Truck West April 2011 by Annex Business Media

April 2011 Volume 22, Issue 4 Delivering daily news to Canada’s trucking industry at www.trucknews.com

New Knights Alberta launches Road Knights program

By Jim Bray CALGARY, Alta. – They’re the few, the proud – the best of the best – but they aren’t the US Marines. Instead, they’re the initial batch of Alberta Road Knights, which, in this case, is a quartet of high-quality veteran truckers who’ll be travelling across Alberta as goodwill ambassadors of an industry that often doesn’t get a lot of good will in the public arena. Chosen by a panel of business, government and media representatives, these road safety envoys will also be using their collected experience to help stimulate recruiting as a way to help solve the human resources crisis that threatens to become a major issue in the not too distant future. According to Don Wilson, executive director of the Alberta Motor Transport Association, the organization behind the Road Knights program, “This is a real opportunity to score on a number of levels; the PR thing as well as letting people know about the industry, that it is real and this is what it’s like being one of those folks.” The 2011-2012 AMTA Road Knights are: Robert Wells, Bison Transport, Calgary; Dennis Hokanson, Continued on page 13

csi belleville: Rob Haggarty, president of ITS, describes how the company executed its first ever acquisition. Photo by James Menzies

For ITS, getting the lawyers out of the room helped pave the way for CSI Logistics acquisition By James Menzies BELLEVILLE, Ont. – It was 8 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 31 when Rob Haggarty and Craig Cottrell gathered to address the office staff at CSI Logistics at its headquarters in Cornwall, Ont. At the same time, Max Haggarty was summoning International

A new Star is born

Truckload Services (ITS) employees for an announcement at the company’s Belleville facilities, 256 kilometres to the west along Hwy. 401. What was about to transpire was the culmination of months of boardroom bargaining and legal wrangling that occurs behind the

scenes of any significant trucking industry acquisition. Sometimes, the cat is already out of the bag long before the paperwork is signed and the merger or acquisition is announced. Other times, as was the case of ITS’s acquisition of CSI Logistics, the deal is Continued on page 21

Inside This Issue...

Mark Dalton O/O

• A new beginning: A former truck driver has a new lease on

life thanks to a health regime that saw him shed half his body weight. It’s an inspirational story. Page 14

• Trucker apathy:

Ron Singer discusses apathy – the great scourge of the trucking industry. Page 19

• CSA securement: Flatdeckers are being targeted under the new US enforcement regime CSA.

Page 28

• Game changer?: Navistar discusses a new engine technology it says could change the industry forever.

See pg. 25

Reach us at our Western Canada news bureau E-mail Jim Bray at jim@transportationmedia.ca or call 403-453-5558

Page 32

Page 36

To view list of advertisers see pg. 35

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Page 4 TRUCK WEST

April 2011

Monthly Class 8 Sales - Jan 11 OEM

There were 1154 Class 8 trucks sold in the Canadian market this January, opening the year on a somewhat positive note. The total was an improvement over disastrous 2010 but was still the second weakest January since 1999. This was in spite of improving sales totals in the fourth quarter of 2010 and a great boost in Class 8 sales for the month of January, south of the border. The sales total was also about 600 trucks short of the five-year average.

OEM

Freightliner

Kenworth Mack

International Peterbilt Volvo

Western Star TOTALS

ALTA 23 61

SASK 11 5

Last Year

173

202

Kenworth Mack

317

269

257

259

Peterbilt Sterling Volvo

Western Star TOTALS

145

120

105

1154

1031

Historical Comparison - YTD Jan 11

MAN

ONT

160

QUE 67

10 5

PEI

0 0

CDA

317

173 73

257

105

107

International

This Month

Class 8 Sales (YTD Jan 11) by Province and OEM

Freightliner

Historical Comparison - Jan 11 Sales

212

394

242

145

1,154

South of the border January orders for new Class 8 trucks soared by 320% to 27,000 from the year-ago level. Some US forecasters believe that is a clear signal that the industry will enjoy a much stronger 2011. If Canada is to see the same improvement is yet to be seen. January’s numbers were better than 2010 but not by much. And some truck manufacturers believe that sales in the second half of 2011 will slow because once the smaller and medium sized truck fleets start to buy they will find their lenders not as willing to allow them to purchase as much iron as in years past.

12 - Month Sales Trends

Market Share Class 8 – Jan 11 YTD

2,000 1,900 1,800 1,600 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 Sales

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

1,149

1,734

1,801

1,574

1,545

1,531

1,536

1,712

1,981

November December

1,887

1,832

January

1,154

After three straight months of truck sales coming in above 1,800 units, they slipped below 1,200 again in January. In fact the month’s total of 1,154 trucks sold was the second lowest of the past 12-month period.

Freightliner, a market leader in the Canadian market for many years before International took over the top spot a few years ago, has jumped out to an early lead with 28% market share. International, whose market share has been on the decline over the past year, is still a strong second with 22%. Kenworth’s numbers are also a drop from its 19% market at the end of 2010.

Source: Canadian Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association

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TRUCK WEST Page 5

E-log enforcement inconsistencies punish early adopters

April 2011, Volume 22, Issue 4 Canada Post Canadian Publications

ISSN 0700-5016 – Truck West (Print) ISSN 1923-3531 – Truck West (Online) Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40069240 “Return Postage Guaranteed” 12 Concorde Pl., Suite 800, Toronto, Ont., M3C 4J2 Sales: 416-510-6892 / Editorial: 416-510-6896 Fax: 416-510-5143 Truck West, USPS 017-178 is published monthly by BIG Magazines L.P., a div. of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd., a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and B-2-B information services. US office of publication: 2424 Niagara Falls Blvd, Niagara Falls, NY 14304-5709. Periodicals Postage Paid at Niagara Falls, NY. US postmaster: Send address changes to Truck West, PO Box 1118, Niagara Falls, NY 14304. SENIOR PUBLISHER – Rob Wilkins ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER – Kathy Penner EXECUTIVE EDITOR – James Menzies MANAGING EDITOR – Adam Ledlow CIRCULATION MANAGER – Mary Garufi CIRCULATION ASSISTANT – Anita Singh CREATIVE– Carolyn Brimer, Beverley Richards V.P. PUBLISHING – Alex Papanou PRESIDENT – Bruce Creighton Circulation inquiries: 416-442-5600 ext. 3553 Change of address: Please include subscription number from mailing label. Subscription rates: Canada (Includes GST) – One year $40.60; U.S. – one year $66.95; foreign – one year $66.95 Send subscription orders, address changes (incl. mailing label from latest issue) to above address. On occasion, our subscription list is made available to organizations whose products or services may be of interest to readers. If you prefer not to receive such information, please write to us. Please allow 8 weeks for changes or corrections.

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The widespread adoption of electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) as a means of tracking driver hours-of-service has hit a bump in the road, as carriers operating in Quebec have received mixed messages about the acceptance of the devices. Proponents of the systems only hope it’s a speed bump and not a roadblock. As you can read in this month’s cover story on the subject, enforcement officers in Quebec have been fining carriers for failing to provide paper logs during roadside inspections. And it’s no small fine, either. Total Logistics Group received a fine of $956 for failing to provide paper logbooks and I’ve also heard from a motor coach company that has twice been fined for the same infraction. By the same officer, no less. Both companies use electronic log systems that comply with all the federal requirements. What’s most disconcerting, however, is the flagrant disregard for – or ignorance of – the rules that some enforcement officers in Quebec seem to carry. In the case of the motor coach company, I’m told the bus driver informed the enforcement officer that e-logs are legal in Canada, only to be told “You’re not in Canada, you’re in Quebec.” I’m sure such instances are rare. The SAAQ officer I spoke with assured me electronic logs are accepted in the province, however he admitted there are enforcementrelated challenges. For starters, every system that’s in the market displays information slightly differently. And while most systems offer the option of faxing paper records to the scale house, Arnold Yetman pointed out that in Que-

Editorial Comment James Menzies

bec, enforcement is often conducted in the field from the officer’s car and not at brick-and-mortar inspection stations. Fair points, both of them. Still, it’s not right to punish carriers that have been early adopters of EOBRs, especially considering most have made the investment in an effort to improve hours-ofservice compliance and to more easily identify discrepancies or violations. These carriers should be rewarded, not punished. And yet, I’ve heard from some of these very carriers that they have been centered out for increased scrutiny since they began installing EOBRs in their vehicles. Encouragingly, since I first wrote about the enforcement inconsistencies in Quebec on Trucknews.com March 4, a meeting involving several stakeholders has been held. Quebec Trucking Association president Marc Cadieux tells me it was a productive meeting, lasting nearly three hours. By the time it concluded, SAAQ policymakers promised to remind their frontline enforcement officers that e-logs are to be accepted in the province, provided they meet

Money well spent With diesel pricing continuing to rise and shippers becoming more reluctant to accept fuel surcharges unless carriers can prove they are doing everything they can to conserve fuel, dealing with this issue is becoming paramount. Whether you are an owner/operator, a small fleet or a large one, a private carrier or a for-hire carrier, how you handle fuel management is either going to carry you or bury you. We already saw this happen once before when spiking diesel prices in the late 90s caught carriers and owner/operators with insufficient surcharge and fuel efficiency strategies in place. The result: owner/operator protests that in the end proved futile and the loss of about a quarter of the smaller carriers in Canada. Over the past few weeks I have spent a good chunk of time in cabs and in simulators across the country, learning all about fuel-efficient driving techniques for an educational video we are producing on the subject. I’ve had the good fortune to learn from expert teachers such as Allan Babbin at Challenger Motor Freight, Eric Roeder and Peter Rintoul at Bison, and Martin de

The view with Lou Lou Smyrlis

Repentigny and Steve Overend at Drivewise. From these most professional of professionals I learned the importance of having not only the skills to drive in a fuel-efficient manner but also the attitude that this is the only way to drive to be efficient, safe, and keep your blood pressure from spiking every time you find yourself on a congested highway or on a tight delivery deadline. I learned first hand from these folks about how critical it is to understand the unique characteristics of the equipment you are driving and drive within their limits; how to conserve fuel by not misusing engine power while getting up to speed and managing space to reduce hard brake applications, how to find the engine’s sweet spot and the correct ways to use any advantages the road and the wind give you. What they taught me is something every driver should know. It is what every driver must know. Yet, para-

all the regulatory requirements. Cadieux chalked the entire episode up to poor communication and dismissed the widely held notion that Quebec was unilaterally rejecting electronic logs because it was finding tickets would not hold up in court when not supported by paper evidence. Policymakers, suppliers and carrier groups such as the QTA are to be commended for acting quickly to straighten out this mess. However, until the courts dismiss fines pending against carriers that are using electronic logs and until there’s some evidence on the front lines that enforcement officers have gotten the message that they are in fact legal, this situation bears continued monitoring. n – James Menzies can be reached by phone at (416) 510-6896 or by e-mail at jmenzies@trucknews.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/JamesMenzies.

doxically, our annual research, conducted in partnership with the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council, shows that only 47% of drivers receive training in driving skills and only 40% receive training in fuel efficiency. Clearly this is an area our industry must improve upon, and do so in a hurry. Carriers must also do a better job of getting “granular” with their fuel performance. They must track and understand the driving behaviour for each of their drivers so they stand a better chance of addressing the weak spots. Owner/operators should do the same with their own performance. But it can’t stop there. Carriers must also do a much better job of getting the buy-in of each and every driver in the fleet; of ensuring that driving in a fuel efficient manner is always top of mind. Our annual research shows that receiving rewards and recognition for fuel efficient driving is highly important to drivers. I would say that including such recognition and rewards for fuel efficient driving is money well spent. n – Lou Smyrlis can be reached by phone at (416) 510-6881 or by e-mail at lou@TransportationMedia.ca. You can also follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/LouSmyrlis.

Page 6 TRUCK WEST

April 2011

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TRUCK WEST Page 7

in brief

Manitoba Trucking Association elects new board, executive committee

Are police closing in on suspects in Good Samaritan trucker beating?

WINNIPEG, Man. – The Manitoba Trucking Association has elected its officers and executive committee members for the 2011/2012 term at its 79th annual general meeting. Elected were: President - Tom Payne Jr., Payne Transportation LP 1st vice-president - Susan Snyder, Searcy Trucking 2nd vice-president - Norm Blagden, Bison Transport Inc. Past president - Earl Coleman, Big Freight Systems Inc. Executive committee members at large: Gary Arnold, Arnold Bros. Transport Ltd. Greg Arndt, Jade Transport Ltd. John Erik Albrechtsen, Paul’s Hauling Ltd.

VALEMOUNT, B.C. – Police in Valemount, B.C. are getting closer to bringing justice to the perpetrators of last fall’s stunning, seemingly unprovoked attack on a B.C. truck driver, according to a recent report from Kamloops Daily News. In the Daily News report, Const. Simon Bentley said that while the RCMP’s investigation is not yet complete, he hopes one or more individuals could face assault charges in relation to the attack on Alex Fraser, the so-called “Good Samaritan” trucker. The Monarch Transport driver stopped his truck Sept. 24 on the Yellowhead Highway just north of Blue River, B.C. when a motorist flagged him down for help. According to media reports, Fraser was then beaten badly by three men and later had to undergo re-

B.C. trash hauler cleans up its emissions VANCOUVER, B.C. – Waste Management has teamed up with Terasen Gas to deploy 20 new “clean air” trucks to collect commercial recycling, food waste and garbage throughout the L ower Mainland and Metro Vancouver area. The new trucks are part of a larger, long-term initiative to convert Waste Management’s entire Lower Mainland and Metro Vancouver fleet – 100 recycling and waste collection trucks in all – to compressed natural gas (CNG). The trucks are powered by clean-burning compressed natural gas (CNG) and are designed for a smaller carbon footprint, by producing nearly zero air particulate and 23% less greenhouse gas emissions, the company announced. Officials say the engines also run quieter than traditional diesel engines, resulting in quieter trucks and less noise in Vancouver’s urban core. “This initiative is all about clean air for the Lower Mainland and Metro Vancouver,” said Dean Kattler, vice-president for Waste Management, B.C. and Pacific Northwest. “Transitioning to clean air trucks to serve Lower Mainland communities and businesses shows Waste Management is listening to our customers and

championing B.C.’s bid to sustain its position as a world-class sustainability leader.” A contribution from Terasen Gas helped offset the incremental cost of the clean air trucks. Terasen, which recently announced it will be renamed and operate under the brand name FortisB.C., just completed construction of a state-of-the art CNG fueling station at the Waste Management site at Coquitlam, where the trucks will fuel up. “With significantly lower emissions and lower fuel costs, natural gas vehicles have a role in helping B.C. meet its environmental goals,” said Doug Stout, vicepresident of energy solutions and external relations at Terasen Gas and FortisB.C. “Our collaboration with Waste Management is an excellent opportunity to showcase the technology in the region where it is developed and encourage greater adoption of natural gas for transportation.” Wa ste Ma nagement operates the largest fleet of clean air CNG recycling and waste trucks in North America. Officials say the company is currently working to achieve a sustainability goal of reducing fleet emissions by 15% and increasing fuel efficiency by 15% by 2020. n

