motortruck january/february 2013

C A N A D A ’ S B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E F O R F L E E T O W N E R S

Motortruck JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

Fleet Executive

Tier

Our annual in-depth report on the capacity of the nation’s largest carriers finds an industry in the midst of great change

*NEW

*

TopRISKY BUSINESS: Rick Geller on common sense solutions to your safety concerns

MTR Cover Jan13 FIN.indd 1 13-02-14 10:48 AM

http://issuu.com/action/page?page=12


*50,000-mile oil drains are the maximum drain levels authorized for Detroit Diesel DD13, DD15 & DD16 engine models, which have the highest oil drain levels in the North American trucking industry today. Delo 400 engine oils have been field tested at these drain intervals and have been shown to provide excellent engine parts protection. Always follow OEM maintenance recommendations and utilize used oil analysis testing for any extended oil drain programs.

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How do we do it? Delo® products utilize our specialized ISOSYN® Technology, which combines premium base oils, high performance additives and Chevron formulating

expertise to provide superb diesel parts protection that rivals synthetic performance. All at an outstanding value. Delo products with ISOSYN Technology help provide extended service protection, maximize engine durability and minimize operating costs.Learn how Delo’s family of products can help you go further, visit DeloLetsGoFurther.com

*80,000-km oil drains are the maximum drain levels authorized for Detroit Diesel DD13, DD15 & DD16 engine models, which have the highest oil drain levels in the North American trucking industry today. Delo 400 engine oils have been field tested at these drain intervals and have been shown to provide excellent engine parts protection. Always follow OEM maintenance recommendations and utilize used oil analysis testing for any extended oil drain programs.Fan us on Facebook

Chevron Products are available from the following locations:

RED-L DISTRIBUTORS LTD9727-47 Ave. Edmonton AB T6E 5M7 Tel: (780) 437-2630

OAKPOINT OIL DISTRIBUTORS33-A Oakpoint Hwy. Winnipeg MB R2R 0T8 Tel: (204) 694-9100

THE UNITED SUPPLY GROUP OF COMPANIES2031 Riverside Dr. Timmins ON P4R 0A3 Tel: (705) 360-4355

TRANSIT LUBRICANTS LTD5 Hill St. Kitchener ON N2G 3X4 Tel: (519) 579-5330

R. P. OIL LTD1111 Burns St. East Unit 3 Whitby ON L1N 6A6 Tel: (905) 666-2313

CREVIER LUBRIFIANTS2320 Métropole Longueuil QC J4G 1E6 Tel: (450) 679-8866

CHEVRON CANADA LTD1500-1050 Pender St. West. Vancouver BC V6E 3T4 Tel: (604) 668-5735

LORDCO AUTO PARTS22866 Dewdney Trunk Rd. Maple Ridge BC V2X 3K6 Tel: (604) 466-4162 Toll Free: 1 (877) 591-1581

NORTHERN METALIC SALES (GP)9708-108 St. Grande Prairie AB T8V 4E2 Tel: (780) 539-9555

HUSKY ENERGY CORPORATION707-8th Ave. S.W. Calgary AB T2P 1H5 Tel: (403) 298-6709

UFA4838 Richard Rd. S.W. Suite 700 Calgary AB T3E 6L1 Tel: (403) 570-4306

CHRIS PAGE & ASSOCIATES14435-124 Ave. Edmonton AB T5L 3B2 Tel: (780) 451-4373

Let’s go for 80,000 km* between oil changes.

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Contents Jan.indd 2 13-02-01 3:03 PM

http://www.deloletsgofurther.com

trucknews.com January/February 2013 ❙ FLEET EXECUTIVE 3

COVER STORY23 Top Tier Our annual look at the nation’s largest carriers and their strategies for continued growth. Plus: Consolidation is driving the trucking industry, with interest in 3PLs and specialized haulers heating up, but will the ‘big deal’ remain elusive?

Features16 WOMEN WANTED Women may be the missing link to career vacancies in supply chain.

18 PRIME TIME From overnight success to Chapter 11 to another meteoric rise, what lessons does Prime Inc.’s tumultuous history hold for you?

20 NATURAL FIT How being an early LNG adopter helped dairy and food-grade hauler Vedder Transport pave the way into new markets.

38 RATE NEGOTIATIONS Can shippers and carriers resolve their differences and bring priorities into sync when it comes to the future of rate negotiations?

Departments6 THE VIEW WITH LOU

What’s behind the increase in equipment downtime?

8 COMPETITION WATCH

Muir’s becomes O/O-only operation after letting go of company drivers; TransForce buys shares, trucking firm; and more.

10 THE BOTTOM LINE

The game of ‘fill the trailer’ is changing – and so should you.

12 RISKY BUSINESS *NEW*A new column offering common sense, cost-effective (or just plain simple) solutions to help carriers turn safety into a profit centre.

14 TAKING CARE OF BUSINESSJust sold your business? Here’s a list of the first 10 things you need to do.

40 GEARED UP

The International ProStar and Cummins ISX engine are back together again – is it still a match made in heaven?

45 DASHBOARD

TransCore’s Canadian Freight Index remain’s steady in November; CGFI shows Canadian shippers facing rising trucking costs; and more.

