Two old champions shunts (Capacity and Ottawa) mix it up along with newcomer TICO just stepping into the ring.

I have a confession to make...while driving for an unnamed auto carrier from southern Ontario (now defunct), I hauled loads regularly into Utica, Mich., to a Ford Plant (just down the road from where Jimmy Hoffa disappeared at the Red Fox Inn). This must have been 1987, it was one of those Ford plants that dotted Michigan and Ohio in those days, where they put together seat assemblies or something like that. At night, long freight trains would come clanking in, blocking the crossing to the field behind the plant where they keep the empty trailers.

But one day I pull in and they're parking the trailers on the infeild beside a test track. This is a test track where Ford would sometimes bring their cars for speed trials, a gigantic, banked cement bowl. Being young(er) and more demented, I took that load of Woodbridge Foam or Lear seats or whatever on that test track oval and ran her through the gears. It was a Lousville tractor, I'm sure with a Detroit 318, got her up to some good highway speed and rode up sideways so I was perpendicular to the ground, like a midway ride or a NASCAR driver. The faster you go, the higher you can ride up side of the bowl. Anyway after a few minutes of this, it dawned on me that someone could see me and my adventure would show on my tach card (posted speed limit in the yard was 10 mph).
I come from a generation that would smoke the brakes and tires on shunt trucks and day cabs at Canadian Tire in Brampton, working city night shunt. Back in the day, you'd drive them hard to get your work done ahead of schedule so you could go home, banging cans and slotting them into some narrow doorways. CTC management divided an hour into 6 minute increments so they could decimize each move in the yard and city.
Years later, with some of that same spirit of shunting still in me, I get offered a chance to test three off-road shunt trucks for the August issue of TN. Do I jump at the opportunity? Yes, indeed.

So last week, Mike Hignett of Capacity gave me a nice off road machine with 205 horse Cummings and let me roar around their trailer yard in Mississauga jacknifing trailers to my heart's content. Yesterday, a somewhat nervous Aidan Bolger of TICO took me over to a “it-shall-remain nameless” yard somewhere in Anjou, Que., and let me spin and spot empty reefers with the funny-looking TICO amidst truck traffic at a tanker wash facility. And I just got back from Woodbine Truck Centre where John Uppington was waiting for me with a current model Ottawa off-road tractor that I pushed pretty hard, too.

Aside from writing the odd column for TN, my driving job still lets me try my hand at shunting when I want to, and I do like the discipline. Some drivers prefer shunting to other types of trucking, and a good shunter is worth double his or her weight in barrels of crude.

I have to admit that since I've been on linehaul, my backing skills aren't as sharp as they used to be. Still, I know how to give these trucks a good work out, quick starts and stops and sharp maneuvers, smooth and articulate docking and spotting. And I know what I want when it comes to driver comfort. I'll let you know what I think in the August Truck News.

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Well, I’m officially a twit. That is to say, I’ve broken down and joined the ranks of yet another social networking site: Twitter.

Like MySpace and Facebook before it, Twitter attempts to further shrink our constantly contracting world by asking one very simple question: What are you doing? And as it turns out, people are awfully interested in what everyone else is up to.

Millions of users have entered the Twitisphere to follow not only what their friends and family are up to, but also the very famous. From US President Barack Obama to actor Ashton Kutcher to singer John Mayer to skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, you can keep tabs on just about anyone with a Blackberry and 20 seconds to type out what they’re eating, reading, thinking, listening to or what bill they’ve recently signed into law (if you’re Obama).

These 140-character blurbs give us a little snapshot into that person’s world in an instant and interactive way like never before.

So what can you expect to get by reading my Twitter posts? I’ll be sharing links found on our Web page, sharing insight on a variety of industry topics, letting you know when, why and who I’m interviewing (and maybe even give you the opportunity to pose a few questions yourself), and keeping you abreast on any developments at conferences, video shoots and other events I’m attending. And I may throw in some personal bits and random thoughts just for fun.

Along with our blogs, videos and Cyber CB feature, it’s just another way that TruckNews.com is striving to provide a total media experience every time you pay us a visit.

So be sure to keep tabs on myself, James and Lou, as we tweet and twiddle the day away ‘til twilight. Sorry. I'm still not used to the lingo.

Check us out here:

Twitter.com/adamledlow
Twitter.com/jamesmenzies
Twitter.com/LouSmyrlis

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When I was handed the editorial director’s job of Transportation Media more than 5 years ago, I made two promises to myself, our staff and our readers: First, that the publications in our group (Motortruck Fleet Executive, Truck News, Truck West and Canadian Transportation & Logistics, ) would make every endeavour to reach out to readers in as many innovative ways as possible. And two, that we would evolve into a multi-media company capable of telling a story in the best way for that story to be told. In other words, although the print products would remain our core, we would make every effort to engage our audience in ways that went far beyond that.

That has led us on quite a ride in recent years as we added more and more features to our Web sites (ctl.ca and trucknews.com), published special supplements on key issues, conducted and shared research, spoke at industry events, wrote blogs, produced a weekly Web TV show, put on an annual golf tournament, and organized educational seminars. And from the attention these new ventures have received, it’s clear you believe us to be on the right track.

The next stop on this ride is Twitter. If you are not familiar with this new form of communication, it’s basically technology that allows people to send short (140-characters maximum) updates to anyone who wants to “follow” them.