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Members elected to the board of directors at the annual general meeting were: John Erik Albrechtsen, Paul’s Hauling Ltd. Gary Arnold, Arnold Bros. Transport Ltd. Greg Arndt, Jade Transport Ltd. Norm Blagden, Bison Transport Inc. Ron Cram, Cheval Transport Ltd. Bruce Danylchuk, E.B.D. Enterprises Inc. Jacques Desrosiers, Jack’s Heavy Transport & Storage Bernie Driedger, Portage Transport Inc. Gil Dube, Horizon International Distributors Jason Dubois, Len Dubois Trucking Gilles Durand, Du-Vall Transport Darrin Fiske, Kleysen Transport Ltd. Roger Gagne, Grote Industries Borden Hadley, Smooth Freight Ltd. Kyle Harris, Harris Transport Ltd. Jim Hiebert, J.D.H. Hiebert Trucking Ltd. Derek Lachaine, TransX Scott Kinley, Gladstone Transfer Cameron Mayor, Goodyear Canada Inc. Keith McLeod, Glen McLeod & Son Ltd. Mark Meyer, Meyer Bros. Trucking Ltd. Harvey Mueller, Quick Transfer Ltd. Helene Nadeau, LaBroquerie Transfer Tom Payne, Jr. Payne Transportation LP Gordon Reimer, Merit Transport Ltd. Kevin Small, Agri-Tel Transportation Inc. Susan Snyder, Searcy Trucking Doug Witt, Gardewine North n

constructive surgery. The 67-yearold has since told media his trucking days are over. In the wake of the attack, the B.C. Trucking Association, the North American Trucker’s Guild and the Canadian Truck Alliance have each posted reward offers in the thousands for information leading to the arrest of the attackers. Investigators are appealing to the public to provide the final pieces needed to close the case and put forward a report to Crown counsel recommending charges, the report said. Anyone with information is asked to contact: the Valemont RCMP by phone (250-566-4466) or fax (250566-9964); their local RCMP detachment; or, if anonymity is preferred, B.C. Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477. n

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Page 8 TRUCK WEST

April 2011

safety

Driver incentive programs can generate valuable dividends Everyone likes to be rewarded for a job well done. Truck drivers are no exception. It is why fleets invest in bonuses for everything from better fuel economy to improved outof-service records, or take the time to recognize individual milestones with patches, jackets and framed certificates. It is also why fleets can expect these investments to generate real financial returns. A well-planned incentive program focuses employees on specific goals and helps to reach a number of money-saving targets. The dollars that are paid out in bonuses for a drop in out-of-service violations, for example, could easily be offset by returns in the form of fewer delays, lower onroad repair costs and reduced fines. The goals themselves will vary from one fleet to the next, but they are usually identified by taking a careful look at existing records. Car-

Ask the Expert david goruk

rier profiles are a popular source of information about issues such as hours-of-service violations, while data from engine Electronic Control Modules can measure the potential to improve fuel economy. And insurance providers can offer some guidance of their own. Regardless of the benchmarks that are being set, however, most successful programs tend to measure drivers against their past performance rather than the work of their peers. The realities of trucking simply make it too difficult to compare one driver to the next. The same fuel economy target that is easily met by a Saskatchewan trucker with a 20,000-lb payload

may seem impossible for a co-worker who is hauling 40,000-lb payloads through mountainous terrain. There will always be a distinct difference between a “stretch goal” that encourages drivers to improve, and a target that employees couldn’t reach in their wildest dreams. The secrets to success are not limited to reasonable benchmarks, either. The entire process is about helping drivers to succeed, and ensuring that they have the support to reach their goals. A fleet that wants to offer a bonus for a clean logbook will need to take a close look at its existing dispatch system to ensure that it is designed to meet the related hours-of-service rules. And those that want to limit out-of-service violations may need to explore the way that maintenance departments are addressing equipment repairs. The amount of the incentives themselves will vary depending on

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a fleet’s budget and will usually be based on the size of potential returns – some of which may be larger than they initially seem. After all, the idea of paying a driver $15 to replace a burnt-out headlight may seem absurd until it is measured against the price of an out-of-service violation, a mechanic’s on-road inspection and all of the related delays in a shipment. The rewards themselves don’t even need to be limited to cash. Any driver would wear a million-mile crest with pride, a $5 gift card for a coffee shop will be appreciated by coffee lovers everywhere, and who wouldn’t want to see a certificate in the dispatch room that recognizes a month of perfect logbooks? At the very least, a decision to separate a reward from a regular paycheque will offer the chance to remind drivers what an incentive is for, and how it continues to be earned. One fleet discovered the added advantage of distributing grocery store gift cards to drivers who avoided out-of-service violations. Whenever an employee failed to earn the card, the fleet office could usually count on a spouse to call and ask what happened. That presented another chance to talk to family members about the features and benefits of a safe driving initiative. Maybe there should be little surprise that drivers tended to meet their objectives in the months that followed. As important as the individual rewards may be, the timing of any payouts will also play their own role in the ongoing success of a program. For example, a driver who is involved in a minor collision early in the year might be discouraged by the idea that they will miss out on the entire annual safety bonus that is only paid out at the end of the year. For their part, fleets can find monthly payments to be an administrative nightmare, particularly since many of the related reports may not be generated quickly enough to support the program. That’s why most successful programs tend to be based on quarterly reports. When all these factors are considered, fleets can discover that the investments in a well structured incentive program will pay dividend for years to come. Please provide your feedback on this – or any other trucking topic – to letstalk@markel.ca. n – This month’s expert is David Goruk. David is a senior advisor with Safety and Training Services for Markel Insurance Company of Canada and has more than 25 years experience in providing loss control and risk management services to the trucking industry. Markel Safety and Training Services, a division of Markel Insurance Company of Canada, offers specialized courses, seminars and consulting to fleet owners, safety managers, trainers and drivers. Markel is the country’s largest trucking insurer providing more than 50 years of continuous service to the transportation industry. To read about more industry hot topics, visit Markel’s website at www.markel.ca and click on the Articles & Essays section.

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Page 10 TRUCK WEST

April 2011

tax talk

Three questions, two answers It’s early March as I write this column. The RRSP deadline is behind us, personal income tax season is straight ahead. It’s a busy time full of questions from clients. We get a lot of the same ones every year. But a few new questions came up that I want to share: Do I report my Ontario SBTSP payment? If you’re an owner/operator in Ontario, you probably got a Small Business Transition Support Payment (SBTSP) cheque last November. SBTSP is a one-time payment from the Ontario government to help small businesses offset the cost of changes in accounting and administration necessary to collect Harmonized Sales Tax (HST came into effect on July 1, 2010). The Ontario government mailed cheques ranging from $300 to $1,000

end of the year.

Tax Talk Scott Taylor

to all active GST/HST business registrants (the amount you received is based on your gross income). What they did not say clearly is that the SBTSP payment is taxable. Be sure to add it to your 2010 gross income when you file your tax return (April 30 for sole proprietors). If you started a new business late in 2009 or early 2010, it’s possible that you have not yet been sent your payment. It seems the government wants you to be in business for 12 months before they send you this money. If that’s the case with you, report it with your 2011 gross income presuming you get your SBTSP by the

Is there a cheap way to incorporate? With the deduction for meal claims rising to 80% (finally), 2011 is a great year for owner/operators to incorporate. I talked about this in my December 2010 column and even went so far as to state that you can call me to discuss it if you’re not getting the information you need from your own accountant. I’m happy to say that quite a few of you took me up on my offer. But now a word of caution. Some firms are offering to set up a corporation for cheap or even for free when you commit to using other services. They keep the price low by incorporating clients federally, since the upfront cost is typically less than incorporating provincially ($200 versus $350 for most provinces).

Short term, it is less expensive to set up a federal corporation. However, there are two problems here. First, federal incorporation will cost more over time. A federal corporation is required to file an annual information return with Industry Canada (a $20 fee). Additionally, it must register (and, in many cases, pay a fee) with the province where its head office is established. For example, New Brunswick charges $212. In Manitoba, the fee is $300. Taking all those additional fees into account, it may be less expensive to register your corporation with your home province. Second, where you incorporate is one item on a long list of things to consider before you make that leap. A qualified accountant or business advisor should discuss the pros and cons of incorporating federally and provincially so you can choose what’s best for you. If you only want to incorporate because you can get a cut-rate deal on the filing fee, then keep your money in your jeans until you’ve done some more homework. In the long run, incorporating can help you protect personal assets, reduce your tax obligation, and kick-start a real strategy for managing and growing your business. Keeping registration fees low is important, but it shouldn’t be your primary motivation for incorporating. What’s happening with GST/HST audits? Unlike the first two questions, I wish I had an answer for this one, except to say that Canada Revenue Agency is taking a giant step backward. CRA produces a quarterly newsletter called Excise and GST/HST News. The Winter 2011 edition contains an item under this headline: “An Enhanced Focus on GST/HST Compliance.” The article states that instead of one audit covering both income tax and GST/HST, auditors will now do single tax audits. In other words, the person reviewing your GST/HST return will not identify or fix any discrepancies on your income tax return. That job will be handled by a separate auditor. “This allows auditors and their managers to develop more in-depth knowledge and expertise in their area,” the newsletter says. Are you kidding? “More in-depth knowledge?” Can you imagine spending the time and effort to go through a GST/ HST audit and then having to wait months for a second auditor to show up to address discrepancies on your income tax return? Large national and international corporations have complicated returns that require expertise. But it’s just not appropriate for a small business to have to endure two audits because the GST auditor disallowed an expense that the income tax auditor now has to review. I may not have all the answers, but I do know this: GST/HST has been around long enough that auditors should have a grasp of it by now. n – Scott Taylor is vice-president of TFS Group, a Waterloo, Ont., company that provides accounting, fuel tax reporting, and other business services for truck fleets and owner/operators. For information, visit www. tfsgroup.com or call 800-461-5970.

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April 2011

TRUCK WEST Page 13

alberta

Alberta gets its own Road Knights Will emulate successful programs in Ontario, Quebec

knights of the road: The first Alberta Road Knights team consists of (from l-r): Denis Hokanson, Craig Gavel, Darwin Clark and Robert Wells. Continued from page 1

Trimac Transportation, Edmonton; Craig Gavel, Bison Transport, Edmonton; and Darwin Glenn Clark, Trimac Transportation, Edmonton. The quartet was selected from a larger group of recruits from a variety of locations and companies across Alberta, all of whom not only had to display their collision-free driving records, commitment to safety and enthusiasm for the industry itself, but also had to give a short presentation to the selection panel before being peppered with questions designed to assess their knowledge of the industry and its issues. While the Road Knights program may be new to Alberta, it has existed for a number of years in Ontario and Quebec. Wilson says the success of those programs prompted the AMTA to start planning its own version last year, a process helped along by the recruitment of consultant Rebecka Torn, who Wilson says was involved in setting up other programs. AMTA staff are also working on the program, providing logistical support, arranging bookings, etc. “That’s our buy-in,” he says. Wilson notes the companies for whom the Road Knights work also have an important buy-in. “They’re paying the drivers’ wages while they’re out there,” he says, “and, of course, the companies usually provide the truck.” Right now, this “huge investment,” as Wilson calls it, is a bit of an act of faith, because, “It’s kind of unknown at this point what the actual bottom line will be, how many times they have to go out, and the like. But it’s

not meant to interfere with the company’s business,” he says. “They won’t call somebody out if they just aren’t available. It has to work for the company too.” The AMTA head also thinks the current uncertainty about the commitment necessary on the part of the companies may have prevented more companies from getting involved, but as the program unfolds and there are fewer unknowns, that could change. Wilson says he’d like to see it shake out so that “instead of eight or 10 guys or gals, you hopefully have eight or 10 companies represented instead – and that way, with more participants, it’s also not as much of a hit on one company’s bottom line.” This, Wilson says, is how it worked with the eastern programs, which also started small but grew exponentially. “Once the companies start recognizing that this is a real good thing,” he says, “I think they’ll come on board.” He cites the positive publicity the companies get as a prime, er, driving force, especially since the Road Knights will be showing up in actual company trucks. “That’s the first real eye catcher,” Wilson says. “The big rig pulls up, polished and looking good and that gets everyone’s attention. It’s like a 50foot long billboard. And all of a sudden you’re on TV as well, and the big company name’s across the screen, the guys and gals out there are looking good, speaking well, being a really positive representation of the industry. It’s hard to put a price on that kind of exposure, and I think that’ll get around eventually.”

Wilson lauds the program as being a good deal for the public as well, useful in raising awareness of industry issues. “The image out there isn’t always as positive or as good as it could be,” he says, drawing on the AMTA’s experience with previous promotions as an example. “Whenever we set up at malls, people come around looking and they can kick a tire and actually get in the seat and see what the driver sees – and what they don’t see as far as their visibility is concerned. It’s really interesting.” Wilson says he’s often blown away by the attention their demonstrations generate. “The public sees the trucks all the time,” he says. “They’re sharing the roads with them, frustrated sometimes when they’re behind one, but when they’re sitting in that (driver’s) seat, it changes their tune somewhat.” The AMTA hopes to have the program up and running by May, though there’s no actual date written in stone. “We’re putting some of the other building blocks into place, like for bookings,” Wilson says, “and we have to start contacting schools and trade fairs, chambers of commerce and the like, and find out what would be the best bang for buck for us.” Part of the reason for that is the bureaucracies involved, especially when schools are concerned. “There’s a process to go through,” Wilson says. “You can’t just contact the principal directly, you’re going to have to have the blessing of the superintendent, etc. So there’s a fair amount of groundwork to lay before the rubber hits the road, but that’s all being talked about right now and we’re moving in that direction.”