46 INSIDE THE NUMBERS

How optimistic are Canadian carriers about freight volumes in 2013?

contentsJanuary/February 2013 Volume 82, No. 1

40

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*50,000-mile oil drains are the maximum drain levels authorized for Detroit Diesel DD13, DD15 & DD16 engine models, which have the highest oil drain levels in the North American trucking industry today. Delo 400 engine oils have been field tested at these drain intervals and have been shown to provide excellent engine parts protection. Always follow OEM maintenance recommendations and utilize used oil analysis testing for any extended oil drain programs.

© 2

013

Chev

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How do we do it? Delo® products utilize our specialized ISOSYN® Technology, which combines premium base oils, high performance additives and Chevron formulating

expertise to provide superb diesel parts protection that rivals synthetic performance. All at an outstanding value. Delo products with ISOSYN Technology help provide extended service protection, maximize engine durability and minimize operating costs.Learn how Delo’s family of products can help you go further, visit DeloLetsGoFurther.com

*80,000-km oil drains are the maximum drain levels authorized for Detroit Diesel DD13, DD15 & DD16 engine models, which have the highest oil drain levels in the North American trucking industry today. Delo 400 engine oils have been field tested at these drain intervals and have been shown to provide excellent engine parts protection. Always follow OEM maintenance recommendations and utilize used oil analysis testing for any extended oil drain programs.Fan us on Facebook

Chevron Products are available from the following locations:

RED-L DISTRIBUTORS LTD9727-47 Ave. Edmonton AB T6E 5M7 Tel: (780) 437-2630

OAKPOINT OIL DISTRIBUTORS33-A Oakpoint Hwy. Winnipeg MB R2R 0T8 Tel: (204) 694-9100

THE UNITED SUPPLY GROUP OF COMPANIES2031 Riverside Dr. Timmins ON P4R 0A3 Tel: (705) 360-4355

TRANSIT LUBRICANTS LTD5 Hill St. Kitchener ON N2G 3X4 Tel: (519) 579-5330

R. P. OIL LTD1111 Burns St. East Unit 3 Whitby ON L1N 6A6 Tel: (905) 666-2313

CREVIER LUBRIFIANTS2320 Métropole Longueuil QC J4G 1E6 Tel: (450) 679-8866

CHEVRON CANADA LTD1500-1050 Pender St. West. Vancouver BC V6E 3T4 Tel: (604) 668-5735

LORDCO AUTO PARTS22866 Dewdney Trunk Rd. Maple Ridge BC V2X 3K6 Tel: (604) 466-4162 Toll Free: 1 (877) 591-1581

NORTHERN METALIC SALES (GP)9708-108 St. Grande Prairie AB T8V 4E2 Tel: (780) 539-9555

HUSKY ENERGY CORPORATION707-8th Ave. S.W. Calgary AB T2P 1H5 Tel: (403) 298-6709

UFA4838 Richard Rd. S.W. Suite 700 Calgary AB T3E 6L1 Tel: (403) 570-4306

CHRIS PAGE & ASSOCIATES14435-124 Ave. Edmonton AB T5L 3B2 Tel: (780) 451-4373

Let’s go for 80,000 km* between oil changes.

Delo_Owner Operator_MotorTruck.indd 1 13-01-14 2:38 PM

Contents Jan.indd 3 13-02-01 3:03 PM

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trucknews.com

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER@TruckNewsMag | @AdamLedlow | @JameMenzies@LouSmyrlis | @JuliaKuzeljevic | @KathyPenner

Fleet Executive editors are now on the radio! For a list of stations and on-air

times go to truckerradio.com.

FIND US ON FACEBOOKfacebook.com/trucknews

WHAT’S ON TRUCKNEWS.COM

Web TV:Transportation Matters

ONE-ON-ONE WITH GÖRAN NYBERG: Volvo Trucks North America president Göran Nyberg on his driving background, first impressions of the NAFTA market and his thoughts on Volvo’s dealer network.

THE RFP DEBATE: Leading shippers and carriers discuss the usefulness of Requests For Proposals at the 2012 Surface Transportation Summit.

BEST BLOOPERS OF 2012: Transportation Matters celebrates the end of 2012 with a collection of bloopers from its fifth season.

NO PAIN NO GAIN:How the economic crunch has made for a better trucking industry.

BLOGS

Contributing editor James Menzies gives a rundown of trucknews.com’s top news stories, blogs and videos in 2012.

ATBS Canada CEO Ray Haight challenges fleet executives to stop living in the past, but, instead, keep learning, growing and looking toward the horizon.

Already fudging on your New Year’s resolutions? Palmer Marketing’s Lee Palmer offers his top 10 tips for effective goal setting.

You said it...“While I agree that change is inevitable, the problem is that bridges, loading areas, and street corners to and from, will likely not get reconfigured. The burden rests on the driver to iron out the complication by trial and error and that’s only if anyone’s listening. It shouldn’t rest on the driver to deal with the shortcomings of existing infrastructure until things get better while they put their CVOR and livelihood on the line. Even modern load-ing areas that I come across look like they could have been engineered by a descendant of Picasso. One need not look any further than some of the new service areas in Ontario. This unit was built behind a desk, not behind the wheel.”

– ANGELO DIPLACIDO’S COMMENTS ON DAN GOODWILL’S BLOG, “WAL-MART’S 60 FOOT PROTOTYPE TRACTOR-TRAILER IS THE TALK OF THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY.”

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4 FLEET EXECUTIVE ❙ January/February 2013

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6 FLEET EXECUTIVE ❙ January/February 2013

THE VIEW WITH LOU

If football is a game of inches, trucking is a business of minutes. Every minute a truck spends in unproductive downtime costs dear-ly. Yet the latest truck technologies – engines

in particular – are adding to the problem rather than alleviating it. And that declining equipment reliability, when coupled with inefficient dealer practices, is greatly adding to downtime.