I have to admit, this new technology left me quite skeptical at first.

To begin with, it suffered from what all these new electronic ventures do: a really stupid name for anyone over the age of 40 (maybe even 30). I mean, how serious does “Twitter” sound to you?

I also wondered why people would want to read short bursts that are the equivalent of a couple of sentences. And to some extent I still think that part is true. If the 140-character update is an update on what someone is having for breakfast, frankly I don’t give a damn and never will. And I doubt any of you would either.

But what if that update was about some breaking news story and provided a link to find out mor
e? What if that 140-character update let you know before anyone else what some important industry person we’ve just interviewed had to say on a key topic? What if it was a heads up that we will be interviewing a key person and that we could pose some of your questions if you send them to us.

It’s a great way to get in the loop and stay in the loop.

As with all new communication tools, I view Twitter as an experiment, but I’m betting you will find it useful. I’ve just started “tweeting” myself (as have Executive editor James Menzies and Managing Editor Adam Ledlow). So far I’ve posted information about a range of topics from what a senior economist had to say about the economic recovery and what Volvo’s president had to say about sustainable transportation to the latest trends on transportation rates and surcharges.

You can find me on twitter.com/LouSmyrlis. I would love to hear from you.

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It's that time of year where we ship reefers (no not that kind). We want a driver to PULP the commodity they are hauling. We want the driver to install and monitor the Temptale (THE WHAT?) 0h I know, Transportation companies are putting more and more ONUS on the drivers, yet they do not train the drivers properly.

First off, let's get something straight, and set the record straight. I am not a big proponent of having the driver do everything. They are paid to drive the truck. If the carriers do not dispatch correctly, what is the sense. Tell the drivers to PULP bananas, or grapes, or berries, or whatever. It is like telling them to take a thermometer and get the babies temperature. Yet most companies, when there is a claim, hold the driver liable for the first whatever amount.

Brokers want the driver to call them every 4 hours, and have strict delviery schedules. Again, point out the obvious. If a driver pulls off the road, calls a dispatch, lets them know where they are, gets back on the road they just lost approximately 15 minutes of ON DUTY NOT DRIVING TIME . IT IS illegal to talk on the telephone and drive at the same time, in MOST STATES AND PROVINCES. LEAVE THE DRIVERS DRIVE. Chargebacks on LTL shipments this is ridiculous for the customer, and the Load Broker to hold the carrier responsible for. It's LTL, don't ask the impossible, after all, its your customer, casuing the delays somewhere along the way. Murphy's Law with LTL shipments, can and will happen (READ DELAYS).

I attended a WEBINAR recently hosted by CCJ Magazine. The lawyer presenting said what I have been preaching for a long time.

Carriers should not be signing contracts, with brokers. We haul the load, we sign a B/L(BILL OF LADING) it has enough terms and conditions on it. That should be sufficient. A lot of Load Brokers (BIG AND SMALL) want the carrier to allow them to OFFSET a CLAIM against any freight charges owing. HOGWASH. We will settle the claim, pay what we legally owe, and you will pay the freight. Nothing more, nothing less. If there is a loss, that is why we have Insurance. It is up tothe Insurance Company to settle the claim. Why on earth would we agree to let the broker or the consignee offset any claims, against all money owing for freight charges. This is the same as admitting liability and fault. Prove it was our fault and the Insurance company will pay what they legally have to pay.

Let's look at the example they used in the webinar. Carrier "A" is hauling a machine. Upon delivery there is a part broken that is worth $100.00 The carrier has a contract with the LOAD BROKER, to allow them to OFFSET any claims agianst freight charges owing. The consignee has to have a new part flown in from the Far East. TOTAL COST $30,000.00. The load broker offset the total of $30,000.00 against all freight charges owing to the carrier, for a $100.00 machine part, for the total of the replacement costs. Not only illegal, but so far out in left field, some carriers accept it. In fact the Insurance company would state you are only liable for the cost of replacing the actual part damaged. Some Load Brokers, are now asking carriers to sign contracts with the same legal liability limits for carriage in the United States of America, and Canada. FULL REPLACEMENT VALUE. No declared value required.
DON'T sign them. ALL CARRIERS should be sticking together ( instead of getting it stuck to them) on this

I strongly recommend every carrier read, every contract thoroughly, before signing them. If you have signed them, try to redo, reread, rewrite re anything to negate cartain clauses. As for me I am still looking at my many ACRONYMS. Does everyone know what the follwoing mean (1) RFID (2) E.D.I. (3) P.O.D.(4) COGS and last Acronym for this week. RFQ. OKAY ONE MORE This one I love the lastest in BUZZ WORDS the last couple of years KPI.

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Tweet, tweet. That’s right, Truck News is on Twitter. Why? That’s a pretty good question – one that I too asked when it was first suggested we give it a try. After all, I’m not so vain as to think you folks really care what I had for breakfast or what random thoughts I had on the drive into work.

However, after giving it some more thought, I realized Twitter holds enormous potential for those of us in the business of collecting and disseminating information. And if we’re not exploring new ways to communicate with our readers, than we’re really not doing our jobs.

