivers at the company’s Trailwood Transport division were laid off after a local Honda manufacturing operation was silenced in a bid to flatten the proverbial curve.

They were hardly the trucking industry’s only economic casualties during the pandemic.

But Trucking HR Canada, an organization that monitors human resources trends, continues to sound the alarm about a truck driver shortage.

Its recent research into the issue, conducted by the Conference Board of Canada, projects the nation’s trucking industry will be short 25,000 truck drivers as early as 2023, representing a 25% increase over the unfilled job vacancies in 2019.

30

TODAY’S TRUCKING

Admittedly, the findings of that report were released on March 11 – the same day the World Health Organization first referred to Covid-19 as a global pandemic – but the economic downturn that followed has created labor challenges of a different sort.

Covid-19 pressures In a follow-up briefing prepared for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), Trucking HR Canada cited anecdotal reports of aging truck drivers who are leaving jobs because of worries about exposure to the virus.

Tumber says about 10-12% of Kriska drivers opted to stay off the road because of such concerns.

A “disproportionate” number of Canada’s truck drivers are above 45, which puts them in an age group at a greater risk of experiencing complications of Covid-19, the ESDC briefing notes.

More than 60% of today’s drivers are over 45; 30% are over 55.

To compound matters, those who are hit by temporary layoffs may decide to leave trucking altogether when the economy begins to recover.

“We have to do what we can now to help the industry be ready post-Covid-19,” says Trucking HR Canada CEO Angela Splinter. When Alberta was emerging from an economic downturn between 2015 and 2018, for example, the number of truck driver job vacancies surged.

Unfilled job openings also leave business opportunities on the table as fleets look to recover from economic downturns. The empty driver positions in 2018 alone cost the trucking industry an estimated $3.1 billion in lost revenues, slowing planned expansions by 4.7%, according to the Conference Board of Canada and Trucking HR Canada report.

Canada’s trucking industry faced an average job vacancy rate of 6.8% in 2019 – double the Canadian average of 3.3% and higher than all industries outside crop production. Longhaul truck driving jobs faced a 9.4% average vacancy rate.

And while truck drivers represent 46% of the industry’s overall employees, they accounted for 63% of the sector’s job vacancies.

“Who knows how many Canadian jobs could have been created,” says Linda Young, Bison Transport’s vice-president of human resources and people development, and chairwoman of Trucking HR Canada.

An unemployment gap Truck driver unemployment also dropped from 6.6% to 3.8% between 2016 and 2018, while Canada’s overall unemployment rate dropped from 7% to 5.8% “It indicates the pool of potentially available truck drivers is becoming depleted,” the organization’s report concludes.

“Put differently, the already historically low truck driver unemployment rate is approaching a floor known as the structural level of unemployment. At this level of unemployment there will still be a certain number of truck drivers that are not employable due to factors including skills and geographic mismatches.”

The trucking and logistics sector employs 3.6% of Canada’s workforce,

Human Resources translating to more than 650,000 workers.

Truck drivers of every sort account for 300,000 employees, while 90,000 people are in shipping and receiving, 70,000 are courier service drivers, and 38,000 are material handlers and distribution staff.

The remainder are managers, supervisors, administrative staff, and accounting personnel.

Small businesses are said to be “disproportionately” affected by the labor shortages that exist, with job vacancies costing firms with revenues below $1 million an average of 24.5% of sales, compared to the 7.4% loss experienced by businesses with sales exceeding $50 million.

David Carruth, president and CEO of Ontario-based One for Freight, agrees.

“Our managers, our supervisors, have had to step in and do frontline roles,” he says, referring to challenges over the past two years that have come at the expense of operations-related tasks.

“All of this impacts the bottom line and our ability to service our clients.” TT

FACTS AND FINDINGS Here are a few other observations from The Road Ahead: Addressing Canada’s trucking and logistics industry labour shortage.

On millennials “While 63% of prospective new hires have a high a school degree or less, many are not entering the trucking industry due to the perception that training costs and time are prohibitive. And, we are losing these young people to other occupations [e.g. construction], as they perceive the ability to start in other industries immediately.”