That’s the stark message trucking company owners delivered during a media event at Volvo’s new Nacarato truck dealership in La Vergne, Tenn., recently.

Before I say anything else, I want to point out the trucking company owners did not single out any one brand of engine or any one truck manufacturer’s dealership network – it seems there is plenty of blame to go around. I also want to stress how refreshing it was to attend a media event which made time for real truck owners to freely discuss real world issues. I’ve seen media events hosted by equipment suppliers over the past 20 years evolve into increasingly elaborate spectacles as industry suppliers work hard to put their best foot forward. There’s nothing wrong with that. But as companies try to make their best impression and all new products get billed as “unique” and “leading edge,” and designed by “forward thinking” companies, the every-day challenges trucking professionals face can get glossed over by the slick marketing message.

There was nothing slick about this message, however. There was just hard-edged reality.

As Stan Pritchett, owner of Beacon Transport, a 133-truck Nashville-area fleet, complained, he is spending so much of his time dealing with engine maintenance issues that his truck downtime “has become tremendous.”

“No longer can I say that because I buy new equipment, I’m not in the shop a lot. I’m looking to run new engines and I want my equipment to stay running,” he said.

A pretty damning statement; and a pretty reasonable expectation.

Mike McFarlin from M&W Transportation, a 95-truck fleet out of Nashville and Kirk Rutherford, whose private fleet serves Bridgestone dealers, bear the same burden with downtime. But they say it’s being made worse when trying to get service at a dealer different from the one where you purchased your trucks. In Rutherford’s own words:

“I can bet on 110% performance from the home dealer. But at other dealers, you get the attitude that you didn’t buy it here, so get in line.”

As a result, if his trucks are within a few hundred miles from the home dealership he prefers to bring them there rather than deal with the closest dealership.

Hardly an efficient way to run a trucking operation.

McFarlin conceded that tools brought in by OEMs to better diagnose equipment are helpful, but questioned the value of a quick diagnosis if it then takes several days to get the part necessary to complete the repair.

Another issue raised was flexibility – or rather the lack of it – when it comes to payment. For example, dealers may decide to not release a truck until payment for the repairs has been made. As the fleet owners stressed, no matter how much they may love their drivers, they don’t think it wise to give them a credit card with an unlimited spending limit to handle any emergency.

Volvo executives and the owners of the Nacarato dealership acknowledged these industry concerns and answered with a variety of strategies, programs and tools they hope will address them, such as an emphasis on better remote diagnostics. You can read more about it in our Geared Up section on pg. 44.

But there is no silver bullet to these issues. A commitment to uptime – from all equipment suppliers – is required and a comprehensive approach is best.

The fleets that drive this industry deserve nothing less. FE

Member/CanadianBusiness Press

is written and published for owners, managers and maintenance supervisors of those companies that operate, sell and service trucks, truck trailers and transit buses.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 VOL. 82 NO. 1

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lou Smyrlis (416) 510-6881 [email protected]

MANAGING EDITOR Adam Ledlow (416) 510-6890 [email protected]

FEATURES EDITOR Julia Kuzeljevich (416) 510-6880 [email protected]

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Roy [email protected]

ADVERTISING CREATIVE DIRECTORS Carolyn Brimer Beverley Richards

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Ken Mark James Menzies Ian Putzger John G. Smith Carroll McCormick Harry Rudolfs

PUBLISHER Rob Wilkins (416) 510-5123

NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Don Besler (416) 699-6966

ACCOUNT MANAGER Brenda Grant (416) 494-3333

PRODUCTION MANAGER Kim Collins (416) 510-6779

CIRCULATION MANAGER Mary Garufi

VIDEO PRODUCTION MANAGER Brad Ling

RESEARCH MANAGER Laura Moffatt

VICE PRESIDENT PUBLISHING Alex Papanou

PRESIDENT Bruce Creighton

Head Office 80 Valleybrook Drive Toronto, ON M3B 2S9

Motortruck Fleet Executive is published by BIG Magazines LP, a division of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd., a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and business- to-business information services.

The contents of this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, either in part or full, including photocopying and recording, without the written consent of the copyright owner. Nor may any part of this publication be stored in a retrieval system of any nature without prior written consent. Motortruck Fleet Executive is indexed by Micromedia Limited.

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT 40069240Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Circulation Dept. – Motortruck Magazine, Suite 800 – 12 Concorde Place, Toronto, ON M3C 4J2USPS 016-317. US office of publication, 2424 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls, NY. 14304-0357. Periodical Postage Paid at Niagara Falls NY USA. Postmaster send address corrections to: Motortruck, PO Box 1118, Niagara Falls NY 14304.Member Canadian Business Press.

Subscription Inquiries – (416) 442–5600.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.

ISSN Number 0027-2108 (print)ISSN Number 1923-3507 (digital)

Fleet Executive Motortruck

Lou Smyrlis, MCILT, Editor • [email protected]

What’s up with downtime?Declining engine reliability is a not-so-well kept secret that must be dealt with

QUESTION WHAT DO THESE

GATORS HAVE IN COMMON?

Bridgestone Commercial SolutionsFor your nearest Bandag authorized dealer visit our website©2013 Bridgestone Canada, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

www.trucktires.com

ANSWER: NEITHER CRITTER IS A RETREAD.