Consider a few of the possibilities for those of us in the publishing world:

* Truck News editors often enjoy face time with significant industry players. Twitter can allow you to submit questions you’d like us to ask key industry stakeholders, essentially involving yourself in the interview process. We can then share their responses with ‘followers’ immediately.

* No other means of publishing is more immediate. When new products are introduced, Twitter allows us to post pictures and newsflashes almost instantaneously – from anywhere in the world. Subscribing to our Twitter feeds will assure you are the first to find out about breaking news or new product introductions. Think of it as instant text alerts – like the type you sign up for at TSN.ca on trade deadline day (okay, maybe that’s me).

* Join in the conversation. Respond to our Tweets and banter back and forth with like-minded (or not) individuals from the trucking industry. Challenge Tweets you disagree with and create a dialogue.

* Receive live reports from industry events. Thinking of heading to a truck show but want a report on the weather, attendance, schedule or which exhibitors are or aren’t there? Find out what’s going on at the show, as it happens.

Joining Twitter is just the latest step in an ongoing journey for those of us in the publishing world. We’re no longer just a magazine - we’re a continuous conduit of information. You can’t afford to receive information on a strictly monthly basis, and fortunately the Web and new technologies like Twitter are allowing us to better serve your needs in more interactive formats.

So with all that being said, we hope you take the leap. You can find me and sign up for my alerts at www.twitter.com/jamesmenzies. If Lou’s commentary is more to your liking, you can find him at www.twitter.com/lousmyrlis. (Of course, I hope to establish a much larger following than him, as there’s nothing like showing up your boss). Adam Ledlow can be found at www.twitter.com/adamledlow. Look for the same type of humour from him that you've come to know and love from our WebTV show Transportation Matters.

Hope to Tweet to you soon.

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The trucking industry has a wonderful story to tell about the incredible progress it has made towards reducing its emissions over the past decade. A new report out of the US suggests the EPA07 engines were particularly effective, going well beyond EPA requirements and reducing emissions by much more than required by law.

According to a release by the American Trucking Associations, EPA07 engines produced 98% less carbon monoxide, 10% less NOx, 89% less particulate matter and 95% less non-methane hydrocarbons than required by EPA under its 2007 diesel engine emissions standards. (I haven’t read the entire 158-page report, but if you wish to do so, be my guest).

That’s a pretty remarkable accomplishment, even if it did come at a tremendous cost. With the next go-round just months from away in January 2010, it appears some fleets are viewing the 2010 emissions standards as an opportunity, rather than a costly burden.

In a sluggish economy with weak freight volumes, it would be easy to postpone the purchase of EPA2010-compliant engines. However, fleets at the recent Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC) conference have instead said they plan to proceed with new equipment purchases in 2010 and some are even welcoming the latest round of emissions standards.

“We’re not going to skip 2010, we’ll be out there buying trucks next year,” vowed Serge Viola, national fleet manager with Purolator Courier.

That message was echoed by other environmentally-conscious fleets at the conference.

Mark Mostacci, national fleet manager with TDL Group (better known as Tim Horton’s), said his fleet will be ordering 40 new tractors in 2010.

“We’re not going to avoid it, we’re going to embrace it,” Mostacci said of the EPA2010 emissions standards. He said his fleet took a similar approach in 2007 and despite some initial challenges, ended up enjoying better fuel mileage on its 07 vehicles and recouping its investment.

I realize that the opinions of a few industry leaders do not a consensus make. But it’s still good news for truck and engine manufacturers, and perhaps it’s why Volvo decided to roll out its EPA2010-compliant vehicles early. The company announced last week that it is now accepting orders for 2010-compliant engines at the behest of its customers.

“A number of customers have expressed an interest in placing SCR-equipped units in their fleets ahead of 2010,” said Scott Kress, senior vice-president, sales and marketing.

Don’t forget, Volvo’s EPA2010 trucks and engines will come with a non-negotiable $9,600 emissions surcharge and other manufacturers are likely to be in the same ballpark. Yet customers are looking to buy these more expensive vehicles early? What does that say about our industry? Apparently fleets are beginning to see real value in going green, even at a substantial cost. As shippers monitor their carbon footprint all the way through the supply chain, fleets that are embracing the changes foisted upon the industry by the EPA are seeing green in more ways than one.

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You know things are bad when our National Professional Truck Driving Championship gets cancelled due to a lack of sponsorship. The popular event was to be held in Abbotsford and Surrey, BC, in September and the organizers were looking forward to a banner event. But, as event chairman Shaun Garvey had to acknowledge, finding sponsors in this economic climate was too tough a task, and there was no other choice but to cancel.

The cancellation, which was announced shortly after we heard that the continent’s largest trucking company was going to ask the US government for a bailout (and since changed its mind) is just the latest in what has been a barrage of bad news since last fall. Is there no light at the end of this tunnel?

Actually, there might be. There are positive signals coming in now from a variety of areas.

Over the past two months Transportation Media in partnership with Dan Goodwill & Associates has hosted two educational seminars for both carriers and shippers. The well-attended seminars included a deep dive into the economic outlook and what I heard on both those occasions, the latter one in particular, was encouraging.

The experts are seeing a change in economic conditions after the sharp downfall of the past 9 months, according to Carlos Gomes, an economist with Scotia Bank. That downfall, by the way, has been the sharpest in the post war era.