On HR teams “Surveys indicate that HR professionals are being bogged down with increased recruitment pressures and frustrations, topped off with more complex compliance issues. These challenges are now impacting the ability to keep good recruiters on staff … Plus, there is an increased focus on innovative retention approaches. These dedicated efforts mean less time to focus on expansion and current operations.”

On changing pay “Over the past two years, more than one in five [21%] of longhaul employers reported having changed the pay structure for their truck drivers, with three quarters of them abandoning mileage pay.”

On switching to hourly pay “Employers highlighted that an hourly rate allows them to better capture the accurate hours worked by truck drivers, which not only improves logistics, but also makes it easier to calculate overtime pay.”

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Management

Home Team New measures for fleet office staff Jim Sagriff’s coworkers are keeping their distance these days. To be precise, they’re maintaining a buffer of at least six feet.

It’s just one in a series of measures that his fleet has introduced in the fight against Covid-19.

“We are changing some hours so that we are not all here at the same time, to practice social distancing,” says Sagriff, an inbound/outbound coordinator at International Truckload Services in Belleville, Ont. “I feel safe with my work environment and what procedures we are taking to get through day-to-day operations,” he adds.

There are several practices and procedures that can help dispatchers and other members of office-bound operations teams. Guidance includes limiting face-to-face contact, regularly disinfecting desks and light switches, and rearranging office furniture to ensure there’s six feet of space between each employee.

Evolving workplace protocols need to be clearly communicated, too.

“Whether by email or other virtual means, having regular meeting times to ensure everyone is kept abreast of the most recent changes, issues, and emerging information is important,” Trucking HR Canada says in its related Covid-19 resources.

Then again, not every dispatcher is working from a traditional fleet office.

Some operations have established steps to perform these duties from home.

“Transportation has a stigma that, ‘You’re a dispatcher, you have to work in the office. You’re a planner, you have to work in the office.’ That’s not the case,” Challenger Motor Freight HR manager Randi Butcher said, during a panel discussion at Trucking HR Canada’s recent Women with Drive conference.

The work can be conducted from afar, with a little planning.

Trucking HR Canada has identified several considerations for fleets that are asking employees to temporarily work from home.

■

Working hours – Outline whether the working hours will remain the same as usual, or if there’s flexibility.

■ Roles – Develop a policy on which jobs can be accomplished at home, and which roles require an office presence.

■ Confidentiality – Protect the confidentiality of customer and employee information. Work files should reside on

secure laptops and servers.

■ Dedicated spaces – Ensure home workspaces allow tasks to be performed without interruption.

■ Health and safety – The focus on health and safety is important wherever work is performed. Provide employees with related guidelines for Covid-19 measures and ergonomic practices. TT

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In Gear Areas frequently touched by drivers while they work should be cleaned and sanitized when a new driver starts work or a technician services the truck. (Photo: Jim Park)

Clean Living How to keep truck cabs clean – and keep safe – in the fight against Covid-19

By Jim Park How often did your mother remind you to wash your hands after using the washroom and before sitting down to a meal?

If you’re like many people, those words now echo like a distant early warning siren. Still, hand washing isn’t yet a habit for many. That may soon change.

“I guess I have changed some of my habits. I’m standing further away from people, washing my hands more often, and being careful what I touch and how I open doors,” says driver Gary Ebelhar, as he traveled from Vancouver to Los Angeles. “But I’m not doing it all the time. It hasn’t become a habit for me yet.

It’s not the normal I or anyone else is used to.”

No, it’s not normal or routine behavior, yet. Nor is refraining from touching your face or rubbing your eyes when tired. Yet refraining from such contact is a recommended way of reducing the possibility of infection from Covid-19.

Current evidence suggests that the virus may remain viable for hours or even days on different surfaces. Depending on the source of the information (there’s

some disagreement here), the virus can survive on porous surfaces like paper or cardboard for up to 24 hours, and on less-permeable surfaces such as plastic, glass, or steel for 48 to 72 hours. Those numbers are basically meaningless though, since there’s no way to be sure when, if ever, a surface has seen the virus.

Your best assumption is that the virus is present, and therefore, you should wash your hands as soon as possible after touching something that you have no control over, such as a door knob, an ATM keypad, or an ELD screen in a slipseat truck.

In fact, just about every surface inside the cab, even the door handles and gladhands, could be a source of transmission.

