World Truck: International carriers tell Canadians what it’s like across the pond

TORONTO — Ontario truckers found out this past month that their brethren around the world face almost the exact same challenges and opportunities that they do here.

The very first seminar at the recent Ontario Trucking Association annual convention featured a panel of carrier and trucking association executives from around the globe to speak about the issues affecting their own markets.

Convention delegates — including latecomers who had to stand in the back of the packed hall — learned very quickly that trucking in Sault Ste. Marie and Sydney, Australia aren’t that different these days after all — geography, politics, and climate excluded, of course.

International attendees from as far away as the Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and the European Union joined foreign trucking officials closer to home — American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves — in comparing the Canadian market with their own.

Sure, overseas the truck spec you see on the lot is the one you drive off with, but
the Euros and Aussies have more in common with us than one would think

Fuel prices and the carrier’s ability to negotiate fuel surcharges and rate increases were universally acclaimed as the most common problems plaguing trucking companies worldwide.

“Fuel is a big issue for us,” said Denis Robertson, managing director of Roadmaster Haulage of Sydney, Australia. One of Australia’s largest meat carriers, Robertson’s company is constantly working to make shippers aware of the rising cost of fuel.

“If they don’t pay, we don’t carry for them,” said Robertson.

“Our fuel prices increased by 25 percent this year,” said Wim Voss, general director of Voss Logistics, headquartered in Oss, Netherlands. “So we’ve had to negotiate quite a bit with shippers to have diesel surcharges added on to our prices …

“The problem is that companies also go to tender for hauling rates, so when everyone bids, prices are bound to go down and the surcharge disappears. That said, we now follow a more opportunistic policy when it comes to pricing. Today we get our price.”

In New Zealand, carriers have to absorb a road user charge as well as the fuel price increase, said Warren Hamilton, owner of Cromwell transport Ltd. in Otago, N.Z.

One US carrier believes that the high cost of fuel has indirectly put trucking in the national spotlight. “In a way, the record high fuel prices are a blessing because shippers can’t deny that it’s an issue,” said Steve Williams, chairman and CEO of Maverick Transportation Inc. out of Little Rock, Ark. “Now they’re asking questions about how their transportation budgets are being destroyed, because the people on top are starting to realize there’s a crisis due to fuel prices and the driver shortage.”

The so-called driver shortage seemed to be an issue in only some of the countries. Nations most affected by the shortage, according to the panel, included Canada and the US, while Europe, Australia and New Zealand were less affected.

“Obviously driver retention is critical to our well-being, but when I compare our needs to those of North America I think we’re not doing too badly,” said Denis Robertson. “Still the average age of a driver in Australia is 50, so we do have an aging population, which is a concern.”

The problem, for everyone on the panel it seemed, was getting new drivers in to replace the ones getting older. In the Netherlands, the shortage of well-trained drivers is reaching a crisis point, said Wim Voss.

“With Poland joining the EU, there are lots of people willing to work, but they’re not necessarily well-trained,” said Voss. “That’s why we have our own education centre. They spend three weeks on the road training with a driver then two weeks in the classroom, and then another three weeks of practical training with a supervisor, for a total of eight weeks of training with the company. At the end of that they should be ready to deal with international traffic.”

In one country, driver education is even backed by government financial incentives, said Robertson.

“In Australia we used to get incentives for educating our drivers, ad we realized how beneficial it was,” Robertson said. “Now most companies in Australia have recognized the benefits as well. And continue to train their drivers, even if there are no longer financial incentives available.”

While North American truckers may feel that the powers in government ignore the industry, it seemed that European truckers are really on their own, according to Umberto de Pretto, deputy secretary general of the International Road Transport Union headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

“As far as shippers go, they really couldn’t care less what we do to carry the loads, they just want them moved from Point A to Point B,” said Umberto de Pretto. “So we’ve always taken responsibility for everything, from the size of the vehicles we use to carry loads, to how much we’re allowed to carry on the roads available to us.

What we have to do is let the shippers do some of the fighting when it comes to making truck transportation work better,” said de Pretto. “It’s for their own benefit.”