As for the recruiting aspect of the program, Wilson hopes the Road Knights’ message will be heard by young people who may not be sure yet what they want to do with their lives. “It seems that sometimes schools emphasize moving on to university, but that obviously isn’t for everyone,” Wilson says. “We still need people out there doing these kind of jobs, delivering our freight, filling our store shelves. A lot of people don’t understand the supply chain management - how things get on the grocery store shelves.” And, of course, there’s far more to the industry than being a driver. “We are looking at all this positive stuff about the industry that sometimes isn’t as evident as it could be,” Wilson says, “And I think when people get to see what it’s all about, they’ll find all kinds of opportunities – and if they don’t really want to be driving a truck, that’s okay: there are all kinds of other avenues available within the industry.” Wilson also notes that driving a truck can be seen as an entry point as well, a place to start a career that eventually leads to the top of the corporate ladder. One thing the Road Knights program mustn’t do, Wilson says, is sugarcoat the industry. “You have to say that, if you’re looking at being a driver doing long-haul, for example, there are certain things you’ll face. It’s not all cushy. Sometimes they’ll find themselves away for two weeks and missing little Johnny’s parties and all that.” Today’s young people have different mentalities than the generation they follow, he says. “We never thought about that stuff. If the guy sent you to Montreal, you went, and it might be a week or so before you get back.” This new fact of life means it’s time companies started thinking about how the industry can change, Wilson says, how it can do things differently. He says that, for example, the issue of work/life balance – the “missing of little Johnny’s party” and the like – is going to be big in recruitment as the next generation comes up through the ranks. And since trucking today is a lot more complicated and challenging than it may have been in years past, Wilson says, the old adage that if a person can’t really do anything else he or she can always drive a truck doesn’t hold up. “There’s all kinds of things that aren’t like they were years ago,” he says, “what with the technology in the trucks now.” He also cites liabilities, due diligence and new regulations that have to be complied with – or at least of which the driver must be aware and understand, as new challenges for truckers. “It has changed a lot.” Clearly, Wilson has great hope for the Road Knights program, whether to help get a new generation interested or just as a way to put a real face to the trucking industry as far as the public is concerned. “We don’t blow our horns enough on the real good things in this industry,” he says, “And that’s what we’re going to be looking for going forward.” There are plenty of good news stories that don’t make it to the public’s or the press’s awareness, he says, because “sometimes the feel-good news story isn’t as interesting as the one where the truck’s lying on its side in the ditch somewhere. And I think this Road Knights program is a really good thing for the industry and ultimately the public too.” n

Page 14 TRUCK WEST

April 2011

feature

Alberta man trades truck keys for running shoes, new life By Jim Bray EDMONTON, Alta. – Randy Hofs isn’t half the man he used to be. To hear him talk, however, it’s clear that Hofs considers himself twice the man he was before he decided to bite the bullet – and little else, it appears – shedding more than 100 lbs on a journey to make himself over from the person he was – but didn’t like – to the person he’d always wanted to be. “I was never happy about my weight, really, never,” the 54-year-old Hofs says of life before his epiphany. “I’ve been overweight all my life, pretty well, and knew for years that I had to lose weight. And one day it finally just clicked.” Helping motivate Hofs to change his lifestyle was what he saw around him: “People that are in their 60s that can hardly walk, can’t breathe, they’re so out of shape, on medications,” he says. Hofs was also inspired by an ar-

ticle he read about a US trucker of about his age who decided to start running marathons. “He was a long-distance trucker,” Hofs says, “and I’m wondering how he did that, what with the hours and the logbook and all that. But every time he was stopped somewhere he went running. I was so impressed with that.” Now, he says, “I look at these races where there’s guys 70-75 years old still running marathons and I’m thinking, ‘I can’t start at 54? Yeah, I can.’” Hofs credits his brother with having a big part in his move from sedentary to active lifestyle. “He’s been kind of an athlete all his life,” he says, “and he started bugging me to come and work out with him.” The thought of Hof’s 328-lb body being able to keep up with his active bro was intimidating, however. But big things start with small steps, and that’s

exactly how Hofs got his workout regimen up and, well, running. Before going for it, however, he made what turned out to be a welltimed and sobering trip to the family doctor. “My wife was talking to him about me being overweight and one of the first questions he asked her, which shocked me, was if I’d ever had a vasectomy. Now what the heck does that have to do with being fat?” As it turns out, Hofs had undergone that procedure, and when he visited the doctor, one of the first orders of business was to have his testosterone checked. It turned out to be dangerously low. “The doctor said if I had a heart attack, it would be my first and my last, because I’d never survive it,” Hofs says. “He said your heart is the biggest muscle in your body and that testosterone is for muscles.” The news fit right in with what

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his research had been telling him already, but, “When the doctor said it to my face, I knew it was time to get my life together because I want to stick around.” Hofs began taking natural hormones, including a testosterone cream, and “within two weeks my energy level jumped up unbelievably. I felt like a new man.” Upping his testosterone was only part of it, though. “I probably had more estrogen than half the women on the block here,” Hofs says, “because when you’re overweight your testosterone turns into estrogen and your fat stores estrogen.” So as he was taking stuff to get his testosterone level up, he had to take other stuff to get his estrogen down. His hormones more under control, Hofs started exercising with his brother. “We started in the winter with snow walks, heading across the field walking through the deepest snow we could find,” he says, “and I just went at it. We did everything there is to do; we flipped truck tires, we ran, we walked, we climbed hills, we weight lifted.” And while you might think that beginning such new activity would just about kill a person, Hofs claims that wasn’t the case with him. “It was hard to breathe at times and everyone thought I was going to die of a heart attack right there and then. And they’d tell me to slow down,” he admits. “But I was feeling good, and I went hard; I went to the gym sometimes three times a day.” He also began bicycling, thanks in part to a fortuitous meeting with LoriAnn Muenzer, winner (at 38 years of age) of the first ever gold medal in cycling for Canada. “I met her at a spin (indoor stationary bicycling) class and now she’s got me on a weightlifting program and running and stuff and she’s working with me all the time.” Working with Muenzer has been a blessing, Hofs says. “She’s the most incredible, motivating person. My kids are just freaked out that their Dad is working out with an Olympic medalist. They think that is just the weirdest thing.” For his part, though, “I’m just having the time of my life with it. It’s just great.” Of course, it takes more than just exercise to make up a serious weight loss programs. “I also got my eating under control,” he says. “I never went on a diet as such; I just started to eat properly – good stuff and less off it.” Hofs says that when you find out what you can actually survive on, “It really doesn’t take a lot, especially if you eat the right thing at the right time.” That, he says, includes indulging in smaller meals and staying away from fast food. “If it came through a drive-through window, it isn’t good for you,” he says. The combination of disciplines worked: in 10 months, Hofs lost 104 lbs. Helping to keep him motivated was the knowledge of where he wanted to be. “My goal was to run in the Canadian Death Race in Grande Cache last summer,” he says, referring to a 125-kilometre foot race through the mountains. “We went as a team, five people to the team,” he says. “You have 24 hours to finish the race and so I put a team together with my brother

April 2011

TRUCK WEST Page 15

BEFORE...: Former trucker Randy Hofs maxxed out at 328 lbs before the 54-yearold decided to initiate a lifestyle overhaul – which included hanging up the keys to his big rig.

says. “And now I want to and I’m bugging them to go into races with me.” His youngest son, who’s 20, participated in that 2010 Death Race with him, which Hofs says was probably “the highlight of the year. That was huge for me, absolutely huge.” Not being absolutely huge himself anymore has Hofs not only feeling better about himself, but about his ability to be a role model to others, especially those spending their careers behind the wheel in the trucking industry. “I

made all the excuses I could make,” he says, “I blamed the trucking lifestyle, said I didn’t have time to get to the gym, but you know what? I hear from so many people that they don’t have time, but they can tell me about all the TV shows they watched. And I’m going “Okay – you could be in the gym. You can be.” It’s about prioritizing, he says, “Because the biggest thing we have in our life is our health; if we don’t have that what have we got?” n

THIS MONTH’S CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Answers on page 33

guys phoning me (from Alberta), and the wages were a lot higher here, so we came back.” Since last October, Hofs has spent his time on the job dispatching for a trucking company out of White Court, Alta., working mostly from his home. “I do the odd day (driving) but I’m actually managing the frac oil division now, dispatching and doing some safety stuff and training the guys,” he says. The move out of the cab was just what the doctor ordered – figuratively if not literally. “With my lifestyle changes, it wasn’t going to work in the truck anymore,” Hofs says, noting that the trucking lifestyle isn’t conducive to good health. “For me, living in the truck – I enjoyed it at times but my kids are all gone from home now, it’s just my wife. She wanted me to stay home and I wanted to stay home because of my lifestyle change now, with my exercise.” In fact, he says, if the opportunity to work from home hadn’t come along, he’d have left the industry altogether. Randy Hofs’ current goal is to lose another 20 lbs (he’s already lost 10 of the 30 he wants to take off) before he takes on a half Ironman triathlon in British Columbia this summer. “I’ve got to have it off by race time because I can’t afford to carry that weight in this race,” Hofs says. He’d like to reach 185 lbs, but says he’ll be “real happy” reaching 190. The thought of tackling the half triathlon, which includes swimming, bicycling and a run, intimidates Hofs, but not enough to keep him from pressing on nonetheless. “I’m petrified of it,” he admits, “but I’m going to do it.” Other challenges Hofs has on his plate for 2011 include a return to the Death Race – this time he’s doing two legs – and the Sinister 7 Ultra + Relay run in the Crowsnest Pass, a 148-kilometre race in seven legs. He’s also planning to take part in a Calgary bicycling event to conquer cancer and a ride from Jasper to Nordegg. Not surprisingly, the reaction from Hofs’ family has been extremely positive. “My wife is just over the moon ecstatic,” he reports. “She works out with me a lot, which is just fabulous. She’s always been in good shape but we weight lift together and stuff.” The kids are also thrilled. “I didn’t do a lot of things with the kids over the years because I was overweight,” he

and my brother-in-law, a friend and my youngest son, and we did absolutely awesome! It was so much fun.” Last year, Hofs says, he didn’t do much to continue his weight loss program, but he’s back on track now. “We got very busy in the truck,” he says. “The oilfield really picked up and it was so busy I didn’t get much time to train. But I was able to keep my weight under control, which was good.” Despite the benefits of losing all that weight, it took a while for Hofs to become comfortable speaking up about it. “I had a lot of trouble for the whole first year saying I’d lost 100 lbs,” he says, “because it meant I’d been 100 lbs overweight. But I was.” Eventually, however, Hofs began to realize that he could be an inspiration to other people, and lately has been much more open about his experience. “You hear every day on the radio the problem of obesity in this country,” he says, “and I wanted to do something.” Hofs says he often discovers new things he can do now, that he simply couldn’t do when he was heavy. “There were little things, like bending over to tie my shoelaces every day, getting out of the truck to grease it – all of a sudden I could slide under the rear end on the dolly and not get caught! I just go ‘Wow!’” His new skills extend to the area of exercise as well. “When I started this, my goal was to do 10 push-ups in a row because I couldn’t do two. The other day I did 50 with my brother working out in his basement, and they were perfect, the best push-ups a person can do. And every day I remember that first day in his basement when I couldn’t do two.” Hofs’ lifestyle change did mean an end to his career behind the wheel, a career he’d followed since he was barely out of his teens. “I grew up in Fort Saskatchewan, started hauling fertilizer at about 20 years old, and just got going from there,” Hofs says. “I quit a couple times and went back to the farm, but eventually got back into the truck again.” One of his hiatuses involved him moving to Nova Scotia for a few years, “to try something different. I was driving a 15-passenger van, hauling some people around. Probably one of the best jobs that I ever had. It wasn’t a lot of money, though, and I had so many

...AND AFTER: Ten months and more than 100 lbs later, Hofs now splits his time between working as a dispatcher and competing in athletic events like the 125km Canadian Death Race.

Across

Down

1. 5. 9. 10. 11. 12. 14. 16. 19. 21. 24. 25. 26. 27.

1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 7. 8. 13. 15. 17. 18. 20. 22. 23.

Certain Irving facilities (3,5) Gross combined weight rating, briefly (1,1,1,1) Brand on Airtronic bunk heater Cul-de-sac, in other words (4,3) Compression-ignition engine Slang for roadside deer City sections in road maps Diesel equivalent of gasoline octane Truck-dealer’s document Tractors for mobile-home hauling Word on tour-group coach Median material, maybe Freeway freighter Rubberneckers in rental cars

“Smokey and the Bandit” big-rig cargo Independent O/O’s, slangily Canvas cargo covers Driver’s foot controls Truck-stop coffee additive Critical tachometer marks Driver of meter-equipped vehicle Anti-theft fifth-wheel attachments (3,5) CB code for location Pneumatic-suspension components Truck-tunes source Anti-theft-system noisemaker ’60s Esso slogan, “Put a ____ in your tank” Fixer-upper truck-ad words (2,2)

Try it online at www.trucknews.com

Page 16 TRUCK WEST

April 2011

over the road

Hours-of-Service rules: Let’s not fix what isn’t broken Every so often a load comes along that simply has to be looked after. The HoS (hours-of-service) rules must allow the flexibility for us to do that. Tinkering with the present HoS rules that exist south of the border seems to me like ‘fixing something that ain’t broke.’ Take a look at one of my recent trips as an example. I arrived at my home terminal at 6 a.m. on a Friday. I took a 34hour reset which allowed me to leave between four and five on Saturday afternoon. I could now head back to Grand Rapids to deliver and reload for Winnipeg, arriving on Monday morning. I was able to reload in Minnesota on Tuesday morning and be home again by ten o’clock on Wednesday night. Now I’ve got to be honest here. That was a 4,500-kilometre trip in a period of just over four days, so I had to squeeze every productive minute out of my days to make it work. I was challenged at the start due to snow and black ice on the way to the US border that added an hour to my trip. I split my sleeper two-eight-two driving through the States arriving at the Canadian border with just minutes left in my US hoursof-service window. I would not want to do this trip every week with such a tight delivery window, it would drain me. But at the same time I don’t want

Over the Road Al Goodhall

the flexibility of being able to run that hard taken away from me. So what would the scenario be under the new rule changes? First of all the trip would never have taken place. With the new requirement of incorporating two periods between midnight and 6 a.m. into the 34-hour reset, I would not have been able to leave until Sunday morning, so I would never have made the Monday morning delivery in Winnipeg. Second, if the shift driving time was reduced to 10 hours from 11 hours, I would have required an additional eight hours in the bunk to give me the necessary hours to complete the run. T h e p ro p o s e d m i n i mu m 30-minute rest break before exceeding seven hours driving would not have applied since I was splitting my sleeper berth taking two hours off-duty in the midst of each duty shift. So what does this mean? Would the receiver have had to go without the freight for an extra 24 to 36 hours? No. Other arrangements would have been made to ensure the freight was picked up

in a timely manner to meet the delivery deadline. Would I lose money over this? Probably not. I’d still be working, just on a different load without such tight time constraints. I’m making assumptions that there would be a large enough driver pool available, shippers would have the freight ready in a timely manner, the roads would always be bare and dry with low volumes of traffic, and the weather would always co-operate. Of course, this is not the reality of our world. In fact the driver pool is expected to contract, logistical problems arise for shippers just as they do for us, traffic volumes continue to grow with each passing year, and the weather is anyone’s guess. Precisely why we need some flexibility within the rules and I think most folks are pretty happy with the way the present rules have been working. Having said that, we have to recognize the rules set limits and not a quota of hours that drivers have to work every week. Every driver needs to find their comfort zone within the rules. Fatigue results when you’re running like a dog week in and week out, maxing out your hours every day then just taking enough time to reset before starting all over again. Experienced drivers don’t usu-

ally run this way, they would have burned out long ago. Unfortunately it’s newer drivers that are being exploited by some of the bottom feeders out there and fall victim to this type of treatment. There is no such thing as forced dispatch. If you have to work 70 hours every week to make ends meet or have the threat of dismissal held over your head at every turn then it’s time to move on. No amount of legislation is ever going to fix the issue of driver fatigue. Removing the ability for a driver to go the extra mile for the customer when needed places a huge burden on the whole system. This has been well documented by the trucking media over the previous few months. It’s also a slap in the face to professional drivers that know when to push it and when to park it. None of us are interested in bringing harm to ourselves or the travelling public. The rules work. Let’s improve safety and a driver’s quality of life through more training, education, and mentoring of new drivers. n – Al Goodhall has been a professional long-haul driver since 1998. He shares his experiences via his 'Over the Road' blog at http://truckingacrosscanada.blogspot.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/Al_Goodhall.

opinion

Signs, signs, everywhere signs They want the goods delivered on time. Then they want us to disappear. As a truck driver there’s one sign I dread more than any other. No, it’s not the one for a scale, it’s the one with a picture of a truck and a big red slash through it. I don’t mean the ones barring me from certain streets, the ones that make my blood boil are the ones in places that I want to visit to grab a bite to eat or generally spend my hard-earned cash. The worst thing about them is that they’re far more predominant in the larger cities, the same cities that attract the largest numbers of trucks by virtue of their population needing more of the stuff that we deliver. We bring the stuff to their receiving docks, but we’re not allowed to buy any of it. Now I know that a semi takes up a fair bit of room in the parking lot. I also know that not everyone likes big trucks, but so what? They may not like the trucks, but they sure like the stuff they deliver to the stores. Without the truck, they would find empty shelves in the store, except that without the truck there wouldn’t be any shelves either, or a store at all for that matter. Surely it wouldn’t be that much of a hardship to suffer the sight of a big truck parked in the far corner of the parking lot? It’s only

You say tomato, I say tomahto MARK LEE

another human being going about their business, maybe wanting to stock up on some groceries, maybe buying a gift for their spouse or children, whatever the case, they are not causing anybody any harm. Far from it. In fact, what they, the humble truck driver, are doing is keeping the economy moving. None of the people responsible for those dammed signs would be in a position to have an opinion one way or the other if it wasn’t for those unsightly trucks, because without trucks none of the store managers would have a job in the first place and the ‘nimby’ (Not In My Back Yard) shoppers would have nothing to buy. Refusing us access to facilities is an infringement of our human rights. How that is allowed to happen is beyond me. If any place was to refuse access to a specific race or creed there would be an outcry, yet truck drivers are treated in this way day in and day out and not a word is said.

