Truck World mulls return to downtown Toronto in 2004

TORONTO (Oct. 18, 2002) — Organizers of Truck World, the biennial trade show billed as the largest for Canada’s trucking industry, are mulling over whether to return to downtown Toronto when the show is scheduled to be held again in September 2004.

The Ontario Trucking Association, which owns and manages the show, said today the exact date and location of Truck World 2004 would be determined in the coming weeks after a meeting with a committee of exhibitors. The association has secured exhibit space at the National Trade Centre at Toronto’s Exhibition Place and at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ont.

The International Centre was the site of Truckcan, held every other year between 1982 and 1998. The OTA had endorsed Truckcan before deciding to invest in Truck World; Truckcan managers cancelled the 2000 show after failing to secure enough exhibitors.

The OTA staged Truck World at the National Trade Centre both in 2000, the show’s inaugural year, and again last month. When it revealed plans for Truck World in 1998, the association called the National Trade Centre a “state-of-the-art, upscale venue more in keeping with the type of image the industry wants to present.”

Few Truck World vendors would disagree. However, many have been critical of the downtown location, concerned that city traffic, twisting streets, and distance from Hwy. 401 would keep truckers away.