Gomes gave several examples that indicate the North American economy has hit rock bottom and is ready to gradually climb its way back up. Automotive carriers may have felt the impact of the recession more than any others. By late 2008 cars were sitting on lots for more than 90 days, when 60 days is the norm. That caused car manufacturers to slash production from 13-14 million annually down to 5-6 million. And that of course had a distinct impact on the number of automotive shipments made available and naturally all the shipments of raw materials and parts that go into making a car. But Gomes said the auto sector has seen the worst of it and is beginning to rebound.

The same can be said of the housing market, traditionally a strong source of business for flatdeck carriers and carriers involved in the transport of housing-related goods. By 2006 housing in the key US market reached dangerous levels in terms of affordability and soon collapsed. That too is changing. The combination of dropping housing prices and low interest rates are making for very affordable housing right now. But it will take some time to clear off the inventory – houses are still sitting on the market for 10 to 11 months instead of the usual 5-6 months.

In another sign the worst of the recession may be behind us, Canadian exporters expressed optimism during Export Development Canada’s semi-annual Trade Confidence Index. Exporter confidence rebounded from the previous index more strongly than at any other time since the post-9/11 period.

And according to the experts at a recent FTR Associates webinar, the current recession is U-shaped - not V-shaped - and we’re now bouncing along the bottom. Key economic indicators have stabilized and FTR Associates expects to see positive GDP growth beginning next quarter and into 2010.

Good news indeed. But it’s not all good news. FTR Associates also pointed out that there won’t be a rapid rise from the ashes. And the modest GDP growth they expect to see in the near future doesn’t translate into a quick improvement in freight conditions. The economy has to be growing around 3% before we can get back to a 1% growth in freight, according to FTR Associates.

Truck manufacturers will have to be just as patient during the recovery, if not more so. North American Class 8 truck sales in 2009 will be 43% lower than in 2008, according to projections from ACT Research, and will only recover about half of that decline in 2010. The Class 8 fleet will end 2010 at the oldest average age on record. The company also projected medium-duty sales will be 26% lower in 2009 than in 08 and will grow 11% in 2010. Demand for trailers will also remain weak, according to the forecaster, thanks to the recession as well as structural issues that have increased average trailer life.

But at least the likelihood of a W-shaped recession – where there is a modest recovery followed by another recession - is receding. Gomes said that as long as the fundamentals continue to improve he doesn’t’ see the likelihood of heading back into recession.

Not exactly the strong light at the end of the tunnel we have been waiting for, but at least it’s not another oncoming train.

WORTH REPEATING

“If you don’t toot your own horn, there will be no music,”
Andrew Miller,
president, ACM Consulting Inc.

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Things have changed a lot since the mid-70s when truck drivers were viewed as heroic figures. The CB radio craze was followed by a spate of Hollywood films and TV series (Movin' On, BJ and the Bear) that portrayed truckers as good guy heroes who worked hard and fought for what was right and fair, often against unscrupulous trucking magnates and sycophantic cops. White Line Fever starred Jan-Michael Vincent as Carroll Joe Hummer, an independent and unsullied owner operator who returns from Vietnam and then has to battle against a corrupt long haul industry that expects drivers to haul contraband and work long hours. He also has to make a stand against law enforcement officials who are in the back pocket of the baddies. Smokey and the Bandit pitted Burt Reynolds and Sally Fields against Jackie Gleason who played the local yokel sheriff. In Convoy, Kris Kristofferson and Ali McGraw faced off against more corrupt police (the antagonist is Ernest Borgnine as chief county-mounty and he has the National Guard on his side) but this time they had help from a convoy of fellow truckers. Even Clint Eastwood as trucker got into the fray by teaming up with an orangutan to battle evil-doers in the industry (that man broke all the rules).

But somewhere along the way the blush went off the rose. Truckers are no longer heroes in the movies. If anything, the media has latched on to negative stereotypes about the profession. Black Dog, starring Patrck Swayze (1998), is a case in point. Swayze is a former trucker who had been released from jail after serving a term for vehicular manslaughter after falling asleep on the road. He gets a job as a truck mechanic but he's coerced into hauling a load of guns from Georgia to NYC. Swayze tries to quit the job after he discovers what's in the cargo but his boss kidnaps his wife and daughter to get him to comply. Meanwhile, the corrupt shipper of the load (played by singer Meatloaf) is attempting to hijack his own load. The film has some spectacular stunts involving trucks. Swayze's Peterbilt (powered by a CAT engine, he tells us), pushes a truck up a hill when the bad guys try to box him in. Freightliners and Internationals are no match for Swayze's Peterbilt and driving skills. The heroes of this movie are Randy Travis (not a trucker and only along for the ride, an undercover FBI agent who gets killed in the process, and Swayze who, we are told, has given up trucking). But the truckers in the movie are all bad dudes.

I wrote to Ronald Primeau, author of Romance of the Road, to examine this shift and he agreed with me. "No doubt there has been a slow but progressive shift away from the trucker as hero (with perhaps a very idealized, mythis meaning operating) to trucker as sinister, dangerous and all. In traditional road books this probably parallels the move from the Whitmanesque through kerouac and Blue Highways to the parody of Harrison's Good Day to Die or Jim Dodge's Not Fade Away to the road as a place where robbers, criminals and rapists lurk."