ANSWER:

Get your Retreaducation at retreadinstead.com

FACT: Virtually all the scrap rubber on the road contains wire, indicating casing failure. There’s no wire in the rubber retreaders use.

C

1

RETREAD INSTEAD_D MFE

M Y K

INITIALS DATEJOB # BAN120069 DATE 1.15.13CLIENT Bandag

HEADLINE What Do These Gators Have In Common?

LIVE 7" x 10"TRIM 8.125" x 10.875"BLEED 8.25” x 11.125”MEDIA MAGAZINE

COLOR CMYK

CD Rob P.

AD/DS John B.

CW Rob P.

AM David S.

PM Brook B.

STAGE: CLIENT REVIEW

BAN120069_Retread Instead_D_MFE 1 1/15/13 4:47 PM

View with Lou Jan.indd 6 13-02-04 1:19 PM

mailto:[email protected]





is written and published for owners, managers and maintenance supervisors of those companies that operate, sell and service trucks, truck trailers and transit buses.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 VOL. 82 NO. 1

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lou Smyrlis (416) 510-6881 [email protected]

MANAGING EDITOR Adam Ledlow (416) 510-6890 [email protected]

FEATURES EDITOR Julia Kuzeljevich (416) 510-6880 [email protected]

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Roy [email protected]

ADVERTISING CREATIVE DIRECTORS Carolyn Brimer Beverley Richards

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Ken Mark James Menzies Ian Putzger John G. Smith Carroll McCormick Harry Rudolfs

PUBLISHER Rob Wilkins (416) 510-5123

NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Don Besler (416) 699-6966

ACCOUNT MANAGER Brenda Grant (416) 494-3333

PRODUCTION MANAGER Kim Collins (416) 510-6779

CIRCULATION MANAGER Mary Garufi

VIDEO PRODUCTION MANAGER Brad Ling

RESEARCH MANAGER Laura Moffatt

VICE PRESIDENT PUBLISHING Alex Papanou

PRESIDENT Bruce Creighton

Head Office 80 Valleybrook Drive Toronto, ON M3B 2S9

Motortruck Fleet Executive is published by BIG Magazines LP, a division of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd., a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and business- to-business information services.

The contents of this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, either in part or full, including photocopying and recording, without the written consent of the copyright owner. Nor may any part of this publication be stored in a retrieval system of any nature without prior written consent. Motortruck Fleet Executive is indexed by Micromedia Limited.

PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT 40069240Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Circulation Dept. – Motortruck Magazine, Suite 800 – 12 Concorde Place, Toronto, ON M3C 4J2USPS 016-317. US office of publication, 2424 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls, NY. 14304-0357. Periodical Postage Paid at Niagara Falls NY USA. Postmaster send address corrections to: Motortruck, PO Box 1118, Niagara Falls NY 14304.Member Canadian Business Press.

Subscription Inquiries – (416) 442–5600.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.

ISSN Number 0027-2108 (print)ISSN Number 1923-3507 (digital)

QUESTION WHAT DO THESE

GATORS HAVE IN COMMON?

Bridgestone Commercial SolutionsFor your nearest Bandag authorized dealer visit our website©2013 Bridgestone Canada, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

www.trucktires.com

ANSWER: NEITHER CRITTER IS A RETREAD.

ANSWER:

Get your Retreaducation at retreadinstead.com

FACT: Virtually all the scrap rubber on the road contains wire, indicating casing failure. There’s no wire in the rubber retreaders use.

C

1

RETREAD INSTEAD_D MFE

M Y K

INITIALS DATEJOB # BAN120069 DATE 1.15.13CLIENT Bandag

HEADLINE What Do These Gators Have In Common?

LIVE 7" x 10"TRIM 8.125" x 10.875"BLEED 8.25” x 11.125”MEDIA MAGAZINE

COLOR CMYK

CD Rob P.

AD/DS John B.

CW Rob P.

AM David S.

PM Brook B.

STAGE: CLIENT REVIEW

BAN120069_Retread Instead_D_MFE 1 1/15/13 4:47 PM

View with Lou Jan.indd 7 13-02-01 1:28 PM

http://www.trucktires.com

http://www.retreadinstead.com

COMPETITION WATCH

8 FLEET EXECUTIVE ❙ January/February 2013 trucknews.com

MUIR’S CARTAGE has let go of all its company drivers and will rely entirely on owner/operators going forward. The transition was necessitated by the “market forces experi-enced by the entire industry,” says Ted Brown, executive vice-president with the company. On Jan. 3, 33 company drivers were released as part of the restructuring. The company will no longer employ company drivers. Brown told Fleet Execu-tive the move was necessary in response to “significant changes specific to its major customer relationships that re-main strong, but simply require a change in our overall infra-structure and how we deploy our fleet and drivers.”

Some of these changes, Brown said, have been phased in over the past few years. As for the Jan. 3 announcement that it would no longer run company trucks, Brown said it “was a necessary component to fully meeting those demands go-ing into 2013 and remaining a competitive provider of ex-cellent service well beyond.”

Prior to the Jan. 3 announcement, Muir’s operated three distinct driver groups: a city and highway owner/operator fleet; a scaleable 3P channel with agency partners; and a company driver fleet. “After Jan. 3, our model will consist of a mix of owner/operators and our agency strategy – the ap-plication of either depending upon our existing and new customer requirements,” he said.

Customers, said Brown, stand to benefit from increased flexibility and efficiencies. “Asset utilization will determine which driver solution we will deploy and we’ll be better po-sitioned to meet the cost challenges of our partners,” he said.