How to keep the cab clean Before starting a driving shift, wipe down all the surfaces you’re likely to touch with an appropriate cleaning product or hot soapy water. It may take an extra 10 minutes at the start of the shift, but you’ll make that up with the lack of traffic clogging the highways these days.

Surfaces include the steering wheel, gear shift or selector, all driver switches and controls, as well as door handles (interior and exterior), and glass. And don’t forget to wipe down surfaces in the sleeper, too. Take the same precautions if you’re on a steady truck or your own truck, but you may not have to be quite so vigorous because you’re its only occupant.

Bedding and linens should also be laundered regularly. The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends using hot water and advises against shaking dirty laundry, to avoid dispersing the virus through the air. Launder the laundry bag as well, or dispose of any garbage bags used to store dirty laundry.

For electronics such as tablets, touch screens, and keyboards, remove any visible contamination following the manufacturer’s instructions. Consider using wipeable covers for electronics. If no manufacturer guidance is available, consider the use of alcohol-based wipes or sprays containing at least 70% alcohol to disinfect touch screens. But to prevent damage, do not spray liquids directly on to the device and don’t immerse them in cleaning solutions.

Cleaning for technicians CDC says it is not known how long the air inside a room (in this case, the cab of a truck) occupied by someone with confirmed Covid-19 remains potentially infectious. While it seems unlikely that the environment in the cab would be a potential source of infection, leaving windows open prior to driving or servicing the truck might be advisable. At the very least, technicians should wear protective gloves or thoroughly wipe down surfaces they are likely to touch while performing service on the truck, especially door handles, steering wheels, and gear shifts. And, of course, they need to thoroughly wash their hands after the job is completed.

“They should be paying attention to the high-touch points in the shop, such as telephones, touch screens, keyboards, MAY/JUNE 2020

35

In Gear and the like,” says Joe Puff, vice-president of truck technology and maintenance at NationaLease. “It’s the same with trucks.

The grab handles, steering wheels, and places that drivers touch all the time need to be properly wiped down as a precaution. It’s doesn’t take much, and that little bit of effort can save lot of grief.”

Should you need to get your truck serviced while you’re on the road, you might be asked to stay with the truck so the technician won’t need to climb inside.

“As an additional precaution, employees have been instructed to avoid entering the truck cab unless the repair/ work at hand is actually in the cab,” says Homer Hogg, director of technical service at TravelCenters of America. “We ask that drivers stay in the cab to complete tasks such as starting the engine, turning on lights, signals, wipers, setting brakes, etc.”

For repairs or inspections that require a technician to enter the cab, Hogg says the techs have been instructed to wear disposable gloves. “We also have

instructed our technicians in frequent and proper hand washing techniques and to stay home if they are feeling ill.”

Recommended cleaning products Cleaning products remove germs, dirt, and impurities from surfaces by using soap (or detergent) and water. Cleaning does not necessarily kill germs, but by removing them, it lowers their numbers and the risk of spreading infection.

Disinfecting products kill germs on surfaces using chemicals.

Health Canada has published a list of hard-surface disinfectants that meets its criteria for use against Covid-19. The agency suggests cross-referencing the eight-digit drug identification number (DIN) on the package (usually in near-microscopic print) with the number on the list to ensure the product is effective against the virus, and is approved and safe for use in Canada.

The long list includes dozens of com-

mercial and industrial cleaning products as well as household products. These are disinfectants, as opposed to simple cleaning products. As disinfectants, there is some virus-killing capability, while common cleaning products may just transfer the virus from the surface to the rag or wipe. In either case, wipes and rags should be properly disposed of or laundered after use.

Many of the recommended products contain sodium hypochlorite, which is the main ingredient in laundry bleach. If the products listed on the Health Canada list are not readily available, a mixture of five tablespoons (1/3 cup) bleach per U.S. gallon of water, or four teaspoons bleach per quart of water, makes an effective substitute. It may not smell as nice as some of the store-bought products, but it will do the job. And never mix household bleach with ammonia, either.