Primeau also passed my query on to a couple of his academic colleagues. David Bain wrote: "I think the guy has a point. When I was a kid the trucker was pretty much king; everybody had a CB and truckers were the heroes of all the movies in the theaters and all the songs on the radio. The dark side of the road has always been a subgenre, in horror and otherwise, I think, but I also believe Hollywood would currently rather finance another horror movie about wanderers making a wrong turn into horror than risk something in the spirit of Easy Rider. I think some of this is a subtle (or maybe not so subtle) isolationist turn since 9/11 -- stay at home and defend the hearth, only the boogieman's out there on the road."

Another academic, Barry Alford added, "I think there has been a clear shift in popular media away from the trucker as hero/working class savant toward a more sinister portrayal--movies with truckers as slashers and murderers etc.--parallels the turnin the American road genre from the road as open and Whitmanesque to damaged and deranged...maybe we need a Dudley Doright trucker

Author Greg Martin, who is working on a screenplay about just such a truck driver hero, and thinks the time is right for a new image to be presented by Hollywood. "The times call for a feel-good story about someone we can all relate to, someone who's made a decision in life and done it his way. What's important,” he says, “is to spotlight the industry in a good light and present a positive stereotype. There are a lot of career opportunities in trucking for hard working men and women, it's an opportunity to become your own person.”

Martin and I had fun speculating who would play such a hero. It turns out hehas already consulted various web site forums including “women in trucking” and come up with a short list that includes Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford, Sam Elliot, Tom Sellick, Ed Harris, Bruce Willis, and Sam Shepard..

“What about Clint Eastwood?” I ask Martin on the phone from his home in the San Francisco Bay area. “I think he might be a little too old,” he says. Even Billy Bob Thornton's name comes up, who Martin admits might be perfect for the part.

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The following is a letter from Ontario Transport Minister Jim Bradley in response to recent coverage of what Truck News has referred to as discriminatory driver testing requirements for senior drivers in Ontario...

Dear Mr. Menzies:

Thank you for your e-mail and clipping from Truck News, regarding driver testing for commercial drivers aged 65 and over.

Ontario’s licensing policy regarding commercial drivers aged 65 and over is not arbitrary. Research shows that aging, coupled with medical conditions and the use of medication, could adversely affect a person’s driving ability. That is why the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators’ medical standards for drivers recommended that age-related factors be considered when making driver licensing decisions.

The 65 and over Commercial Driver Program provides a more rigorous licence renewal process for older commercial drivers. These drivers are more likely to develop medical conditions affecting their ability to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle. Any decline in driving-related skills can seriously affect road safety, as even a single commercial vehicle collision can have significant consequences. Road safety statistics show that between 1997 and 2006 commercial drivers aged 65 and over were one and a half times more likely to be involved in an injury collision than commercial drivers aged 45 to 64.

Improving overall truck safety and truck driver behaviour is a major commitment for my ministry. Working closely with the trucking industry and our road safety partners, we have developed a strategic plan to enhance truck safety that includes re-assessing the training, testing and licensing of commercial drivers.

Additionally, in 2008, my ministry joined with 28 industry stakeholders, such as the Ontario Trucking Association, to review senior commercial driver licence renewal requirements. The review covered all commercial licence classes including straight, combination and dump trucks as well as buses and school buses. Although no decision has been made to amend the licence renewal requirements for commercial vehicle operators, my ministry continues to monitor and evaluate the issue.

Again, thank you for your e-mail and please accept my best wishes.

Yours sincerely,

Jim Bradley
Minister

To that I would respond, the Minister seems to have missed the point. No road test is going to uncover a medical condition – unless jumping jacks, push-ups and blood pressure checks are going to become part of the pre-trip inspection requirements. An annual medical, I’m willing to guess, would be accepted – even welcomed – by the majority of senior drivers if it meant the annual road test requirement was eliminated. It’s the road test that is costly, time-consuming and in most cases unnecessary.

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What a great idea. Does that mean I will have to change my initials after my name? WIll I be a P.I.F.F.A.? Since I completed C.I.F.F.A. in 1979 does that mean I will be CIFLOG. I'm not sure anymore what I am?

What I am sure of is that this business has more ACRONYMS, SHORT FORMS, TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS THAN ANY OTHER BUSINESS YOU CAN COME ACROSS. In fact Logistics Magazine has a LEXI-COM Glossary of Logistics Terms that they publish. I still refer to it. 76 Pages of terms and abbreviations. How can there be so many. Trust me there, are. We just have to make sure we are all speaking the same language, at the same time, and mean the same thing.

It is however interesting, that I still go back to my College roots and studying of International Business, at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology. I have said it before and it is worth repeating. F.O.B. C.I.F. C&F etc. are not shipping terms. Granted they do convey where a buyer's responsiblities begin and where a shippers responsiblity ends. Whcih naturally means they are buying and selling terms. A Truck Bill of Lading, is quite interesting even by the time you weed through all of the small print.

Load Brokers want carriers to sign 4, 5, 6, or 7, page contracts, for us to haul a load that may be the only load we carry for you. all these pages for $ 400.00 or $ 500.00. Yet the B/L (acronym) for Bill of Lading, clearly states Ownership does not transfer until freight charges have been paid in full. In a court of Law in the United States and In Canada, of course, there are seperate contracts. The contract between the actual shipper and the consignee, The actual buyer and seller of the product, the load broker and the carrier The load broker and their customer. Gets confusing doesn't it. Yet the carrier gets stuck paying the bill if a supposedly reputable load broker, hangs you out to dry.