Obviously some places do not have the room for a big truck. In most cases, they don’t need signs. If the access road is too small to get into, then trucks will not go down it. But a 50-acre parking lot? I’m sorry, there’s no excuse to ban trucks. Joe and Joanne Public have no idea of the lengths that truck drivers go to ensure the stuff they want to buy arrives in the stores. Take my last trip as an example: I was going from Winnipeg to North Carolina. Just before the border I blew a coolant hose. It was 28 below and the wind was howling. After half an hour, I managed to make a temporary repair using a piece of heater hose that meant I had to bypass my heater, so after being out in frigid temperatures I then had no way to warm up. I limped the truck back to the yard, where I was met by one of my bosses, who put on coveralls and replaced the faulty hose and got me going again. It was just one of those things that happens from time to time, yet it was not without consequences. In this case, as in most, it had an impact on me, the driver. I still had an appointment to make, so instead of a leisurely run to the East Coast, I now had to run until

the early hours to make up for lost time and get back on schedule. The following day was a late start, due to my late finish the night before, which meant another late finish. The impact this had was to make my job a little harder than it should have been, but that’s trucking. I still made my appointment on time, primarily because I didn’t want to let my company down. But as a result, it meant that my load of fries were at the customer when they wanted them so that they in turn could give them to their customers on time. As truck drivers we encounter things like this all the time, we also cope with severe weather, traffic back-ups, we spend hours sitting at the loading dock due to inefficiency or incompetence and despite all this we get the freight delivered on time, most of the time. Nobody gives this any thought at all. We’re so good at our jobs that it’s expected of us, so by being the true professionals that we are, we allow the consumer to have what they want, when they want it and we become victims of our own success and see more and more of those dreaded signs.n – A fourth generation trucker and trucking journalist, Mark Lee uses his 25 years of transcontinental trucking in Europe, Asia, North Africa and now North America to provide an alternative view of life on the road.

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April 2011

TRUCK WEST Page 19

oem/dealer News

Apathy: the scourge of the trucking industry Getting involved in an association is one way to help stop it Apathy, in my opinion, is the second biggest problem facing the trucking industry today. What is apathy? Apathy is a lack of emotion, indifference, disinterest and insensibility. It is a habitual lack of feeling or sympathy for other people or things and may imply either great absorption in one’s own affairs or more callousness or unwillingness to become personally involved. Does the definition of apathy register with anyone out there? Does it apply to you? Does it matter to you or anyone else? Is apathy negatively affecting the health of the trucking industry? What can we do to minimize the negative effects it has on our society and the trucking industry? Let’s try to answer these questions and develop a strategy to reduce the negative effects apathy has on our society and the trucking industry. Apathy has become more noticeable and has had a greater negative effect on us as the health of the trucking industry has declined over the past 10 years or so. Most of us have gotten comfortable with how good things have been and have taken for granted what we have. Unfortunately, those good times are long gone and now we have to wake up, get back to reality and start working together to overcome the negative effects apathy has on our society and the trucking industry. Apathy is all around us. It applies to you, me and everyone else. You may not realize it, but it has a negative effect on us, which can fester. Or, we can stand up and stop it in its path. Unfortunately, most of us are very busy with our lives that we get so tied up in what we are doing that we sometimes don’t see or realize what is going on around us. What can we do about apathy in our society and the trucking industry? To fix apathy in our society, we have to at least get out and vote or stand as a councillor, alderman, MLA, MP or whatever the case may be. To fix apathy in the trucking industry, we have to support our local trucking associations or better yet, stand as a director for at least a two-year term. If you are a larger carrier, your best bang for your buck may be a provincial carrier trucking association like the Alberta Motor Transport Association, B.C. Trucking Association, Saskatchewan Trucking Association or Manitoba Trucking Association. If you live or work in the construction trucking industry in Alberta, then you should take out a long-term membership in the Alberta Construction Trucking Association. If you live and work in the construction industry in Nova Scotia

Constructive Dialogue Ron Singer

then you should take out a longterm membership in Truckers Association of Nova Scotia. If you are an owner/operator or small fleet operator operating in Canada then you should belong to at least one – or preferably several – of the groups intended for those operators – I do. They are credible and their memb er sh ip fe e s a re ver y affordable. There’s the Owner-Operators’

Business Association of Canada and the North American Truckers Guild. There’s also the Owner Operators Independent Drivers Association in the US. These are to name but a few. You can search for the trucking associations in your area by searching for local trucking associations online. All these associations have earned your long-term membership. I am not here to tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t do or what positions they should take on industry issues. I am here to help make this a better industry, make recommendation and

suggestions that will improve the health of our society and the trucking industry, based on my knowledge and experience. Getting involved with an industry association is my top suggestion and recommendation to reduce the negative effect apathy has on our society and the trucking industry. Let them know what you think. Do you agree, disagree or do you have a better idea? Let me know. Catch you all next month. n – Ron Singer is the owner of Ron Singer Truck Lines and president of the Alberta chapter of the North American Truckers Guild. He can be reached at ronsing@ telus.net.

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April 2011

TRUCK WEST Page 21

cover story

Behind the scenes of a trucking acquisition Pre-existing personal relationships help ensure negotiations don’t turn ugly Continued from page 1

completely unforeseen. How it started Rob Haggarty is the president and COO of family-owned ITS, which he operates along with his father Max and sister Pam. The carrier was founded in 1987 and specializes in the trans-border delivery of commodities such as paper, aluminum, steel and automotive parts. The fleet operates 240 tractors today along with a fleet of 750 trailers, serving markets in Ontario, Quebec and into the US, with an average length of haul of less than 1,000 miles. The company learned a valuable lesson from the recession of the past few years: that it was too reliant on certain segments of the industry and on cross-border freight. “Five years ago, we were 90% trans-border,” Haggarty told Truck West in a recent interview at the fleet’s Belleville headquarters. “In dealing with the US, it’s always challenging. You have border issues, CSA (a new US truck enforcement regime) is coming, you have the ups and downs of the currency exchange, the economy in the US and the cost of insurance. So, we decided over the last couple years that we wanted to reduce our dependence on the US market. Not to decrease the business we’re doing there, but just to increase our domestic business.” At the same time, the North American manufacturing sector was being hammered and ITS came to the realization it was too reliant on this uncertain sector of the economy. “ITS was more industrial, historically,” Haggarty said. “Those commodities we hauled (paper, aluminum, corrugated steel and automotive parts, to name a few) were hit the hardest in the recession and with the US going through difficulties and the Canadian dollar rising, that was putting challenges on exporters of all those products.”

Noticing a serious decline in its revenue about two-and-a-half years ago, Haggarty said it began growing its retail business. “T hat is what ca r r ied us through the recession,” Haggarty said. “We see with retail, less fluctuations. You get spikes during Christmas or special holidays, but you know they’re coming, you can plan for them.” As the economy started showing signs of life last year, ITS began considering acquisitions as a way to further diversify its fleet. The company was quietly shopping for possibilities when Haggarty ran into his old friend Cottrell, who owned CSI Logistics, a 62-truck fleet out of Cornwall that served many of the same markets as ITS but with a heavy focus on retail. Cottrell hired Haggarty at his first trucking job some 25 years ago and the two had stayed in touch ever since. “We’d see each other at conventions and shows and say hello,” Haggarty recalled. “In the fall, he stopped in to say hello. I asked him if he had any interest in selling and he said ‘no, maybe in a few years.’ He phoned me three days later and said ‘we’ll talk now’.” Whatever caused the sudden change of heart, the wheels for an acquisition were now in motion. ITS and CSI Logistics were both new to the acquisitions game. “We had never purchased a company and of course, he had never sold his company, so we were both rookies in dealing with how to move forward,” Haggarty said. “But because we knew each other, there was a bit of comfort there. It gave us a trust and that trust helped us get through those unknowns.”

a lawyer and an accountant to the table to establish the net worth of CSI’s assets. Other business units belonging to Cottrell, including a trailer leasing business and a maintenance shop would not be included in the deal. It was also decided that Cottrell would remain on as v.p. of sales for a period of time to maintain his accounts and ensure a smooth transition. Talks were kept quiet to keep rumours from surfacing, which wasn’t easy, especially for a family business. “We were able to keep it very quiet,” Haggarty said. “There were only two or three people here who knew.” Despite a long-running friendship and a mutual respect, Haggarty admitted there were times during the negotiations when tensions arose and the deal began to look like it may not get done. “There were a couple moments that were a little tense,” he admitted. “I think it got more so between the lawyers.” With that in mind, Haggarty and Cottrell decided to ditch the lawyers and try to get a deal done without them. On a quiet Sunday, Cottrell and his wife Linda met with Haggarty and his father Max at ITS headquarters. A deal was signed that afternoon, sans lawyers. “At the end of the day, we de-

Announcing the deal Rob Haggarty and Cottrell decided they would make the announcement to CSI Logistics staff together on Monday, Jan. 31 while ITS patriarch Max Haggarty would inform its staff at precisely the same time. Haggarty and Cottrell drove to Cornwall on Jan. 30 and spent the night. The next morning, they made the potentially unsettling announcement to CSI Logistics staff. “There is a shock value for them for sure,” Haggarty said. However, he was able to put their minds at ease when he expressed a commitment to continuing operations in Cornwall. “We were looking for a base down there,” Haggarty said of the Cornwall region. “We do a lot of work in Eastern Ontario so we were able to say to those people: ‘Don’t worry, we’re not going to cut you and take your business.’ We’re going to take all the staff at their current salaries, keep them and honour the vacation arrangements they had with CSI.” Continued on page 22

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cided to keep the lawyers out of it,” Haggarty said. “We knew best. Lawyers are lawyers, they’re going to go back and forth.” With a deal in place, the next significant challenge was to inform the staffs of both companies about the deal.

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Page 22 TRUCK WEST

April 2011

cover story

Properly informing employees and customers becomes a race against time Continued from page 21

That was key to the deal, Haggarty said. “Craig has a great deal of compassion for his employees. He wanted them protected and he knew that ITS would give that protection,” said Haggarty. ITS has renewed the leases on CSI Logistics’ facilities and is already shopping for more land in the Cornwall area. That commitment to the region helped stem any panic at CSI Logistics, but there was still another group of people who needed to be brought up to speed: its customers. Calling customers With the deal announced to the staffs of both CSI Logistics and ITS, Haggarty and Cottrell hopped into Haggarty’s car and headed west along Hwy. 401. They stopped at ITS headquarters for a quick coffee and to meet with employees there. Then, it was back on the road, with Haggarty behind the wheel and Cottrell furiously working the Blackberry, calling and e-mailing customers and arranging meetings in the Toronto area. Customer meetings began in Toronto right after lunch, face to face whenever possible. “We wanted Craig to be the guy to tell them because they were his accounts,” Haggarty said. The biggest challenge was to assure customers that it would be business as usual from their perspective. “The key with the transition is to do nothing,” said Haggarty. “We’re not changing a thing. We’ll learn over the spring and summer if there are some

seamless: ITS COO Rob Haggarty says the transition will be seamless for customers as CSI Logistics is brought into the fold. Photo by James Menzies

things we should tweak, like empty miles. But initially for the first three to six months, we want to leave it as is.” Cottrell agreed to say on for three years, which also provided peace of mind for customers. After a long day of meeting with customers and suppliers, Haggarty spent the night at Cottrell’s Caledon home and had dinner with his family. The next morning, they were back at it, meeting with customers and explaining the deal. “We spent two days on the road together, just trying to get the word out properly,” Haggarty recalled. Amalgamating systems With everyone informed of the ac-

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quisition, the next big challenge was to begin implementing some of the necessary changes on the back end. While Haggarty insisted operationally, nothing will change, there are legal obligations involving an asset sale, such as putting ITS decals on CSI trucks and bringing those units under ITS’s insurance coverage. The fleet has to safety-check its new equipment and begin harmonizing its billing processes. Most of the operations had to be streamlined by the March 1 closing date. It’s a cumbersome process, Haggarty admitted, requiring multiple conference calls per day and countless lists. Haggarty was quick to credit the ITS team for

sharing the company’s vision and helping make the transition as painless as possible. As ITS brings CSI Logistics into the fold, Haggarty said the company is wasting no time in upgrading the CSI fleet. Each CSI Logistics tractor, for example, will have PeopleNet systems installed in the cabs and the company will get new computer systems and be migrated to the ITS operating system. Having taken on a carrier a third of its own size, Haggarty said ITS is well aware of the risks of growing too quickly. However, he said he’s confident the company can better maintain service levels through rapid growth via acquisitions than by simply adding capacity as it did in the early 2000s. “We do have to be careful of excessive growth,” he acknowledged. “CSI is a third of our size, but all their staff is coming. We went through some periods in the early 2000s where we were growing 20% a year and it was really hard. We kept up and we got through it, but it was crazy and we don’t want to have to do it again.” That being said, Haggarty said further acquisitions are likely in the company’s future, “once we get this one digested.” “This is a pretty big acquisition, so we’ll have to digest it,” he said. “But I was kidding with my staff; I told them ‘Think of it this way, you’ll be totally educated for the next time we do this.’ They didn’t laugh.” n

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April 2011

TRUCK WEST Page 25

new products

Western Star taps new markets with vocational ‘bad-ass’ By James Menzies INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Western Star has come out with its first new truck in more than a decade, aimed at six core vocational segments including: dump; mixer; crane; roll-off; snow plow; and sewer vac applications. The new, self-described “badass” Model 4700 is aimed at “value-minded” construction and municipal customers, Mike Jackson, general manager of Western Star, said before unveiling the new truck at the Work Truck Show. Available in either a set-forward or set-back axle configuration, the 4700 boasts a short 110-inch BBC, which Western Star officials claimed to be the tightest in its class. Western Star will begin taking orders for the 4700 in the third quarter of 2011 with deliveries beginning in early 2012, Jackson said. “While we kept our customers’ wallets in mind, make no mistake, this is every bit a Western Star, hand-built with every attention to detail,” Jackson said. “Durable, rugged and stylish and with one of the widest ranges of power ratings in its class.” The new offering will come with the Detroit Diesel DD13 under the hood, or the Cummins ISC and ISL if a 13-litre is not required. It has been a good year for Western Star, and the truck maker seems to have rediscovered its swagger. The overall Class 8 truck market’s order intake grew 16% last year while Western Star outpaced the overall market and saw its own order board surge 45%. “Despite the continuation of one of the worst trucking markets last year, Western Star saw dramatic improvements in volume and order intake,” Jackson said.

a new star is born: The Western Star 4700 was specifically designed for six key vocations: dump, mixer, crane, rolloff, snow plow and sewer vac.

