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Jim Park
Jim Park was a CDL driver and owner-operator from 1978 until 1998, when he began his second career as a trucking journalist. During that career transition, he hosted an overnight radio show on a Hamilton, Ontario radio station and later went on to anchor the trucking news in SiriusXM's Road Dog Trucking channel. Jim is a regular contributor to Today's Trucking and Trucknews.com, and produces Focus On and On the Spot test drive videos.
Mack VP: Will construction labor shortage harm growth?
LOUISVILLE, Ky.-- With truck order intake expected to hit near-record levels in 2018, Mack's senior vice-president for North American sales, Jonathan Randall, is worried about who will drive all the trucks the company is building. Speaking on the opening day of the 2018 Mid-America Trucking Show, Randall said the construction sector is seeing record spending, lots of job growth, and correspondingly strong order intake from the sector, but he says there are a couple of potentially dampening factors on the horizon. "There's a shortage of labor in that sector today, or more specifically, a shortage of construction workers," he said. "Who is going to drive all the trucks that we're selling?" Randall says U.S. GDP is expected to grow by 2.8% this year, and the strong economy is reflected in the strong order intake the industry is seeing this year. To says the economy is robust would probably be an understatement based on what Mack is seeing in truck orders
Mid-America shows and shines
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Mid-America Trucking Show began under a blanket of snow this week, but once the melt began, there was plenty of chrome to shine. Equipment editor Jim Park took some time to stroll the lot and admire some of the trucks on display during the annual show and shine competition.
Canadian named 35th Highway Hero
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- What does one say after saving one life and preventing severe injury to another? "I'm just happy I was in the right place at the right time," said Frank Vieira of Ancaster, Ont. -- the 35th Goodyear Highway Hero. Vieira was driving over a bridge on a rural highway near Toronto when he heard a loud crash, looked over his shoulder and noticed that a car on the other side of the road had slammed into the back of a stationary roll-off truck. The force of the impact threw the driver forcefully against the steering wheel. The steering wheel broke, with a piece of it embedding itself in the driver's neck.