Now as carriers, we can go after the shipper and consignee for collection of freight charges. We have every legal right to do so. Unless you signed that 4, 5, 6, or 7 page contract. CARRIERS BEWARE. Do not sign contracts that you do not understand or know the full impact and ramifications of such. You won't approach! you won't back solicit! you won't communicate! How about we won't deliver?, How about we publish every name of every load broker that has not paid the carriers for pick up and dleivery as agreed? How about carriers band together tell each other who does not pay consistently, on time, argues rates, does not pay waiting time, does not pay for BOND FEES etc.

Why not ? SIMPLE AS AN INDUSTRY WE DO NOT STICK TO OUR GUNS, WE SEEM TO LET EVERYONE STICK IT TO US INSTEAD. I guess after 33 years in the business that is why I love the industry so much. Same teams, same players, get traded, get drafted, get optioned out to the farm club. We all know each other though.

One of the first rules of business is "CREDIT IS A PRIVILEDGE DON'T ABUSE IT" OR FOR THAT MATTER GIVE ANYONE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ABUSE IT. We have every right to call someone if we do not get paid, In todays economy everyone has to be very careful, what we do, how we do it and ensure we get paid on time, to do it.

There you go ISN'T THAT A NOVEL IDEA (P.S. I'll finish with more acronyms later, They are so much fun! AREN'T THEY??????)

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Before long, you'll likely see the first of Ontario’s long combination vehicles (LCVs) puttering down the 401. They’ll be hard to miss.

Already there’s been much debate about whether or not LCVs are viable on Ontario’s congested roadways. Certainly there’s cause for concern about the lack of rest areas along Ontario highways. You could also make a case Toronto-area passenger traffic is not capable of safely sharing the road with Twin-53s.

Driving alongside LCVs is pretty simple: they’re slow and they’re predictable. I have shared the roads with them many times while living in the prairies and never once encountered a problem. However, that was the prairies – driving in Toronto is altogether different. This hasn’t been lost on the MTO. The permit conditions for LCV operation are exhaustive – more restrictive, in fact, than anywhere else they’re allowed to operate. Participating carriers will have to be on their best behaviour if they want this program to succeed. If even one of these Twin-53s ends up on its side, cargo strewn across the 401, you can bet the program will never make it past the ‘pilot’ stage.

Despite the challenges in operating LCVs, the advantages of running them are simply too great to pass up. Ian McCubbing, Edmonton terminal manager with Bison Transport, told delegates at the recent Canadian Fleet Maintenance Seminars (CFMS) that his company reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 32% and slashes costs by 40% compared to making the same deliveries using two five-axle tractor-trailers.

In Bison’s case, some of that savings is passed on to the skilled drivers who pilot these behemoths. LCV drivers with many fleets reportedly earn a 20-30% premium.

Before anyone gets too worked up over the prospect of LCVs eliminating jobs and squeezing out professional drivers, let’s consider that local drivers will still be required to pull singles to their final destinations. And let’s also remember that when the economy picks back up, we’ll once again be facing a shortage of qualified drivers and an aging workforce.

Where safety is concerned, studies suggest LCVs are safer than any other vehicle on the road, thanks to the restrictions placed on their operation coupled with the fact they’re typically driven by the very best professional drivers.

So what’s not to like? Motivated drivers have the opportunity to work for an LCV-approved carrier, complete the training course, upgrade their licence and earn a 25-30% pay increase when pulling Twin-53s. Carriers have the opportunity to reduce their operating costs, better compensate their most highly-skilled drivers and deliver greater value to their customers.

But what about the added congestion motorists will have to contend with? One study cited by McCubbing has suggested removing LCVs from LCV-approved routes in Alberta would result in an 80% increase in five-axle truck traffic. If that’s true, then perhaps LCVs can actually lessen road congestion in Ontario.

Simple math shows that two trailers and a single tractor occupy less space than two tractors each pulling a 53-ft. trailer. The big unknown will be how the motoring public adapts to sharing the roads with LCVs.

This may be the deciding factor in whether or not the Ontario pilot project succeeds. Unfortunately, it’s also the one factor that’s almost entirely outside the industry’s control.

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The news recently that the continent’s largest trucking company, YRC Worldwide, was going to seek $1 billion in government bailout money, certainly places the depth of the economic downturn and its impact on transportation in a new perspective. Trucking companies by last fall had lost up to 35% of their value, and many say it’s now up to the 45% drop off in valuations we experienced back in the recession of 1973 to 75, perhaps worse.

Think about it folks: your companies are worth only half of what they used to be.

Such realities bring to mind what our own research group has been quietly and routinely documenting over the past decade. That we really can’t begin to explain what’s driving fleets today, or their current and future expectations of their employees, without focusing on change. We simply can’t get around the fact that the change we are going through in business right now is so fundamental, so all-encompassing, that it is changing almost everything.

Last month I was fortunate enough to be invited to address the annual Canadian Fleet Maintenance Seminar on the subject of change. I told maintenance managers what I believe deep down in my heart: that the only way to survive through changing times is not to think about surviving but to focus on thriving; in other words to embrace change.