“We are building on the momentum achieved in 2010 by expanding our vocational presence with lighter applications and new engine offerings and the continued product enhancement for our current segments.” Western Star engineers involved dealers, customers and body builders in the design of the new truck, soliciting advice and designing a truck that’s body builder friendly. Not only does the 4700 have a clean back of cab, but Daimler’s tightly packaged one-box exhaust aftertreatment system occupies minimal frame rail space. The SCR system comes with either a six- or 13-gallon diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) tank and in-cab bat-

teries free up an additional 17 to 34 inches of frame rail space for equipment installation. The DEF and air tanks can be placed under the cab to free up additional frame rail space, the company says. The body builder interface and transmission control unit are located in the cab – away from road debris and contaminants – which should reduce wiring issues. The 4700 also boasts a bolt-in, passthrough plate in the cab floor that eliminates unnecessary drilling as well as a dedicated body builder wiring raceway, an easily accessible routing path through the cab floor. “We’ve already received praise from those who have seen the new

raceway,” Jackson said. A full range of transmissions will be available on the 4700, including all the usual manual options as well as Allison automatics and the Eaton UltraShift Plus automated transmission. Drivers too, should like the 4700. The truck comes with a sloped hood for improved visibility and a 55-degree wheel cut that provides good maneuverability in tight spaces. “We understand the unique needs of the vocational job sites, so we designed the truck to shine in tight urban spaces or busy construction sites,” Jackson said. “Drivers will feel at ease operating the 4700.” n

Volvo introduces new car hauler GREENSBORO, N.C. – Volvo Trucks North America has introduced a new truck exclusively for the automobile transport business. Officials say the Volvo Autohauler (VAH) was developed to maximize freight capacity while bringing efficiency, safety and comfort to the automotive market. The VAH is a day cab with a lower chassis than standard models, a short bumper-to-back-ofcab (BBC) dimension and an EPA2010 engine. “The new Volvo Autohauler is designed to maximize loading space for our customers while incorporating the latest in engine technology,” said Ron Huibers, Volvo Trucks North America’s senior vice-president of sales and marketing. “The lower chassis reduces the overall height of the truck, allowing a car, pick-up or minivan to be positioned over the cab to maximize the efficiency of every delivery.” The design also features an axle-forward configuration, designed to provide the weight dis-

tribution needed for optimum maneuverability. With a clean top-of-frame behind the cab, the VAH is designed for quick body mounting and easy trailer hookup. “Our goal with this new auto hauler was to reduce lead time and increase efficiency for auto transporters,” said Volvo Trucks marketing product manager Wade Long. “We worked closely with customers and truck body builders to understand and meet their needs. Volvo Trucks is confident that the VAH has the design, engineering and performance that the demanding vehicle transport market has been waiting for.” “In our business, the truck cab needs to be as small as possible to maximize loading space,” said Steve Hansen, executive vicepresident of Hansen and Adkins Auto Transport. “The cab height, frame height and BBC dimensions are very important. With the new Volvo Autohauler, we’re getting a truck that gives us the capacity we need. The inside of the cab is comfortable, too, and has more

VAH: Volvo’s latest offering was designed specifically for auto haulers.

room than you might expect.” Hansen, whose company operates 325 tr ucks, ordered one of the first prototypes and worked closely with Volvo Trucks as it refined the design and prepared for production. He recently placed an order for 40 new Volvo Autohaulers. “I like to be on leading edge,” Hansen said. “There’s some risk to it, but the benefit is helping to build a better product that will help us gain capacity and better serve our customers.” Cassens Transport Company, which operates a fleet of 1,200

trucks, also ordered a VAH prototype, selecting it primarily because of its cab dimensions. Cassens officials say minimizing cab height is particularly important for the company, which delivers to many older cities along the east coast, where low overpasses are often a concern. “The whole game is about inches and the VAH offers the lowest cab available,” said Brian Suhre, Cassens Transport Company’s vice-president of facilities and equipment. “Yet when you get inside, the interior is spacious and doesn’t feel mechanical. It’s like driving a nice passenger car.” n

Page 26 TRUCK WEST

April 2011

new products

Hino’s new Classes 4 and 5 cabovers make big splash at Work Truck Show By James Menzies INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Hino’s new cabover Classes 4-5 models 155 and 195 – and hybrid-electric versions of the same – were introduced amid much fanfare at the recent Work Truck Show. For Hino, it marked the first time the truck maker has launched a new model outside of the Japanese market first. Hino unveiled the new models in grandiose fashion to dealers, customers and media during a special unveiling March 8. The new models were designed specifically for the North American market and will be well suited for urban deliveries, Hino officials said. Sumio Fukaya, president and CEO of Hino Motor Sales USA, said the new offerings will provide affordable and efficient solutions for companies operating in urban environments. “We have seen the price of new vehicles soar as much as 22-25% over the past four years,” Fukaya said. “As such, we are seeing a trend where companies are moving towards less expensive, smaller trucks.” He also noted the US is the only developed nation with a growing population, which will drive the shift towards more maneuverable cabovers. “By 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, the US population is expected to reach 320 million people with 90% living in urban areas,” he said. “With more people living in urban areas, the need for more products to be delivered to those areas is a major contribution to the need for small-

north american Cabover: Hino has returned to its COE roots with a new Model 155 and 195, the latter to be available in Canada in hybrid form.

er, more maneuverable trucks.” The 155 and 195 cabovers were built for North American drivers and can comfortably fit a driver who’s 6-ft.-6in. with a size 13 boot, noted Glenn Ellis, vice-president of marketing and dealer operations for Hino. The new cab also offers “more storage and cup holder space than you’ll know what to do with,” he promised. Also key to North American customers is a standard 33-inch frame rail width with a 56,900-psi frame. Fuel tanks are tucked out of the way between the frame rails and an angled windshield and narrow pillars provide excellent visibility for drivers. The new cab is aerodynamic too, offering about 29% less drag than some competitive

Q&A with Hino executives: TOKYO, Japan – Truck West editorial director Lou Smyrlis recently visited with Hino officials in their home country of Japan. Here is a short Q&A from his visit: Q: The North American trucking market has undergone considerable change over the past couple of recessionary years. How will Hino position itself over the next decade to take advantage of these changes and the opportunities presented in the North American market? Sumio Fukaya, president and CEO, Hino US: We realize that the North American market has gone through big change. Customers are seeking not just cost-effective solutions but also true value in the vehicle, customer satisfaction and a contribution to a societal mandate (green trucking). As the market shifts its focus from cost to value, we are in a very good position to capture market share. Yoshio Shirai, president, Hino Motors: The North American car market used to be dominated by large cars until Japanese cars were made available in the market and North America moved to more medium-sized vehicles with better fuel performance. If we apply that example to the truck segment in North America we see a market still dominated by heavy, fuel guzzling vehicles. We need to see the same kind of change in the North American truck market. Moving goods with greater efficiency is the value proposition we want to achieve

with our hybrid truck introduction. Q: What needs to happen for the North American market to accept hybrids? Shirai: For hybrids to become more widespread, customer awareness must become more important. Also price and performance of the vehicle must satisfy customer requirements. That is key. Q: Will the new Hino truck have a variety of components available from manufacturers such as ArvinMeritor or Dana or will it be an all-Japanese product? Toshiki Inoue, executive vice-president: We are aiming at significant cost reductions with this vehicle. We will not be using North American parts for the vehicle. We will be exporting parts from here. But as the volumes grow, we will likely start sourcing North American-built parts. Q: Hino builds Class 8 trucks for the Asian market. Can we expect a Class 8 vehicle for the North American market from Hino? Fukaya: The traditional strength of Hino relies on heavy-duty vehicles and our engineers are keen to produce a Class 8 vehicle for the North American market. But we realize the current manufacturers in the North American heavy-duty market are very strong and so we prefer to establish our position in the medium-duty market. Only then can we consider the Class 8 market. At the moment we

models, Ellis claimed. The new models are powered by the Hino JO5E Series engine rated at 210 hp and 440 lb.-ft. of torque and will utilize selective catalytic reduction (SCR) exhaust aftertreatment. This allows the vehicle to meet stringent EPA2010 emissions standards without the use of EPA credits, Ellis noted. The hybrid-electric versions – the Models 155h and 195h – share much of the same componentry that has made the Toyota Prius popular, officials said. Eric Smith, vice-president of sales with Hino Motors Canada said that at this time, only the Class 5 195h is planned for release in Canada. The 155h and 195h feature Hino’s sixth generation hybrid system, Ellis have no specific plans for the North American Class 8 market. Q: Have you been pursuing former GM dealers as a result of the demise of General Motors in the mediumduty market? Fukaya: The fact that General Motors has exited the medium-duty market offers a real opportunity for Hino. An increasing number of dealers who used to handle the GM brand in the

said, adding “for the first time, the engine control unit and the hybrid control unit work in harmony to maximize the effect of the hybrid system.” It may come as a surprise that Hino says it has built more hybrid trucks around the world – 10,000-plus – than any other manufacturer. The hybrid is expected to lower emissions by as much as 25% with the corresponding gains in fuel efficiency. The system features an electric motor that assists during start-up and acceleration by providing 258 lb.-ft. of torque. As is the case with the Prius, the engine shuts off when the driver steps on the brake to conserve fuel. The dash display turns green when the driver is operating the engine in its optimum range, providing visual confirmation the hybrid system is being operated efficiently. Ellis said the new hybrids offer a five-year payback based on today’s fuel costs, without any government incentives to offset the higher purchase price. The non-hybrid 155 and 195 will also be “competitively priced” with other cabovers in the Classes 4 and 5 markets, Fukaya said. The Models 155 and 195 will be available in Canada by early September, Hino Motors Canada predicts. The hybrid Model 195h will be available in December. n – Editorial director Lou Smyrlis recently travelled to Japan to see the new models first-hand. Visit his blog at Trucknews.com to read about his impressions. US are showing interest in taking on a Hino franchise. General Motors had a strong presence in certain parts of the market, such as ambulances, in which Hino wants to increase its strength. Shin Nakamura, president Hino Canada: The situation in Canada is different. Hino dealers are captive and handle only the Hino brand. By focusing on parts and service we hope to differentiate ourselves in the Canadian market. n

New Fuso Canter triples service intervals By James Menzies INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Mitsubishi Fuso has brought its popular Canter cabover to the North American, where it will serve the Classes 3-5 markets. The truck, shown for the first time at the Work Truck Show, features Fuso’s Duonic six-speed automatic transmission, Daimler’s BlueTec SCR emissions aftertreatment system, a 4P10 turbo diesel engine and payload that’s as much as 2,200 lbs greater than competitive models, Fuso officials announced at the truck’s launch. Perhaps most impressively, the Canter extends service intervals from 6,000 miles to a whopping 18,000. Five models of Mitsubishi Fuso Canters will be offered, addressing applications ranging from dry freight, refrigerated delivery, landscape, snowplow and municipal roadwork. A seven-passenger crew cab is among the offerings as is a FG4X4 model, which Fuso says is the only fourwheel-drive medium-duty cabover in the industry.

The new Canter is available only with the company’s own 4P10 dualoverhead-cam, dual-balance-shaft, turbo, intercooled four-cylinder engine as well as its own Duonic automated transmission. “With the combination of the 4P10 engine, Duonic transmission and BlueTec emissions control, these new Fusos are the smoothest-running, easiest-to-drive cabovers we’ve ever offered,” said Leighton Good, manager, product and applications with Mitsubishi Fuso. CEO Todd Bloom said the new Canters will be priced more competitively than ever before. The company also claims to have improved turning radius. A Canter FE model with 110.2inch wheelbase has a 34.1-ft. turning radius, which is tighter than that of a Mini Cooper. The new Canters come with a threeyear, unlimited mileage bumper-tobumper warranty and a five-year, 175,000-mile powertrain warranty. The truck will make its Canadian debut at ExpoCam in April. n

April 2011

TRUCK WEST Page 27

Navistar expands NG offerings, introduces 4x4 TerraStar at Work Truck Show

4x4: The International TerraStar is now available in a 4x4 configuration.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Navistar International introduced a 4x4 TerraStar and a showcased a full range of alternative fuel vehicles at the Work Truck Show. The 4x4 TerraStar broadens the applicability of International’s most recent truck offering, first introduced at last year’s Work Truck Show in a 4x2 configuration. Since launching the TerraStar last year, Navistar says it has received more than 2,000 orders for

the Class 4/5 truck. “With the addition of a 4x4 model, simply put, the International TerraStar is unmatched in the industry,” said Jim Hebe, Navistar’s senior vicepresident, North American sales operations. “The design and durability of TerraStar is influenced by our entire line-up of commercial trucks, sharing the same rugged, durable, and hardworking DNA that’s made us an industry leader.”