Asked if owner/operators may be concerned that the re-structuring is indicative of underlying problems at Muir’s, Brown said “Muir’s has carried out these changes in order to increase its ability to compete within the conditions of which we’re all aware. We’ve seen continued improvement here over 2011 and 2012 and anyone currently with us or considering joining us should be encouraged by our en-hanced ability to succeed in the years to come.”

TRANSFORCE has recently purchased shares of VITRAN CORP., to the tune of some 1.763 million shares, representing about 10.75% of the company’s issued and outstanding common shares. The purchases were made by TransForce subsidiary TFI Holdings between Dec. 17 and Jan. 24. The average price was $5.18 per share, representing a total value of about $9.1 mil-lion. TransForce said in a release it was buying the shares for “investment purposes.”

TransForce has also purchased Stafford, Texas-based VELOCITY EXPRESS and its subsidiaries, which include 80 lo-cations across the US and Western Canada, employing about 2,600 staff and independent contractors. Velocity provides

same-day regional delivery services. The acquisition is expect-ed to add $160 million in revenue for TransForce and should conclude by the end of January, the company announced.

SEAWAY EXPRESS has announced additions to both its truck fleet and real estate holdings, with plans for further in-vestments later this year. The company has added four new trucks and eight heated trailers to its fleet with three addi-tional trucks on order for delivery in the first quarter. Seaway has also purchased new electric forklifts for its warehouse systems, bringing its total investment to more than $500,000. Seaway Express has also installed a new dispatch system, designed to improve driver communication by sending pick-up requests via text. The company also hired 10 new em-ployees in 2012, including drivers and office staff. Seaway Express officials say the company has also “significantly ex-panded” its real estate holdings in Cornwall. The company now has more than 266,000 sq.ft. of commercial warehous-ing space in the Cornwall Business Park.

CAVALIER has announced a new partnership with RIST TRANSPORT, which will combine the two carriers’ networks and provide two-day service between the northeastern US and markets in Ontario and Quebec. They also plan to offer expedited overnight lanes. The partnership also will include freight consolidation services and warehousing on both sides of the border. RIST has 11 terminals in the northeastern US, covering Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

DAY & ROSS has announced a pair of appointments to its executive team. Larry Rodo will be taking up the position of president for Day & Ross Freight and Doug Harrison will be taking the role of chief operating officer for Day & Ross Trans-portation Group. Rodo will have total responsibility for the company’s LTL and TL division in his new role. Rodo joins Day & Ross from Brinks USA, where he served as president. Prior to this, he acted as president of Brinks Canada and has previously held senior executive roles with Nadiscorp, Schen-ker and Reimer Express Lines. Larry has an extensive back-ground in transportation and logistics, and holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto along with his CITT certification.

In his role as COO, Harrison will have responsibility for the company’s overall strategy, a number of its support groups and its four operating companies. He joined Day & Ross in 2011 as president of Day & Ross Freight. He has held various senior executive positions within the transportation and logistics in-dustry, serves on a number of volunteer and company boards, and is an active speaker at numerous industry events. FE

CW Jan.indd 8 13-02-01 10:45 AM


CW Jan.indd 11 13-02-01 10:45 AM

http://www.rotella.com


BOTTOM LINE

Every January, I notice a significant surge in the number of suppliers who want to set up meetings. Seems like every Dale Carnegie comes back from the holidays raring to go, committed to working harder and being a better version of last year’s

model. It’s the same reason the company fridge is chock-full of salads the first month of the year. I call it January Syndrome.

So far this year, more sales reps have lost ground with me than gained it. Several months ago, my gig changed to the non-asset side of the business. You’d expect that even a rookie sales rep would have done his homework about that before hitting “send” to see how many temporary drivers I need. Yet the num-ber of clueless sales “professionals” who reach out to me as though I’m still running trucks is staggering.

These irritating calls made me appreciate how much B2B sales is changing and how slowly our industry is adapting. Here are some of the fundamental shifts I’m seeing in the game of “fill the trailer”:

Researching not prospectingToday, information about prospects comes from multiple sourc-es. You can find timely, accurate background on virtually any company and its decision-makers, customers, competitors, and markets. Information like this used to take months or even years to pry out of people. Today, you can set up Google alerts to have news about your prospects pushed to you via e-mail or RSS. Have you checked out their LinkedIn and Facebook pages?

Starting cold with open-ended, probing questions about your prospect’s business will kill your credibility along with any chance of ever getting a pound of freight. Do the research and develop a game plan long before you reach out. This is Sales 101 today.

You’re not needed anymoreWe’re dealing with more RFPs than ever now. One reason is that decision-makers are smarter and more informed. They generally know how to solve their own problems and don’t need assis-tance from their sales rep until it’s time to figure out what all that scribble on their whiteboard is going to cost them. If you’re not careful, your sales force will turn into nothing more than a flock of messenger pigeons dropping off smelly pricing all day.

They’ve heard it all beforeIn contemporary sales, the old “Ben Franklin close” no lon-ger flies. You can’t rely on a deft tongue, a slick brochure,

and a canned presentation. In fact, selling today is about not selling. Customers want business partners

who can add value and provide attributes they can’t get from a computer.

Forget the song-and-dance routine and charts of pros and cons. Work on consistently demonstrating that you are hon-est, hardworking, and knowledgeable. The deals will evolve naturally and the rates will take care of themselves.

