Economy

Truckers Truck On, Despite Recession Scares

Is Canada in an economic recession? That all depends on how you define the term. And even if the answer is yes, will it slow down the trucking industry? According to most economists, a recession is when there are at least two consecutive quarters of negative growth in the country's gross domestic product, which is a measure of the total output of goods and services. Canada's GDP fell at an annual rate of 0.6% in the first quarter of 2015, according to government numbers, following 0.6% growth in the final quarter of 2014. A report released at the end of June showed a 0.1% drop for the month of April, meaning our economy shrank for the fourth straight month. Not a full second quarter, but not a good trend.

Diesel Prices Down For Second Straight Week

LONDON, ON and WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The average cost of diesel fuel in Canada barely moved lower over the past week while gasoline did an about-face, according to new figures released Tuesday by petroleum information services provider The Kent Group.

N.A. Decline in Truck Orders Not Surprising

COLUMBUS and BLOOMINGTON, IN - Orders for both medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks in North America posted declines, according to two newly released preliminary reports, but the markets remain healthy. For the month of June, 34,600 Classes 5-8 vehicle orders were booked, down 14% from May and 17% less compared to June 2014, according to ACT Research. The commercial vehicle industry data provider said it believes the recent order decline is a reflection of meaningfully larger backlogs rather than any structural change in demand.

Bubble Wrap Fun Popped by Shippers

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Cost conscious shippers have driven a change in a long-time product designed to protect goods during transit, but kids - and kids at heart - are getting their bubbles burst.

U.S. Spot Freight Rates Remain Solid

BEAVERTON, OR -- Demand in the U.S. for truckload capacity increased and national average rates on the spot truckload market remained solid during the week ending June 27, according to DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards.

Canadian, U.S. Fuel Prices Decline Slightly Over Past Week

LONDON, ON and WASHINGTON, D.C. --The average cost of diesel fuel in Canada this week has moved down slightly this week after a brief upturn last week, hitting its lowest level in nearly two months.

Quebec Providing $1.5 Billion for Port Improvements

MONTREAL -- Quebec's government announced on Monday it will invest more than $1.5 billion in the province's ports over the next five years as part of what it calls its "Maritime Strategy," including money for improving roads to speed up cargo movement at the Port of Montreal.

GE Plans to Sell Fleet Services

FAIRFIELD, CT – General Electric has announced plans to sell off its fleet management and commercial lending and leasing businesses over the next two years to allow it to focus…

U.S. Canada Freight Flow Value Drops

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The value of U.S.-Canada freight plummeted in April, according to a new U.S. Transportation Department report, as overall freight traffic between all three North American Free Trade Agreement countries also declined.U.S.-Canada freight totaled US$48.8 billion in April, down 12.5 percent from a year earlier, as all modes of transportation - truck, rail, air, pipeline and vessel - carried a lower value of U.S.-Canada freight than a year earlier. The top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Canada was vehicles and parts, of which 58.2 percent moved by truck and 39.2 percent moved by rail. Vehicles and parts replaced mineral fuels as the top commodity in March. Mineral fuels had been the top commodity by value moved between the U.S. and Canada for 29 consecutive months starting in November 2012. This change is due, in large part, to a decline in the unit price of mineral fuels in recent months.

APTA Cautious About Increased Tolling in Nova Scotia

Dieppe, NB - One trucking group is open to a plan by the Nova Scotia government to speed up construction along what it said are some of the province's "most dangerous sections of highway" but it's not wild about seeing increased highway tolls.The sentiment from the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association (APTA) follows the government asking for proposals to conduct a feasibility study for the twinning and tolling at eight specific sections of four major highways, with the belief the additional funding could speed up the pace of roadway expansions. The association said the government's commitment to undertake a study on how to twin sections of parts of 100 series highways more quickly is a good approach, provided the government goes into the study with an open mind about its current revenues from fuel taxes and how they should be spent.

OTA Helps Toronto Truckers Avoid “Pan-Am-Monium”

TORONTO - Pan Am traffic tie-ups are already starting, but on Friday the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) hosted a gathering of carriers, Ministry of Transportation (MTO) officials and other parties to craft a plan to minimize Pan Am traffic woes. The Pan Am Games run from July 10 to the 26 and and Parapan Games are from August 7 to 15. Starting this week and for the duration of the games, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is looking at road closures; signal-timing modification; parking and stopping restrictions; turning restrictions; conversion of roads to one-way operations, police-managed traffic control points; and the increase or transfer to carpool lanes on many (GTA) highways.

Ground Freight Shipping Costs Decline Slightly

TORONTO -- New figures released by the Canadian General Freight Index (CGFI) show the total cost of ground transportation for Canadian shippers decreased by 0.6 percent in April when compared to the month before.

U.S. Spot Freight Rates Down Over Past Week

BEAVERTON, OR -- Spot truckload freight rates posted small declines in all three major sectors during the week ending June 20 compared to the previous week but are well above the averages for last month, according to DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards.

Average Weekly Diesel Cost Edges Slightly Higher

LONDON, ON and WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The average cost of diesel fuel in Canada has moved slightly higher over the past week, according to the latest report from the petroleum information services provider The Kent Group Ltd.

Truck Tonnage: Could Be Better, Could be Worse

ARLINGTON, VA -- For-hire truck tonnage moved in the U.S. recovered somewhat in May while the decline the month before was cut by just over half. According to the American Trucking Associations' seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, activity increased 1.1% last month following a revised decline of 1.4% in April, first reported as a 3% drop.