Navistar also highlighted its range of alternative fuel vehicles, including the all-electric Class 2-3c eStar. The eStar has a range of 100 miles per charge and takes six to eight hours to recharge. It can carry payloads of up to two tonnes and produces no tailpipe emissions. On the heavier side, Navistar offers the International DuraStar Hybrid, which it says can save fuel to the tune of 60% in utility-type applications. Navistar also said it would be expanding its line of natural gas-powered trucks and at the show it featured an NG-fueled International WorkStar. The truck was powered by a DT-466 natural gas engine that can be configured to run off either liquefied or compressed natural gas. Hebe said International will soon offer natural gas across its entire product line. “And this isn’t just going out and grabbing the industry standard natural gas engine and putting it in our product,” he said during a press conference. “This is looking at our entire engine line and developing technology across our entire line, the DT and in the MaxxForce 11 and 13, in CNG and LNG, in single fuel and potential-

ly dual fuel, offering our customers a full range of natural gas products from the MaxxForce DT right through the MaxxForce 13.” Natural gas is already available in International WorkStar and DuraStar trucks powered by the DT engine, Hebe noted, and later in the year MaxxForce 9s and 10s will also be available in NG configurations. “We are extremely excited about natural gas and where that’s going to take us,” Hebe said. Hebe said he wasn’t going to get into the Advanced EGR vs SCR debate, but when asked, he reiterated that he feels liquid urea-based SCR is doomed. “We said all along that our belief was that a liquid-based SCR would be obsolete by the time we ran out of credits and I would reaffirm today that there are technologies out there a year or two from now that will make SCR, if not obsolete, certainly a second choice,” he said. Hebe said Navistar submitted a MaxxForce 13 to the EPA for certification at 0.2 grams NOx per brake hp/ hr a couple weeks ago, but will continue to use credits until they run out. n

Snow and gravel and freight, oh my! New trailer design offers unprecedented versatility By James Menzies TORONTO, Ont. – Imagine hauling road salt in one direction and auto fluff on the return trip. Or trash one way and snow on the back haul. Or how about hauling gravel outbound and palletized freight back home? These and other previously inconceivable opportunities now exist, thanks to a clever trailer design by Trout River Industries that was on display at the recent National Heavy Equipment Show. The Shuttle Floor Trailer is an aluminum dump trailer with a cable-driven moving floor, which spans the full width of the trailer. The objective when designing the trailer was to provide customers with unprecedented versatility, Darrin Mitchell, president of Trout River Industries told Truck West. “If you want to haul freight, haul freight. If you want to haul snow, haul snow. If you’re not making money hauling gravel, go haul contaminated soil,” Mitchell explained. “You have one product that can go 365 days a year.” Traditionally a manufacturer of live bottom trailers, Trout River was hearing from customers that they could no longer afford to have trailers sitting idle when construction season slowed. “We were meeting with customers and they were telling us ‘I have to find new ways to make money.’ We sat down to design this thing and said ‘How do we design something that’s not cheap, but in the end is going to make him more money’?” The other challenge, Mitchell admitted, was addressing some of the complaints against traditional live bottom trailers, such as excess weight and complex conveyor systems that require too much maintenance. In the end, Trout River replaced the chain conveyor system with a simple cable-driven system that works much like a horizontal elevator. A small pump is all that’s need-

ed to drive the cables and the entire trailer can be unloaded in just 90 seconds, Mitchell said. The bulkhead has squeegee-style edges so it cleans the walls as it moves forward, allowing operators to quickly switch from one commodity to another. It also keeps loose debris from fouling up the system, he added. The trailer requires no more maintenance than any other trailer type, Mitchell insisted. Since its launch in September, units have been delivered across Canada and into the US – mostly to customers in Ontario and Quebec. Several customers have since placed orders for additional units, according to the company. At the Heavy Equipment Show in March, Trout River was taking orders for June deliveries. When asked for specific examples of how the trailer is being used, Mitchell spoke of an owner/operator who puts the trailer to work hauling road salt by day and removing snow from Pearson International airport by night. Another operator hauls mulch in the summer and palletized decorative stone in the wintertime. “It’s one piece of equipment that won’t stop making you money,” Mitchell said. “You can put it on different jobs and different projects at different times of year – just don’t have it sitting in your yard. If they have a set run, now because of the versatility of the trailer they can pick up different backhauls that they weren’t able to before.” Mitchell said the trailer is still durable enough to handle the roadbuilding work that traditional live bottom trailers were designed for. “It’s born for asphalt,” Mitchell said. However, he noted it’s lighter than a live bottom because of its simple conveyor system and aluminum construction. A four-axle unit weighs 23,000 lbs. The unit has the full capacity of a conventional aluminum dump trailer and can be loaded two pallets wide

multiple-use: Above a Shuttle Floor Trailer does the work of your typical live bottom trailer. However, this design can also be used to haul freight.

with freight. It also has the added advantage of the moving floor, so a dock isn’t required for loading and unloading. “You bring the belt back, put the freight on with the forklift and move the belt ahead,” Mitchell explained. “It

works for any type of palletized freight you can think of.” The trailers are built in P.E.I. by Trout River Industries. To see video of how the Shuttle Floor works, visit www.troutriverindustries.ca. n

No matter which hat you wear… There’s strength in numbers. Whether you’re an owner/operator, an affiliate or a friend of the Alberta construction trucking industry, become a member and make your voice heard with ACTA. To find out more, visit

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Page 28 TRUCK January 2011 WEST

TRUCK NEWS April Page 2011 1

are you secure?: Poor tie-down equipment and techniques will not be tolerated under CSA.

in a CSA world New CSA securement regs could snare some Canadian carriers TORONTO, Ont. – Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) is a robust initiative sponsored by the US Department of Transport’s FMSCA to monitor and mitigate high-risk driver and carrier behaviour across America. This, of course, includes Canadian carriers running internationally. The program is the successor to the DoT’s Safestat, and the shortlived CSA 2010 (which stood for Comprehensive Safety Analysis), and has just gone nation-wide in December, 2010. Violations and alerts noted during inspections are entered instantaneously into a motor carrier databank. The violations are given a point score through the regulator’s SMS (Safety Measurement System), and are supposed to be based on the relationship to crash risk. The records of citations and violations are kept on file for two years. Too many accrued points can lead to warning letters and interventions, and potentially make some drivers and fleets uninsurable. CSA is a broader approach than Safestat and is defined by seven “Basic” categories (Safestat only had four). Much of the focus is concerned with driver behaviour. Cargo securement, however, which includes the handling of hazardous materials, has been given its own section and makes up the bulk of the potential violations. Load securement was not part of the original Safestat program, and there is some concern among carriers about the severity of the weight given to the cargo tiedown category. CSA did make

“They have been opening trailers and looking inside,” says Rick Geller, director of safety and signature programs for truck insurer Markel. “In the past it wasn’t an issue. Even some of your stake and rack trailers they never looked inside. But now they’re interested.” Tom Boehler, safety manager for Erb Transport of New Hamburg, Ont., says some of his trucks have been stopped in New York State and written up for not having load bars at the back of the trailer. The irony is not lost on Boehler: “They will give you a fine if you don’t have load bars but no one will put a load rating on load bars.” Besides the introduction of the CSA program, increased vigilance of load securement has gone continent-wide as of Jan. 1, 2011, when most Canadian provinces began enforcing the National Safety Code in the use of cargo tie-downs. In Canada, load securement devices including straps and chains are required to display a Working Load Limit or they will be considered to be zero. Recently in Ontario, a Purolator driver was written up for having an insecure load when an MTO officer noticed a bag of salt on the truck’s catwalk strapped down by bungee cord. Since bungee cord has no working load limit, the rating was considered to be zero. The driver could have avoided the problem by using a one-inch ratchet strap with a

stamped WLL. Even so, Geller suggests that the MTO official may have been over-zealous in writing up the Purolator driver. “The issue of using bungee cords was something that was reviewed a couple of years ago and most states and provinces agreed to an interpretation that allowed the use of bungee cords,” he says. “What first raised the issue was the fact that it was a common practice for carriers to secure dunnage in the landing gear using bungee cords. An agreement was reached that allowed the use of bungee cords. This speaks to the issue of consistency and you have officers who have not been properly trained, applying the rules the way they believe they should.” Straps and chains do not have to display load limits in the US, where the limit is calculated differently. Cut or damaged straps should never be used. Even a slightly chewed up strap, installed as an extra tie-down for supplemental security, will be scored as a violation. Carriers running north-south are advised to do their research. The number of tie-downs required for a load can also vary internationally, according to Rolf Vanderzwaag, manager of maintenance and technical issues for OTA. “We’ve had ca r r iers w ith enough tie-downs in Canada, but when they hit the states they need to add some more.” Goods shipped on pallets are expected to be wrapped to the pallets and fitted snugly against each other running towards the bulkhead. Other commodities that cannot be palletized have to be secured to the floor or the sides of the trailer, even if the conveyance is not equipped with

LOAD SECUREMENT On-Road Editor Harry rudolfs

some changes to some of the load securement methodology in December of 2010, dropping the severity of a loose or unfastened tie-down from 10 points to eight, and upping some of the HazMat violations to six points. Initially, FMCSA was publishing carrier load securement point scores on its CSA Web site. But strong objections from the ATA, among others, caused the regulator to block those scores from public view. According to Duane DeBruyne, spokesperson for the FMCSA, “We appreciate that when you have flatbed trailers where the load is exposed it’s easier to see those issues. We recognize the difference in flatbed versus box container and that the results could potentially be misread.” However, the date, location, licence plate and VIN of the offence are still accessible on the site. One thing’s certain, it’s not just flatdeck haulers that are under increased scrutiny by US regulators.

‘We’ve had carriers with enough tie-downs in Canada, but when they hit the states they need to add some more,’ Rolf Vanderzwaag, OTA

April 2011

TRUCK WEST Page 29 though there is no conviction and no violation notice issued.” On the whole, however, Canadian carriers and drivers applying due diligence to their securement procedures should have no difficulty with the new regimen. “Canadian drivers, already familiar with programs like the CVOR in Ontario and the PEVL in Quebec, should have no problem with CSA,” says Robert. “Most of our drivers are already

held to a higher standard.” Geller thinks that after all the bugs are worked out, CSA will be a benefit to the trucking industry. “What you’ve got right now is a novelty factor – something new applying across the US. Once it’s applied equally across the board it will be a benefit to the industry. The one thing that needs to be addressed is the responsibility of the shipper, which remains the wild card in this equation.” n

On the hunt for the perfect load? flatdeckers, beware: Seemingly minor infractions such as loose stones on the deck or the use of bungee cords could land a flatdecker in hot water.

logistic tracks and anchors. But reefers and heated loads pose another problem since they require space to be left between the goods so that air can circulate. Reefer loads are also not supposed to touch the sides of the trailer. “There’s the rub,” says Geller. “When it comes to temperaturecontrolled loads you’re relying on air flow in that trailer. Most of the loss we see in temperaturecontrolled loads occurs because the temperature gets too hot or cold, and that’s usually caused by either an improper load pattern or not enough air circulation. Take those inflatable air bag pillows that some shippers use. They’ll keep your load from walking, but at the same time they impede air circulation.” Claude Robert, president and CEO of Groupe Robert thinks that only 1% of dry van trailers are equipped with any kind of securement features. “In the past, drivers hammered nails in the floor but you can’t do that with a reefer. Shippers are now concerned that trailers have the proper attachments. One customer suddenly realized they needed 175 trailers with anchors and straps.” Geller of Markel points out that unlike the movement of dangerous goods (HazMat in the US), where the shipper shares some responsibility along with the driver and carrier, when it comes to load securement, the shipper bears no responsibility whatsoever. “Container freight is a perfect example,” says Geller. “How can you hold a driver responsible when he can’t even check the load?” Canadian drivers and carriers may have little say in how trucks are loaded, but they may end up getting a ticket for something beyond their control. “We’ve heard anecdotally that there is a great deal of disparity and variance from state to state and jurisdiction to jurisdiction,” says Rob Abbott, vice-president of safety policy for the ATA. A report on CSA 2010 issued by the Minnesota Trucking Association (Minnesota was one of the states involved in the original

CSA pilot project) seems to substantiate Abbott’s assertion that the regulations can and have been arbitrarily and unevenly applied. One carrier whose primary lane runs between Minnesota and Pennsylvania found that the states of Ohio and Indiana, although only representative of 19% of its miles, accounted for 47% of its violations. Geller also suggests that there is a problem with the “probable cause” states (of which there are about a dozen). In these states, truckers were stopped for speeding, even one or two miles per hour over the limit, and then the officer would use the opportunity to check the driver and load. If there were no problems the driver was allowed to go on his way without any point violations. “Under the old rules, the ‘speeding’ aspect was ignored because there was no violation notice issued and no conviction,” says Geller. “Under the new rules, the ‘speeding violation’ is pointed against the carrier’s profile, even

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Page 30 TRUCK WEST

April 2011

health

This is not tongue in cheek Why does your doctor ask you to stick out your tongue? Because it offers many clues to your overall health. Did you know that proportionally, the tongue is your strongest muscle? Your tongue actually looks a lot like your intestines and says a lot about how your body is reacting to the food you are eating. It is essential for chewing, swallowing, and tasting food as well as for speaking. How should it look? If it’s healthy, it should be slightly pink, moist and smooth. However, you may have a health problem if it is discoloured, dry, cracked, coated or painful. So, step up to the mirror and stick out your tongue. Be sure to note any recent changes in how your tongue looks or feels. See what your tongue is telling you about your health. First of all, the top of the tongue easily takes on stains or colours from the foods you eat; so if your tongue has a strange colour, think back to what you’ve recently eaten. For example, coffee, smoking and chewing tobacco can turn your tongue brown. Just a quick brush with a toothbrush a couple of times a day will reverse the discolouration. However, if your tongue looks hairy or furry, it means that the

Preventive Maintenance Karen Bowen

small bumps (papillae) that cover the surface of your tongue have become enlarged. This is harmless, but can be treated with antibiotics if it bothers you. If your tongue has bright red patches on top, which can change size and position from day to day (geographic tongue), the condition is usually triggered by stress, allergies or hormonal changes. Even though you may feel some soreness or burning, the condition is also harmless and will usually resolve itself in a few months without treatment. If your tongue has deep grooves (fissures) on the surface, you’ve probably inherited the condition along with 10% of the rest of the world. It’s also harmless. If your tongue is black and coated, you probably have excess bacteria and yeast in your mouth, which collects on the papillae and causes the discolouration. This is also harmless and can be alleviated by brushing your tongue with your toothbrush a

Sometimes, you’ve just gotta go By definition, constipation is simply infrequent bowel movements or difficult passage of stools. It is a very common condition, which effects most people at some time during their life. The good news is that most cases of constipation are temporary and are alleviated with simple lifestyle modifications. Due to their lifestyle and job demands, professional truck drivers are more prone to developing this condition. Normal frequency of bowel movements varies from person to person. However, passing less than three stools a week is a good indication that