Not a one-man show If you’re in sales, my guess is that you’ve never won an Em-ployee of the Month mug. There’s tension between sales and operations that many chalk up to arrogance. To me, it stems from the reality that sales reps can “earn” three times the coin of everyone else.

Today, it takes a collaborative effort to secure, manage, and grow business with customers. It’s a company-wide commitment that dwarfs any one person. Outdated compen-sation models that are overly focused on individuals and short-term goals are no longer effective and will only de-motivate your team.

Lunches are coolTwenty years ago, one of the easiest and most common ways to take a business relationship to a new level was a night on the town with all the fixings. Now, customers would rather have the grand you spent for the limo, dinner, and tickets taken off their monthly freight spend. Most don’t have the time to be out at night, and many will even frown at the invitation. Also, with more women responsible for buying transportation now, men are starting to figure out how com-plicated nighttime entertaining with the opposite gender can be (a fact that women in sales have dealt with for years).

Try a business lunch instead. It’s a great way to spend an hour with a client, especially if you’re still getting to know each other. Just don’t order the salad. There’s still plenty of that in the fridge. FE

Mike McCarron was one of the founding “M”s in MSM Transportation before the company was purchased by the Wheels Group. Based in Toronto, he currently works for Wheels in mergers and acquisitions and can be reached at [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter @AceMcC.

By Mike McCarron

The game of ‘fill the trailer’ is changing – and so should you

SMotortruck Fleet executive and

dan Goodwill & associates presents

Mississauga Convention Centre

2012

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The 2012 SummiTwaS an ouTSTanding SucceSS!

check ouT a few of The commenTS

“The summit was very well done! A great learning and networking experience for someone like myself who is new to the industry.”

Steve Magirias, General Manager, Anderson Haulage

“Congratulations on a well run Summit yesterday. I found it most informative and it was a most enjoyable event. Well done and thank you.”

Norm Sneyd, V.P. Business Development, Bison Transport

“It was a very good conference. I noticed most people were actually listening and not playing on their phones. I think these days that is a way to determine the quality of a presentation.”

Mark Laine, Marketing Mgr., Mack Trucks Canada

OctOber 16, 2013 please plan on joining the Country’s

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Trans Summit promo 2013.indd 1 13-01-22 12:14 PM

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Bottom Line Jan13.indd 10 13-02-01 1:30 PM



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SMotortruck Fleet executive and

dan Goodwill & associates presents

Mississauga Convention Centre

2012

suM

Mit

spo

nso

rs

The 2012 SummiTwaS an ouTSTanding SucceSS!

check ouT a few of The commenTS

“The summit was very well done! A great learning and networking experience for someone like myself who is new to the industry.”

Steve Magirias, General Manager, Anderson Haulage

“Congratulations on a well run Summit yesterday. I found it most informative and it was a most enjoyable event. Well done and thank you.”

Norm Sneyd, V.P. Business Development, Bison Transport

“It was a very good conference. I noticed most people were actually listening and not playing on their phones. I think these days that is a way to determine the quality of a presentation.”

Mark Laine, Marketing Mgr., Mack Trucks Canada

OctOber 16, 2013 please plan on joining the Country’s

top transportation executives for a day of

education & Networking

Trans Summit promo 2013.indd 1 13-01-22 12:14 PM

Bottom Line Jan13.indd 11 13-02-01 1:30 PM


RISKY BUSINESS

IS TECHNOLOGY THE ANSWER TO REDUCING CRASHES?

The technology revolution is well upon us. Almost daily, risk managers are bombarded with new tech-nology-based products, services, and concepts tar-geting truck design, improved fuel efficiency, and overall system efficiency.

While most technologies have some link to safety, increas-ingly, carriers are seeing safety-specific products such as colli-sion-avoidance, braking and stability control, lane departure, blind spot monitoring, and active cruise control systems.

It is not surprising in that crash costs have been estimated to be approximately 2% of Canada’s GDP by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Regardless of the purpose of these technologies, carriers need to seriously consider driver reactions and behaviours in the pres-ence of these technologies before making a final decision.

New in-vehicle technologies have the potential to increase as well as decrease crash and injury risk.

In March of 2011, a Penticton, B.C. couple left home head-ing for a trade show in Las Vegas. Seven weeks later, the wife was found, near death, in their vehicle on a logging road in a remote area of northern Nevada. Fortunately, she survived. Her husband was not so lucky – searchers found his body about 18 months later. When found, the wife explained that they had been directed to this logging road by the GPS map-ping device. Indeed, this road was the fastest route to their destination, however, the device did not account for the fact that these roads are not maintained in the winter.

Devices with visual displays and audible alerts can dis-tract the driver from the driving task. Whether it is watching for the next turn, checking a blind spot camera, or reacting to a following too closely alarm, each can be an unnecessary distraction. After all, what is the difference between being distracted by talking on a cell phone or text messaging and being distracted by a four-inch screen with blinking lights and audible alarms sounding?

Arguably, the greatest risk lies in inducing the driver to have a false sense of security, bordering on believing they are invincible, thereby encouraging riskier behaviour.

In his book, “Target Risk 2,” Professor Gerald Wilde of Queens University argues that improvements in safety cannot be achieved by safety technology alone, stating that the extent

of risk-taking ultimately depends on the values that prevail. Wilde advocates that every individual has a “target risk” or a level of risk they are willing to accept in order to maximize the anticipated benefit from an activity.