Keep in mind that some commercial products may have to be diluted as per the manufacturer’s instructions, too. TT

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COMPANIES IN THE NEWS A ACT Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 19, 20 AirTime Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 American Trucking Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Apps Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Associated Grocers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 B B.C. Trucking Association . . . . . . . . .25 Bison Transport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 C Canadian Trucking Alliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 20, 29 Challenger Motor Freight . . . . 11, 33 D DAT Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 E En-Pro International . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Erb Group of Companies . . . . . . 11, 16

F FTR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 G Geotab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 I International Truckload Services . .33 K Kriska Transportation Group . . . . .30 L Lytx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 M Manitoba Trucking Association . . .20 Mullen Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Munden Ventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 N NationaLease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Newcom Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 O One for Freight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

R Rout4Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 S S&M Trucking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Shandex Truck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 T TFI International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 TransCore Link Logistics . . . . . . . . . .15 Transort N Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 TransPro Freight Systems . . . . . . . . .10 Trappers Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 TravelCenters of America . . . . . . . . .36 Trucking HR Canada . . . . . . . . . . 30, 33 W Wellington Group of Companies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Women’s Trucking Federation of Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

MAY/JUNE 2020

37

Lockwood

By Rolf Lockwood

Reflections on Mayhem Now we find out what we’re made of

H

ow are we to respond to the mess we now find ourselves in? How do we chart a course? What will life be like on the other side of it?

And more immediately for me, what the hell can I write in the early days of Covid-19?

Two weeks prior I resolved that I would not write this column about the pandemic that engulfs us. We’ve all read and heard too much, I felt. In the end, however, I realized that I could write about nothing else. So, with Chico the handsome Husky lying contentedly at my feet in enviable oblivion, here goes.

First off, let me repeat something you’ve been hearing a lot lately, probably for the first time ever from civilians: you’re all heroes. Drivers especially, but also the techs in all the country’s shops. The dispatchers, of course. The forklift folks. And many, many others who help to keep the trailers full and the wheels rolling. You know this already, I think, but I appreciate you. Always have, always will.

Gradually, the rest of Canada is seeing you this way, too. When things began to shut down, everyone seemed to forget about truckers’ needs. Rest areas closed. Restaurants closed. Drive-thrus wouldn’t allow drivers as pedestrians to order a coffee and a donut. Warehouses, even more than usual, banned truck drivers from using their washrooms. It was ugly.

Thankfully, that’s been changing, and we’ve seen extraordinary acts of kindness and understanding popping up all over the place. It’s still a struggle for longhaulers, but things are improving from what I hear and see. Let’s hope that such kindness and increased respect for truck drivers lasts into the new world we’re headed for. I’m actually hopeful that it will.

So where are we going? I don’t know, and the truth is, nobody else does, either. Bigger brains than mine can’t answer that question, largely because we don’t have enough data to conclude anything at all. Testing for the dreaded virus is spotty at best,

especially in the U.S. where the president de-funded federal support for that effort. Hard to figure that one.

One thing I do know is that we will not get back to “normal” any time soon. We may never get back there, so prepare for the “new abnormal.” Except there’s no way to prepare for something we can’t yet imagine. We’re caught between a big rock and what will be a very, very hard place for a while.

Another thing I know is that we’ll see the world in increasingly local ways. In just a few short weeks we’ve come to appreciate our neighborhood restaurants and barber shops and hardware stores. Many will close, many will get very inventive and survive in new ways. They deserve our support.

But “local” will be broader than that and will come with a newly invigorated “Made in Canada” status. Do you want to buy pickles made in India when they could come from somewhere just down the road? Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province will never again be dependent on foreign supply, a statement made after a petty demand from Washington that 3M mustn’t ship N95 masks to Canada. That sentiment will carry progressively more weight and may ultimately change a great many things in terms of supply chains.

Freight will be relatively scarce for a while, but it will come back and trucking will always be an essential service. Despite all the moaning and groaning – well justified in a lot of cases – if you’re in trucking, you’re in a solid place.

The next few months, and likely the next couple of years, will not be easy, but we’re a resilient bunch with a clear purpose. Stay the course.

And remember, what matters is not what we face but what we make of it. TT

“Let’s hope that kindness and increased respect for truck drivers lasts into the new world.”

38

TODAY’S TRUCKING

Rolf Lockwood is the editor emeritus of Today’s Trucking magazine. You can reach him at rolf@newcom.ca.

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