Back behind the wheel Dr. Chris Singh

you may be experiencing constipation. Other symptoms of constipation include: hard and dry stool; incomplete evacuation after having a bowel movement; and excessive straining during bowel movements. The most common cause of constipation is slowly moving stool through the digestive tract. This

couple of times a day and/or rinsing your mouth with mouthwash or diluted hydrogen peroxide. If your tongue is white and coated, you may be dehydrated. Other causes are: smoking, drinking alcohol or thrush (a mouth infection). If your tongue has a yellowish tint, you probably have a fungal or bacterial infection in the mouth. You may also have jaundice or gastric reflux, which causes your stomach acids to affect your mouth’s normal bacterial flora. If your tongue looks smooth and pale, you may be lacking some nutrients, particularly Vitamin B-12 or iron. On the other hand, if your tongue is especially red (dark pink to magenta) you may be lacking some different nutrients, such as folic acid and Vitamin B-3. If a taste bud is inflamed, red, and a bit sore, you’ve likely got a slight infection. However, if it turns very red or white, is painful and tender, and doesn’t get better, it could be a sign of oral cancer. If you have canker sores on your tongue, you may be feeling particularly stressed or over-tired. Biting your tongue, eating acidic fruits or being sick with a fever or cold can also trigger cankers. Although they may be especially painful, this condition is harmless. Yet, if a canker lasts over 10 days, see your doctor as this may also be a sign of oral

cancer. If your tongue is swollen, you may have a strep infection, leukemia, cancer or hyperthyroidism, so it would be good to visit your doctor. Other causes may be allergic reactions to food or even a minor side effect of a hangover, which probably does not require medical care. If you have bumps under the surface of your tongue, you may have cancer, although many of these types of growths are just benign tumors. Tongue cancer is usually a grey/white/pink tumor on the side of the tongue. It is sensitive and bleeds easily when disturbed. Some related symptoms are earache, bleeding in the mouth (including teeth), and pain when swallowing. Though, these symptoms alone do not signify cancer, so see a physician to be sure. Paying attention to all these signs and keeping your tongue in a healthy condition by using mouthwash, brushing or scraping is good for you and those around you. It helps avoid spreading illnesses because bacteria from your tongue can travel to other parts of your body and possibly cause illness. Coughing and sneezing can also spread your mouth bacteria to other people and surfaces, passing along illness. So remember, when monitoring your health, it’s good manners to stick out your tongue. Give it a chance to tell you its story. n

causes the stool to become hard and dry. There are several factors that can cause an intestinal slowdown which include inadequate fluid or dehydration, low fiber diet, ignoring the urge to have a bowel movement and lack of physical activity. Medical conditions such as stroke, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease may also cause constipation. In rare cases, constipation may occur as a result of a more serious medical condition such as cancer or autoimmune diseases. It is important to seek medical attention if you experience unexplained constipation or change in bowel habits that last longer than three weeks. Also see your doctor if you experi-

ence intense abdominal pain, blood in your stool, rectal pain or unexplained weight loss. In most cases, your doctor will be able to diagnose your constipation by taking a detailed medical history and performing a physical examination. More sophisticated diagnostic testing such as barium enema X-ray and abdominal ultrasound are usually reserved for severe cases. The treatment of constipation is usually very simple. Changes in diet and lifestyle can reduce and often alleviate the condition. Firstly, eat a diet that is high in fiber as it helps your body form soft bulky stool. It is recommended that you eat at least 20-35 grams of fiber each day. Good sources of fiber include beans, whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables. Try to reduce your intake of meats and processed foods. Physical activity and adequate fluid intake are also important in stimulating intestinal activity. Finally, do not ignore the urge to have a bowel movement. If diet and lifestyle modifications are unsuccessful, your doctor may recommend some form of laxative. There are several types, which include fiber supplements, stimulants, stool softeners and osmotics. All of which are designed to treat the underlying causes of your constipation. Alternative therapies such as massage and acupuncture may also be helpful in the treatment of constipation. However, make sure to consult with your doctor before beginning any of these therapies. In most cases constipation is more of an annoyance than a serious medical condition. However, left untreated, it may lead to other more serious physical aliments. n – Dr. Christopher H. Singh runs Trans Canada Chiropractic at the 230 Truck Stop in Woodstock, Ont. He can be reached at 519-421-2024.

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Page 32 TRUCK WEST

April 2011

oem/dealer News

Navistar partners with EcoMotors to commercialize ‘game changing’ engine design An electrically controlled clutch Its simple design, the companies Modular engine design could be lighter, is housed between two engine modsay, allows for 50% fewer parts than conventional diesel engines When the second engine modcheaper and boast greater power density ules. ule’s power is not required, the and it can be configured to run on By James Menzies WARRENVILLE, Ill. – Navistar International has partnered with EcoMotors International to further develop a new engine design that the companies claim will revolutionize the diesel engine landscape. Dubbed opoc (Opposed PistonOpposed Cylinder), the engine is comprised of two opposing cylinders per module, with a crankshaft between them. Each cylinder has two pistons moving in opposite directions. The design eliminates the need for the cylinder head and valvetrain components found on conventional engines, saving weight and improving efficiency, according to the com-

panies. The key to the opoc design is its improved power density, company officials explained in a Feb. 22 conference call with media. The power density, they claim, is two to three times greater than that of conventional diesel engine designs, allowing for: lower weight; smaller size; lower material costs; improved fuel economy; and lower emissions. Also key to the opoc is an electrically-controlled turbo, which: improves combustion efficiency to lower emissions; improves fuel economy; eliminates turbo lag; and improves drivability by producing more low-end torque.

clutch is disengaged, allowing the second engine to stop completely, leading to improved fuel economy and better performance from the primary module, the company claims. The perfectly balanced modules can be stacked to meet the power needs of the vehicle. During a conference call, EcoMotors and Navistar officials said the new design is half the size and weight of a conventional turbo diesel engine, while boasting improved efficiency and best yet, will cost less than today’s commercial diesel engines. The opoc, EcoMotors claims, has a very high power density of one horsepower per pound.

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all types of fuels, including diesel, natural gas, gasoline or even hydrogen. The concept has received financial backing from the likes of Bill Gates and Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures. “EcoMotors is proud to partner with Navistar to commercialize the revolutionary opoc engine,” announced Don Runkle, CEO of EcoMotors International. “For customers such as Navistar, this remarkable engine technology represents a competitive advantage that enables not only enhanced environmental sustainability, but also greater profitability. Our engineers are working to effectively rejuvenate the internal combustion engine for the 21st century.” “Our company has a long history of pushing the envelope to deliver state-of-the-art, customer-focused solutions and we see great promise in EcoMotors’ breakthrough engine design,” said Dan Ustian, chairman, president and CEO of Navistar. Ultimately, opoc engines have the potential to reduce fuel consumption by 15%, officials explained. As far as applications are concerned, Eric Tech, president of the Navistar Engine Group, said “I think this is applicable in virtually anything you can conceive of.” Prototypes are already being used today, officials said, with Navistar planning to roll the technology out in its smaller commercial vehicles within two to three years. In terms of displacement, a 250-hp prototype today has just 2.5 litres of displacement. Officials said the opoc is measured more in terms of horsepower per pound. But for sake of comparison, Ustian said a 13-litre engine would be comparable to a 5.2-litre opoc. Because the opoc comes in a smaller package, it has the potential to radically change the way truck chassis are built and configured, officials said. “One of the things we’re looking at is what modifications have to be made to the conventional mounting to take full advantage of this?” said Tech. The opoc, he pointed out, can ride lower in the chassis, affording manufacturers the luxury of improving visibility and aerodynamics while adding cargo space. Navistar officials also said the opoc engine design gives them the opportunity to continue to comply with emissions requirements without using selective catalytic reduction (SCR). As far as the partnership goes, Navistar will be contributing its combustion technology expertise as well as its emissions know-how to take the concept to the next level of development. The two partners were evidently excited about the potential of the opoc. EcoMotors CEO Runkle noted the global engine market represents about 100 million engines per year, worth about $350 billion, “and in our humble opinion, we don’t see why they shouldn’t all be opocs.” n

April 2011

TRUCK WEST Page 33

Kenworth offers extended warranty on MD trucks financed by Paccar TORONTO, Ont. – Canadian customer who purchase qualifying medium-duty Kenworth trucks will receive complimentary extended warranty coverage, courtesy of Kenworth and Paccar Financial. The trucks must be financed by Paccar Financial and ordered by Dec. 31, 2011. Classes 5-7 Kenworth trucks from the factory or dealer stocks are eligible for the deal, which includes two-year/320,000-kilometre coverage. “This program provides excellent value. Qualifying Class 5-7 customers receive an additional one year and 160,000 kilometres of warranty coverage per eligible truck under this joint Kenworth and Paccar Financial program,” said Gary Moore, Kenworth assistant general manager for marketing and sales. n

best in N.A.: (L-R): Bill Jackson, Peterbilt general manager, Doug Danylchuk, Peterbilt Manitoba dealer principal and Arlen Savitt, Peterbilt assistant general manager, sales and marketing, celebrate Peterbilt Manitoba’s strong performance.

Peterbilt Manitoba named Dealer of the Year WINNIPEG, Man. – Peterbilt Manitoba has been named Peterbilt’s North American Dealer of the Year. Dealer principal Doug Danylchuk received the award at the company’s annual dealer meetings held at Paccar’s new engine plant in Columbus, Miss. “Peterbilt Manitoba, a multi-award winning dealership, continuously grows their business year after year by embracing Peterbilt’s new products and technologies,” said Bill Jackson, Peterbilt general manager and

Fleet Brake acquires McCoy Parts and Service network

CALGARY, Alta. – Fleet Brake has announced it is expanding its Western Canada presence with the acquisition of McCoy Parts and Service. McCoy consists of five locations, including three parts and service centres, located in Edmonton, Red Deer and Grande Prairie, Alta. and Penticton, B.C. The new acquisition will operate as Peerless Parts and Service as it is integrated into the Fleet Brake network, which now boasts 12 locations, mostly in Western Canada. The new division includes about 90 employees who are expected to join the Fleet Brake network. n

Paccar vice-president. “They are a first class organization dedicated to customer service and a true representation of the Peterbilt brand.” Peterbilt Manitoba is a full-service facility with locations in Winnipeg and Brandon. The dealer has been around for 29 years. “We strive to provide customers with a truck that will suit their individual requirements and it’s easy to do that with a product that beats the competition in quality, performance, and durability,” said Danylchuk. n

Daimler hiring as demand ramps up PORTLAND, Ore. – Business is brisk for Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), which has announced it is expanding production and adding 628 positions at its Mt. Holly and Gastonia, N.C. manufacturing plants. The company says the hirings are in response to rising customer demand for Daimler’s trucks. Daimler will fill about 1,300 positions during the first half of the year at its various truck and parts manufacturing facilities. “We have received a clear vote of confidence from a broad range of customers,” said Martin Daum, president and chief executive officer, DTNA. “Our new hiring in Mt. Holly and Gastonia is a direct reflection of incoming orders and the resulting production schedule. We remain cautiously optimistic regarding economic and industry recovery but this is a significant and welcome step forward.” n

OK Tire, ERS partner to provide 24-hour roadside assistance MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – OK Tire has partnered with Emergency Road Services Corporation (ERS) to provide 24-hour emergency roadside assistance for the commercial trucking industry in both Canada and the US. The partnership will see ERS, a bilingual emergency roadside assistance provider, help OK Tire customers who have broken down locate the dealer closest to them. OK

Tire has more than 100 commercial locations across Canada. “We value our commercial trucking customers and we want them to feel protected if they should break down. Partnering with ERS is the best way we can get them back on the road as quickly and cost-effectively as possible,” says Larry Hardy, national manager truck and specialty tires for OK Tire stores. n

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April 2011

TRUCK WEST Page 35

opinion

I can live with cell phone ban Publisher’s Comment Rob Wilkins

So the big clampdown on talking and texting while behind the wheel is in full swing here in Toronto. A friend of mine called last week, absolutely furious over the $150 ticket he got for talking on his cell while driving. Maybe he’s been hiding under a rock but for the life of me I can’t understand why he was so angry. It could be that he was feeling really stupid. After all, warnings have been on virtually every newscast of every southern Ontario station warning of the upcoming blitz. I couldn’t agree more with the law. It’s a shame that so many motorists lack something called common sense. I have to admit; prior to this all-out push, I picked up my phone on a few occasions while behind the wheel. I will never be tempted again. I found a sure way to stop the madness. It’s called the ‘off’ button. Today, I marveled at stupidity first-hand, and it wasn’t pretty. I was driving southbound on the DVP, minding my own business when the car directly in front of me jammed on his brakes. I hit mine, the guy behind me hit his and thankfully everyone managed to

stop. I couldn’t understand what the problem was. It was a clear day, no animal had darted out into the car’s path and traffic directly in front was moving at a decent clip. After we had all stopped, the lead car darted to the shoulder and put his car in park. Remember, this is on the DVP. What happened next blew me away. As I slowly passed, I could see the driver’s hand waving back and forth. It’s hard to describe exactly what he was doing, almost like he was conducting the Toronto Symphony or maybe illustrating the delicate art of house painting, all the while (go figure) the other hand held a phone to his ear. You could tell he was oblivious to what had just happened. We all know that it’s a tad harder to see into a tractor cab, especially from a cop car. That makes it that much easier to hit that answer button or make that call. Chances are remote that you’ll ever get caught but there’s a reason it’s against the law, so do everyone (including yourself) a favour and invest in the hands-free technology. Even better, discover the off button. If there was a tractor-trailer in my rearview that day, I probably wouldn’t be writing this column. This is one law that will save lives. n – Rob Wilkins is the publisher of Truck West and can be reached at 416-510-5123.

people Trimac’s Ken Arthur, training instructor for the Trimac Learning Centre, has been named Safety Person of the Year by the Alberta Motor Transport Association. In filing Trimac’s quarterly results, director Jeffrey McCaig singled out Arthur for praise. “This prestigious award is a great example of the commitment that Ken has, that goes beyond what is normally required, to the safety of the industry and to the Trimac truck drivers, mechanics and technicians,” he said. “It also demonstrates the excellent relationships Ken has built in the trucking and safety community to ensure that safety is in the forefront of everyone’s mind.” • National Truck League has announced Dave McRae has joined the company as its regional manager for Ontario. In the newly created role, McRae will be in charge of business development in the province as well as training and coaching new insurance specialists. McRae has more than 21 years of sales and marketing experience and was most recently charged with training and recruiting new field reps, NTL announced. • Flo Components has named Steve Morel its new territory sales manager for the Sudbury region. Morel brings about 10 years of experience in various technical and sales positions in the mining, steel, construction and transport industries, Flo announced.