I told the maintenance managers in attendance that how well they came to understand the issues and pressures driving their companies and how quickly and well they responded to the challenges brought about by change would play a large role in the future success of their fleets. I encouraged them to show leadership during these difficult times looking for ways to reduce costs, improve efficiencies, enhance safety and compliance.

And that’s a message that I believe is good for all trucking company employees, drivers in particular. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had executives tell me that some of the best ideas to boost efficiencies or reduce costs come straight from the people working on the front lines day in and day out.

This recession is forcing your companies into difficult decisions, such as cutting programs that have long been cherished by employees, taking a harder stance on pension contributions, cutting staff, expecting everyone to do more with less. It’s easy to be demoralized in such an environment. But throwing in the towel only makes things worse. Instead, step up, take the initiative, look for ways to benefit your company, its clients and yourself. Leadership, particularly during difficult times, should not be restricted to the executive of the company.

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Trucking and editing have quite a few things in common.

They are both largely sedentary jobs where you find yourself sitting for hours in front of a windshield or computer screen, trying to stay focused, and tempted by all kinds of distractions in your periphery.

Being largely sedentary jobs, they can also wreak havoc on the metabolism, making one prone to gaining weight.

For an upcoming Truck News issue, I looked into opportunities that exist for truckers who are trying to stay fit. How do they eat? Where do they eat? Is regular exercise possible, and how do truckers do it?

One thing for sure is that if you rely on restaurant meals to eat, especially in the US and Canada, you will have very little control of what goes into your body, calorie and content-wise.

Not too long ago, one of my cousins, your typical office worker, found out his ‘bad’ cholesterol levels were much higher than they should be for his age, and he was facing some serious trouble if he didn’t alter his lifestyle and lower the numbers, not to mention take off about 50 pounds in the process.

Coming as he does from a family of diabetics and heart patients who were half-blinded, winded and missing limbs at early ages, he got a good scare.

Before long, he’d ordered in huge vats of what I call his “fertilizer”, these brown and grown powders meant to supplement this and that vitamin, and to act as appetite-suppressants.

He also bought various tonics that had words like “vitality” and “virility” emblazoned on the side of the bottle in bright, very masculine fonts.

He tried anything and everything, before he realized that the only way things were going to change was if he pounded some pavement.

A friend of his had certified as a personal trainer, and set up my cousin with a workout routine he could ‘ease’ up to and that would rival any fighter’s. So first time in, my cousin went whole hog on the exercises, and added in an extra few hours and reps for good measure.

Then he shuffled around the house for a week afterwards, half-crooked, having cleaned out his wife’s supply of Advil and Tylenol.

Now, several months in, he has incorporated a somewhat more sensible routine, that works with his schedule, doesn’t require him to starve, and gives him more energy, even without the tonics.

His weight has decreased somewhat because he is watching his food intake, doing simple things like not snacking on chips and cookies, drinking water, and not juice, pop or alcohol, and just eating smaller portions. More importantly, he says, is that he’s built muscle and endurance.

My cousin is unusual in that he has so far stuck it out in a challenging exercise routine.

There’s a whole industry now centered around losing weight, supposedly without too much effort, and it’s only too easy to get caught in the hype.

We recently acquired the Wii Fit. It was meant to be a gift for me but, like the I-pod I received last year, I have limited access to it because the rest of the family is hogging it.

If you haven’t seen the Wii Fit already, it’s exercise in a video-game-like format. Using a stand-on platform and joysticks, you set up a little video character of yourself, your “Mii”, and the Wii computer measures your current BMI (body mass index), and records your weight, age, and fitness level. From there, you can progress to certain exercise or weight loss ‘goals’.

Even if you’re not technically ‘overweight’, the Wii will kindly create your character with little rolls around the belly, like a miniature Homer Simpson. It’s a little motivational trick on their part, I guess.

You can put yourself through various test levels on different exercises, or engage your Mii character in different sports. The tennis is great, if you can avoid smacking each other out across the living room floor as you wave the sticks around during your virtual match.

But I find the Wii personal trainer somewhat irritating. He stands in a little ballet pose and talks using his animated hand. If he was real and hovering in front of me at the gym I’d have smacked him out by now.

I’m not an expert in yoga by any means, but it is one form of exercise I am motivated to do on my own and that feels good, if you can say that about exercise.

So when the Wii tells people they have limited balance because they can’t do a very complicated yoga manoeuvre, (that takes, by the way, years to perfect), they shouldn’t take it too hard, in my opinion.

I can understand the value of exercise programs like the Wii Fit when it’s mid-winter and –50 outside, and it’s a great deal better than walking a treadmill (the dreadmill!), which in my house is smack in front of the laundry room, reminding me as I walk uphill to nowhere that there’s a list of things I could or should be doing that would gain better results.

To me, there is nothing quite like walking outside in fresh (ish) air, getting a change of scenery, people watching, and best of all, not really noticing how much or how far you’ve walked.

It’s a chance to clear the mind, and hopefully, to kickstart the heart.

So next time you’re stuck driving down a highway or idling next to yet another strip mall, consider taking a little walking detour, at the nearest possible opportunity, past your immediate surroundings. Amazing what you might see, and healthier, I’m guessing, than coffee and a donut. I will be living vicariously through your travels!