Think of it in terms of an inner thermostat (comfort level) within each of us. If there is too much perceived risk, we ad-just our behaviour to reduce the amount of risk. If there is too little perceived risk, we adjust our behaviour by assuming more risk in another area.

At the onset of ABS braking systems, the perception was that they would stop the vehicle faster. This led to increased speeds and shortened following distances as people sought to compensate for the perceived lack of risk now that they were protected by ABS systems.

New safety technologies have the potential to simply shift risky behaviour around and not necessarily eliminate it. Un-less we can address the individual’s “target” level of risk, we have a very limited chance of meaningful crash reduction.

Carriers have the opportunity to become more proactive in their choice of technologies by creating an evaluation plan and asking some simple questions: Is this technology being used to compensate for a lack of skill and/or inappropriate behaviour? Alternatively, is this technology being used to pro-vide information to the driver that will facilitate better deci-sions behind the wheel?

From the outset, drivers must be made aware of the capabili-ties/limitations of systems, and need to learn how to use them and be afforded the opportunity to gain experience with them.

Ultimately, though, effective crash reduction is going to rely on utilizing the information gained through technologies to ad-dress inappropriate behaviour and inappropriate levels of risk taking. Don’t expect that technology will do it on its own. FE

New in-vehicle technologies have the potential to increase as well as decrease crash and injury riskBy Rick Geller

Rick Geller, CRM has been providing innovative and cost-effective risk management solutions to the trucking industry for more than 30 years. He

serves on the board of directors for the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council, is the vice-chair of the Toronto Chapter of the Fleet Safety Council and vice-chair of the Fleet Safety Council Conference Committee, as well as an Executive Committee member for both the Ontario and Toronto Regional Truck Driving Championships.

A new column offering common sense, cost-effective (or just plain simple) solutions to help carriers turn safety into a profit centre.

www.trucknews.com/videos/

New online episodeevery Thursday

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www.trucknews.com/videos/

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TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS


I recently spoke with Peter Churchill-Smith, managing di-rector of Newport Private Wealth, one of Canada’s largest independent wealth managers. He has worked with entre-preneurs for the better part of his 30-year career as a wealth

management professional and, along with his partners, decided to conduct a survey of entrepreneurs who had sold a business.

The research objective was to better understand the chal-lenges and needs of entrepreneurs through the entire sales cy-cle – pre-sale planning, closing the sale, the transition period, and the development of a new long-term plan for themselves and their investments.

The survey, conducted for Newport Private Wealth by Capi-tal C Communications, determined that for the majority of busi-ness owners, the sale of the business was an exhausting, all-consuming ordeal that left them with little time to think about their personal needs and new circumstances. Then there is the aftermath. If one is still running the business, one’s personal af-fairs often take a backseat to priorities such as staff and cus-tomer issues that have been deferred.

To help, 10 practical suggestions were developed. They come from two credible sources: entrepreneurs that have al-ready experienced a “sale,” and the research findings.

The Ten Suggestions

1. TAKE A BREATH...A VERY LONG BREATH – The sale of a busi-ness often creates a “void” that will take time to replace. This transition period can take a year or more before you declare yourself “ready” for the next challenge. The management of your funds needs to reflect this new plan.

2. RECOGNIZE YOUR NEW REALITY – You are not any wealthier than you were prior to the sale. However, your balance sheet has changed dramatically. If you are working for the new own-er, your wealth is no longer lodged at your place of work. It is at the bank! And it is not getting the same 24/7 attention that it received before the sale. 3. USE PROFESSIONAL CASH MANAGEMENT – The survey con-firmed that a large proportion of business sellers park their funds in cash for three months to a year. For a large amount of money, you should have access to wholesale rates. Be like the majority of our surveyed sellers: deal with someone with direct access to the mon-ey market who can ensure you are receiving the rates you deserve.

4. DRAW UP A NEW BALANCE SHEET – There’s no better time than now for you to take stock. Your affairs are probably more

complex than you would like. You need funds to live and you need to understand which funds are best accessed from a tax perspective.

5. GET ORGANIZED – Your money may be in several places such as a family trust, a holding company and several family ac-counts. Many business sellers tell us that they are overwhelmed with the paperwork and it is very difficult to “keep score.” You might want to consider hiring a part-time bookkeeper.

6. COMMUNICATE WITH KEY FAMILY MEMBERS – Many business sellers have emphasized the importance of communicating their new reality with key family members. So much has changed and misunderstandings can easily arise.

7. GET AN ESTIMATE OF THE TAXES OWING – You need to obtain an estimate of your tax liability. It may be due over several years and some may be deferred indefinitely. There are many strategies available, including insurance and philanthropy. Fo-cusing on these issues may be the best way to increase your net worth in the short term.

8. DO AN AUDIT OF YOUR CURRENT ESTATE PLAN – It is very likely that your estate plan – including your will and insur-ance – do not match your new circumstances. Does your will include provisions dealing with shares of a private company now sold? Are your current executors capable of handling the complexity of your new affairs? In our view, these are “im-mediate concerns.”

9. APPOINT A CHARITY ‘GATEKEEPER’ – Yes, charities know you’ve sold and they will now be soliciting you for a large commitment. Many entrepreneurs find it helpful to have a gatekeeper who will handle these requests.