He will be charged with increasing local availability and technical support for customers and to build Flo’s customer base in the region. Flo Components is a manufacturer of automatic lubrication systems and says it plans to better serve the mining, construction, road building, aggregate and trucking industries in the Nickel Belt with its latest hiring. n

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Part 2

FICTION FICTION

Part 3

Mark Dalton: Owner/Operator

Licence An eye forrenewed an eye Mark Dalton: Owner/Operator By Edo van Belkom By Edo van Belkom

The story so far…

THE SO MarkSTORY is looking forFAR: a load. Bud has a Mark is heading to Vancouver when sweet one to California that won’t be he gets a call. One of Bud’s drivers was ready for a few days. In the meantime, attacked helping a older supposedly Bud asks while Mark to help an driver, stranded motorist on the highway to Charlie Knowles, get his licence rePrince the load, newed.George. Charlie’sMark a realtakes character and but drives to to Vancouver Mark agrees help out. first to drop off his load and visit the driver in the • hospital. Earl Purcell is beaten badly Markhishad agreed to story help gives prepare and account of the no Charliewhy Knowles the tests he reason three for menallwould attack needed complete in order to get his in such atovicious way. He’s vowed to commercial driver’s licence renewed, stop driving and Mark is saddened by but because what thatitmeant, Mark didn’t this was something the have man a clue. Other than a physical obviously enjoyed. Mark tells Earlevery he’ll fewwhat years, been on do heMark can tohadn’t see the mentested pay for his driving ability since he’d first retheir actions… ceived his licence and that had been • some 15 years ago. How could he preMark headed north to Prince George pare someone for something he didn’t as soon as his visit with Earl Purcell was know anything about? over. But despite the load being overSo he logged onto the Internet and due, he wasn’t in Ontario any particular hurry checked out the Ministry of to pick it up. Instead, he stopped at Transportation’s Web site, but was just unabout stop along way, able toevery find truck anything about the driver libuying coffees for the truckers stopped cence renewals for commercial drivers there, anyone else who thea 65 andorover. Although Markdrove wasn’t highway on a regular basis. computer genius, he’d used the Internet At one on the find northbound before andHusky could usually what he side of the highway, he spotted a school was looking for, so his results were bus parked in the lotaand pulled to puzzling. There was section for in drivuse facilities.their He didn’t reallyover have80, to ers the renewing licences andbut all kinds of helptowith exgo, the chance talkrenewing to the driver pired licences booking of the bus wouldand make the lostappointtime on ments newthan tests,worth but nothing about the stopformore his while. As what Mark to know. Mark he entered thewanted coffee shop, he scanned wondered he’d missed on the patrons ifscattered aboutsomething and figured the woman site, but with to the best of in histow abilities the a toddler was he couldn’t findthe anything more than likely driver of about the bus.the It MTO’s licensing policy regarding oldwas a job where women were allowed, commercial drivers. ifernot encouraged, to take their kids with Mark had hoped that the Web site them on their route, giving stay-at-home would help him understand the reasonmoms a job without having to put their ing behind the policy, but the fact that kids in daycare. he couldn’t find anything – even using “Hi there,” Mark said, approachthe site’s own search engine – made ing her table. him think that perhaps the program “Hello,” she or said, was too new, thesuspiciously. ministry wasn’t “Can I buy you very proud of it, or ait coffee?” was just another “I’ve already a man, mister,” tax-grab kind of got program like Drive she snapped. “And believe me, Clean. There had to be some realone’s reaplenty.” sons drivers were required to jump Markall smiled. could see she through sorts He of hoops just how because might get the wrong idea, so he did their most recent birthday was their his best to explain. if I gave 65th? Mark wanted to“Sorry know what they you thesowrong impression. Mythem name’s were, he decided to call up Mark and I’m a truck driver…” He took and ask. It took and a while before he“Did got cona breath started again. you nected to aEarl human being who could hear about Purcell?” answer his questions, but when the “Who?” right finally on the line “Awoman truck driver, hecame stopped to help she was both pleasant someone on the side ofand theprofessionroad and al. beaten up for his trouble.” was “How help you?” “Is thatcan hisI name?” Mark decided start slowly. “Yeah, “Yeah, he’s atofriend of mine and my dad is a truck driver and he’s I’m trying to find the guys who did64 it

right now, but his birthday’s coming up

to in him.” a month, and he’s scared to death of “Youhisand everybody elsegoing around losing licence. That isn’t to here.” Just then, her son finished his happen is it?” chocolate milk and his started whining “Not if he renews licence.” about going home. “In a minute sweet“This year?” ie, “And the man’s telling mommy every year after 65.” something.” “That doesn’t seem fair. He hasn’t noddedininyears…in the boy’s direction, hadMark a problem fact he’s neverlooked had anthe accident life.” then womanininhisthe eye. “That’s admirable sir, butevery research “You drive this highway day has shown that older are more and I’d appreciate it ifdrivers you called me to develop medical conditions iflikely you saw anything suspicious.” that“Like affect their ability to drive. After what?” 65,“Like drivers areon one-and-a-half a Buick the side of the times road more likely to have accident with its hood open,an one guy onthan the driverstwo between 45the and 64.” road, guys in car.” She her stuff, thatone wasside for sure. Her knew lips pulled up on in a And Mark could concede the fact that sneer. “You want me to get their names as drivers got older they had more for you too?” health issues. So an eye test and a “That’d be nice,” Mark said, withphysical were probably a good idea, out skipping a beat. “What I’m thinkbut that didn’t explain the rest of it. “So ing is, if these guys do it again they’ll why do they have to be road-tested probably do it around here because too?” they know this highway. So, if you see She paused, as if thinking. “The lithem, give me a call.” cence renewal process has been devel“Why I call and not the oped withshould the help andyou consultation of police?” the people in the industry to enhance It was a fairThat question, and re-assessshe might truck safety. includes not like his answer, but he decided ment of a person’s driving ability.” to tell Mark her thesighed, truth just the same. knowing he “Because probably the police willtojust them and wasn’t going getarrest anywhere with put this them in jail.” woman. “You know, a lot of drivers have to rent trucks and trailers to take “Isn’t that enough?” their tests, costing them money and a Normally it would be, Mark day off work just to keep their licence.” thought, but…“Not in this case.” He “That’s gave her aunfortunate.” card. “Call me.” “And if a driver hasnodded, been onand the She looked at him, road 40 years without a problem, why said, “Maybe, I will.” should he have to prove he can still “Thanks.” drive? That age and discriminaHe was seems about like to turn leave tion to me.” when she said, “I’ll have a large reguministry reviews the lar.“The My son couldregularly use another chocorenewal requirements. If you have conlate milk.” cerns – as you obviously do – then I Mark was confused a minute, then suggest writing to the Ontario remembered the offer he’d made to Transport Minister, or your member of break the ice. “Coming right up.” provincial parliament.” “Write a letter?”• Mark the yard in Prince “Yes,reached sir.” George by nightfall. There was a seMark hung up the phone. ‘So be it,’ curity guard waiting for him in the tinyit thought Mark. If there’s a test, then kiosk entrance to the yard. Mark was at histhejob to make sure Charlie got out of Mother Load, walked up to passed it. the kiosk and knocked on the door. The • door and Mark guard unlocked the stepped theparking guy picking Mark metinside. Charlie“I’m in the lot of up Earl yard Purcell’s load.” a truck out by the airport. Charlie was“What sittingtook in hisyou pick-up at the farwere end so long? You of the yardtoand whenhours Markago.” pulled in, supposed be here he “I wasted no time getting out of his was visiting Earl.” truck andthat, hopping Mother With all theinto anger was Load. gone He scaled the face. cab “How so easily and from the guard’s is he?” slipped in the open passenger side “Pretty beaten up. He’ll be in the hosdoorfor soaeffortlessly, would have pital few weeks,Mark but he’ll recover.” never have guessed the man was “That’s good news. I’m looking for-a

senior citizen. “You Mark Dalton?” Charlie asked ward seeing himaccent. again.” in his to thick Scottish Mark shook his head. “I don’t think “You don’t remember me?” he’llCharlie be driving anymore.” looked at him strangely. The security guard looked down at “Should I?” theMark dirty concrete floor. “That’s bad. smiled and related thetoo story of He was a good driver, good guy the early days of his truck drivingtoo. caYou that expression, ‘It divorced couldn’t reer know when he’d been recently have happened to a nicerappearance guy?’” and he’d let his personal nodded. getMark out of hand. He’d looked like a “Well him, in called a weird reverse bum, but that’s Charlie had him a loser. “Do you remember that?” sort of way.” Charlie’s “I get whateyes you’renarrowed saying.” as he looked Mark over. “Aye, I remember. “Who would do something like that, You why?” were a loser then. You still could and be.“Who I don’t knows?” know thatMark much said. about “Peoyou.” Mark had considered thanking ple do most criminal activity for onethe of manreasons, for shaking him or upsex. enough to get two money But there’s his telling life back on track, butperson it didn’tmight seem no what a crazy the right time for it now. do, or someone who’s off their medi“How much yousome gonna charge cation. Then again, people are me?” just bad.” “What?” Mark said. He hadn’t “Well I hope they find the guys who thought to charge anything. As far as did it.” he knew he was doing Bud a favour. “Yeah, me too.” “Did Bud tell you you’d have to pay?” • called around to “He didn’t, but I’ve Mark was just over hour charge out of the schools and somean of them Prince George, heading south toward $3,000... and that’s just for a refresher Vancouver, when he came upon a course.” sight he’d hoped he wouldn’t see for “That’s a lot of money.” a while. There, caught in the light from “You bet it’s a lot of money, especialhis headlamps, in the middle of a long ly when I’ve been driving truck twice dark stretch of desolate highway, was as long as the snot-nosed boy who’ll abecar pulled me overhas onto theon side the teaching been theofplanroad. et.” The hood was up and a woman Mark was aware of the insult, but he was standing next to car waving couldn’t her arms.help but smile. Charlie was such a character. “Damn!” MarkWho said.else could insult someone wasoff doing something He tookwho his foot the accelerator nice forhimself them?time “Budtoasked to give think. me to do this.“What I wasn’t going to charge you anyshould I do?” he said aloud. thing.” Mark didn’t want to stop. For one What passed for ainsmile appeared of the very few times his life, he was

Illustration by Glenn McEvoy

on Charlie’s face. “Then the price is right,” he said, continuing to stare at afraid of what narrowed might happen him. Mark through eyes.to“And Sure, there was a woman in distress, what about using your truck for the but if there were men thethat, car...I test?what You’ll be charging meinfor or hiding in the ditch beside the road? suppose?” What if he Mark stopped to help the woman, Again, hadn’t thought about only to be beaten to within an inch of what truck Charlie would use. his life, his rig stolen, his load hijacked? Obviously the man had no truck of his It could happen. had happened! own and would haveIt to rent one to do taking aa risk. theHe’d test.be Renting truckAnd wasfor a what? costly A thank-you especially from a pretty ladyit and a endeavour, when would be for fuzzy just a few hours. “I guess warm feeling inside overI acould job let you use my truck.” well done? Sure, it was the right thing “Forbut free?” to do, considering all that could Mark didn’t likeworth the word free.over He happen, it wasn’t pulling was offering doing a assistance. favour for Easier, Bud and and notthat to implied that Bud would return the mention safer, just to keep on going favour some day. Butbusiness. as far asAfter Charlie and mind your own all, was concerned, the use of truck someone else would stop to helpwould soonindeed be wouldn’t free. “Yes,” he said at last. er or later, they? “Free.” As Mark passed the woman, still Charlie nodded. “Good. But you betfrantically waving her arms, he saw the ter get a trailer. I can’t exactly drop a look of despair on her face and knew trailer on the day of the test if there isn’t that she was in trouble. Or at least, he one attached to the truck now, can I?” was pretty sure she was. Finally, with Speaking of tests, Mark had been ainteracting sigh, Mark hit the brakes. with Charlie for all of five “I hope I don’t regret this,” minutes and he felt like he washe thesaid, one engaging the parking brake and who was being tested – most of all exhis iting the comfort a warm Mother patience. “I’ll makeofsure,” he sighed at Load last. for the uncertainty of a cold, dark B.C. night.then! n Let’s get started.” ■ “Right –– Mark Dalton returnsreturns next month in Mark Dalton next the conclusion of An Eye for an Eye. month in Part 3 of Licence Renewed.

Did you know that there are two full-length Did youfeaturing know that there are twoMark full-length novels Mark Dalton?: Dalton novels featuring Mark Dalton?: Mark Dalton “SmartDriver” and Mark Dalton “Troubleload.” “SmartDriver” andregister Mark Dalton “Troubleload.” For your free copy with ecoENERGY for For your free copy register with ecoENERGY Fleets (Fleet Smart) at fleetsmart.gc.ca. Bothfor Fleets Smart) at fleetsmart.gc.ca are also(Fleet available in audio book format.

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Page 38 TRUCK WEST

April 2011

TSQ BOWMANVILLE, Ont. – Ontario’s Long Combination Vehicle (LCV) program has gotten even longer, with the provincial government doubling the number of carriers that can participate. Starting in March, the program expansion has seen as many as 160 LCVs from 80 carriers gracing the province’s highways. Each carrier is still limited to just two permits, which has caused some grumbling among fleets who helped pioneer the program, but will there be any grumbling from other drivers when more Twin-53s hit the road? Truck West went to the Fifth Wheel Truck Stop in Bowmanville, Ont. to find out what drivers think about the program and its continued expansion. • Mike Brosseau, a driver with Kemira Water Solutions out of Verdan, Que., says the LCV program is a good idea since there aren’t enough new drivers taking the place of re-

Truck Stop Question

How do you feel about the expansion of Ontario’s LCV program?

adam ledlow

Mike Brosseau

tiring drivers. “We don’t have any drivers from the new generatio; we don’t have any drivers left. It will be my turn soon to take my retirement, so maybe another two years on the road and then maybe I’ll quit,” says

the 35-year veteran. However, Brosseau notes, if the program is going to take off, carriers have to be willing to pay a higher rate for LCV operators. “The pay is not good for (the L C V prog ra m i n Quebec) . Around the Montreal area, they pay 35-40 cents for one (53-ft. trailer) and they give you three cents more per mile for the second one. I am not interested to work for an extra three cents to pull another one at 90 km/h; it’s too slow,” says Brosseau, who has a licence to operate LCVs, though he hasn’t used it. •

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Will Johnston

Will Johnston, a driver with Laidlaw Carriers out of Woodstock, Ont., says he’s had no problem sharing the road with Twin-53s since the program started, but would like to see a couple changes made. “They have pretty tight regulations on horsepower and safety, so they are not blowing up hills or nothing there,” he says. “As far as expanding it, I wish they would put tighter regulations on and make sure that senior drivers are behind the wheel and not new drivers.” In terms of a threat to job security, Johnston calls the LCV program a “fad,” noting that with the “cutthroat” competition present in dry van these days, “it’s just another thing, really.” • Neil Candler, a driver with Electro out of Trenton, Ont., says the LCV program is “killing the industry” by “taking a man’s work away.” “You are taking what could be two loads of freight out of Toronto to Montreal down to one guy. Like it’s not hard enough to make a living out here,” he told Truck West. “You don’t see a lot of these smaller carriers doing it; it’s all the big corporations doing it, and they will continue to do it. They are in competition with the rails, so they are going to have to do that. I do not agree with it.” •

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Philip Goinz

Philip Goinz, a driver with Averitt Express out of Louisville, Ky., makes a dedicated run to Ontario once a week and has seen several LCV configurations during his time in the province. He says that finding adequate parking is a big enough issue when hauling one trailer and that doubling up only exacerbates the problem. “When they get somewhere, they have nowhere to park because they are too long; there are no parking places in the new service plazas that they built,” he says, noting that LCVs can also cause traffic snarls because they take so long for a typical tractor-trailer to pass. “If you double the number that are on the roads, you are going to double the problems, that is the way I look at it.” n – Have an idea in mind for a future Truck Stop Question topic? Send a message via Twitter to @adamledlow or e-mail adam@ transportationmedia.ca.

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