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So the Harper government wants an explanation from Canada Post as to why it granted a five-year, $100 million plus air cargo contract to Purolator without going to tender (Globe and Mail, June 3/09). The answer should be obvious—can you say “monopoly” Mr. Harper?

The reason Canada Post owns 92% of Purolator is because the crown corporation wanted a foothold into parcel delivery company that could fight off competition from US courier companies that were threatening to usurp its supremacy. I'm old enough to remember the early days before deregulation when UPS was making overtures into the Canadian market. As they didn't have operating authorities, UPS initially started with Checker cars towing U-haul trailers as it grew its Canadian operations. As a counterbalance, Canada Post acquired ownership of Purolator Courier in 1987.

The Globe story goes on to say that junior transport minister Rob Merrifield is waiting for answers from the chair of Canada Post as to why a tendering process was not initiated. According to a Canada Post spokesperson, the crown corporation was forced to act quickly when Air Canada cancelled the air cargo contract because the Post Office refused to pay the fuel surcharge. Hence the hastily-enacted sweetheart deal with its sister corporation.

But other air cargo airlines like FedEx and Cargojet would have loved a crack at the postal contract. And the deal smells bad because the contract involves a partnership with Kelowna Flightcraft which owns the planes operated by Purolator, and the fact that Kelowna Flightcraft's president, Barry Lapointe, owns 7 per cent of Purolator through Barry Lapointe Holdings Ltd., and sits on Purolator's board of directors.

As a journalist and a working truck driver, I feel stifled and awkward when writing about Puro. The company hired me 4 ½ years ago as a linehaul driver, and this fit with my criteria finding something close to home that paid well. For the most part, my expectations have been met. Overall it's a great job, well-remunerated with well-maintained equipment.

And although Purolator has to pay attention to the bottom line (and does so religiously), the same stresses that exist for smaller, regional, and family-owned trucking companies are less prevalent for this industry giant. I.e., when they were growing their logistics LTL business, from my perspective, there seemed to be no problem throwing equipment and personnel into the battle—something a privately-owned company could not, and would not be able to do with a bank looking over its shoulder.

Recently, there have been some economic indicators that the worst part of this recession is over: people are buying homes and the prices are holding, for one thing. But categorically, the same is not true for the trucking industry. There's still a lot of gloom out there and freight volumes are not improving much, if at all. So while revenues are down 10-20% (my estimate), I'm not fretting about my job, although I'm sure many middle managers at Puro are not as comfortable. It's been a rough go for the trucking industry and drivers alike, so there's no smugness in my comments, especially when it comes to the plight of my fellow transport drivers and workers.

Having said that, I noticed Puro has been granted two permits to operated Long Combination Vehicles in Ontario starting in October. The announcement created mixed emotions in me. No doubt, some of the Montreal-Toronto linehauls will go to LCVs, and some work will be lost. On the other hand, I enjoyed my time operating B-trains and I'll probably sign up for training (if they'll have me). If this profession has taught me anything, it's that one shouldn't be afraid of change and improving one's skill set.

But I'm still waiting to see some improvement in the highway infrastructure if the MTO wants these LCVs to coexist on the 400 series roads, especially when it comes to rest area parking. The Ontario government dropped the ball on the service centre closures and I frankly don't believe the promises they make in press releases.

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The Ontario Ministry of Transportation was on-hand at this year’s Canadian Fleet Maintenance Seminars to offer some insight on how trucks will be inspected for compliance with Ontario’s new speed limiter law. The law has been on the books since January, but full enforcement doesn’t kick in til July 1.

MTO inspector Travis McMunn was performing demonstrations at the outside truck display. All that’s required is a laptop computer with a wireless plug-in device that’s inserted into a slot underneath the truck’s dash. It accesses and displays on the computer a few lines of information, most importantly the speed limiter setting.

The device doesn’t have the ability to read additional information such as historical data or alter any settings, McMunn explained as he demonstrated an inspection. Within seconds of plugging in the device, the laptop computer displays the speed limiter’s parameters – or whether it’s inactive.

McMunn says he typically starts the program on his laptop in the morning, minimizes and lets it run all day so it takes little time to inspect a vehicle for compliance. It only takes a few seconds to plug into the truck’s engine and view the speed limiter settings. McMunn said the tool enforcement officers have been supplied with work with all the various engine makes.

Because it takes so little time to view a truck’s speed limiter setting, McMunn said it’s likely officers will check every truck they inspect – but that’ll be up to their own discretion. He said compliance was initially very low at the beginning of the enforcement period earlier this year, but there’s been a noticeable increase in compliance as word has spread.

Truckers that are not in compliance will receive a fine, but they will not be placed out of service and their carrier’s CVOR will not be affected. There’s a provision in the law that allows police officers to assume a truck does not have its speed limiter activated if it’s caught travelling faster than 115 km/h.

The topic of speed limiters came up during the CFMS Shop Talk session and it appears the issue is just as divisive as always. One attendee said he felt better police enforcement of existing speed laws was the way to go, but another delegate piped up and declared Bill 41 the “best piece of legislation” ever introduced in Ontario.

- MTO inspector Travis McMunn shows the device that's used to read a truck's speed limiter setting.

- The device plugs into a slot underneath the dash and instantly displays the settings on the officer's laptop computer.

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