10. DEVELOP AN APPROACH FOR LOANS TO FAMILY – Sooner than you think, you may be asked for a loan by a family mem-ber or friend. They may think that the loan is trivial to you. Sadly, they may feel the same way about repayment. A simple solution? Buy yourself time by telling them that your money is tied up with your advisors. FE

Mark Borkowski, is president of Mercantile Mergers & Acquisitions. Mercantile specialize in the sale of privately owned Canadian companies. He can be contacted at [email protected] or www.mercantilemergersacquisitions.com

THE FIRST TEN THINGS YOU MUST DO AFTER YOU SELL YOUR BUSINESSBy Mark Borkowski

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JC Nov 26, 2012 0 Y

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Canada’s largest fuel provider, Petro-Canada, now gives you ON-SITE REFUELLING. It’s a great way to save your drivers’ time in the morning and, at the end of the day, save you money. Now you can have your vehicles and equipment – whether in the yard or on the job site – fuelled overnight, ready to go again when you are. No other fuel provider is more committed to meeting your needs than Petro-Canada. Delivering quality products, services and tools to fuel your business – coast-to-coast.

Learn more at petro-canada.ca/osr or call 1-855-FUEL247 (383-5247) or contact your local Petro-Canada Marketer.

JC Nov 26, 2012 0 Y

JAN Kelley Marketing, its employees and agents (collectively referred to as “JKM”) shall not be held liable for any loss or damage

su� ered by you, or by any third party, from the use of these marketing materials (the “Materials”) if they have been modi� ed,

distorted, combined with third party content, or manipulated in whole or in part by any party other than JKM. Further, once the

proof of the Materials has been approved by you, JKM shall not be liable for any loss or damage su� ered by you or any third party

arising from any alleged or actual defect in the Materials or in any way arising from their reproduction by a party other than JKM.

Production Artist: Date: Revision #: SC:

Petro-Canada is a Suncor Energy businessTMTrademark of Suncor Energy Inc. Used under licence.

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WOMENWANTED

Women may be the missing link to career vacancies in supply chain. How can we attract them to our industry?

A lberta is going to need some 50,000 new workers in supply chain industries alone over the next 10 years. That’s a pile of people to place – and the need spans professions all across the supply

chain spectrum including, of course, the trucking industry. The 50,000 figure came from a national and Alberta-based

labour market study by the Calgary Logistics Council, and helped lead to the Council, Calgary’s Van Horne Institute and other partners creating a series of events focusing on women as a mostly untapped resource within the supply chain man-agement sector. (The next part in the Women in Supply Chain series was a conference planned for Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2013.)

The most recent incarnation of their outreach was a late November gathering called: Inspire! Women in Supply Chain Roundtable Reception. The second in a series of events on the topic, the evening saw a group of about 50 females gather at the Calgary Art Gallery to hear three women with successful careers outline their experiences and offer encouragement and insight for women who may be looking for such a career.

“By putting together and offering the Women in Sup-ply Chain initiative, we are working collectively to answer the current and forecasted supply chain worker shortages,” Calgary Logistics Council’s Linda Lucas told the audience at the affair. “We are driven by a desire to see that supply chain management becomes a profession of choice, not by default, and that we work to differentiate this sector through our connections and community.”

As for that 50,000 figure, Lucas said, “This presents a huge issue for employers in terms of attraction and retention, but on the flipside, it represents great opportunities for those who choose this sector in making their career.”

That doesn’t mean it’s easy breaking in – or sticking around – if you have a second X chromosome. According to presenter Siobhan Chinnery, vice-president, corporate sup-ply chain, for Sanjel Corporation, “It’s especially challenging for women because they have other choices to make in their lives besides where to work.”

Chinnery said that as a mother of two teenage girls, she has passed up opportunities because “being a mother is in-credibly important to me.” One example she cited was a chance to travel with her company’s CEO, talking to share-holders. She said she turned it down because “it wasn’t about my schedule, it was about (the CEO’s) and if he was ready to go somewhere on Tuesday that’s when he went. It didn’t matter if it was my daughter’s birthday.”

That said, however, “You have to be open to accept opportu-nities. Luck is only half of it. You have to be in a situation where opportunity presents itself. So work hard, work smart – but ac-cept those opportunities,” she added.

Opportunities coupled with hard work brought Audrey Mayr to her present posting as chief operating officer of the event planning company E=MC2. She had a varied back-ground in the hospitality industry before E=MC2 came knock-ing, and since then has worked on such projects as the Toron-to International Film Festival’s inaugural gala, which she de-

By Jim Bray


Human Edge Jan.indd 16 13-02-01 1:43 PM


scribed as “one of the most spectacular events seen in Toronto.” Closest to the trucking industry was third speaker Cindy

Clark, dealer principal of Sterling Western Star Trucks in Cal-gary and Red Deer. She talked about the challenges of be-coming what she described as the only woman in Canada doing what she does.

Clark worked in accounting at the Calgary Motor Deal-ers Association early in her career and discovered that “the whole dealer industry, the whole dynamics of having an auto dealership in trucks and cars, was such an old boys’ network. Daughters were not even considered at that point.”

Eventually, Clark decided to start her own business, having learned from her experiences that “if someone else had done something, I could do it too. That really was my driving force.”

Mayr agreed with that sentiment. “It think it’s just confidence, in realizing that we are women and we have a lot of strength,” she said. “If someone else has done it, you can do it, too - prob-ably better, with your own finesse. Set your sights and go out there and make your mark on the world. Everything’s possible.”

The women agreed that one way of helping advance your career is to find a guardian angel. “Have sponsors in your career rather than just a mentor,” Chinnery said. “Mentors will help you, but sponsors will actually go to someone and recommend you. And they don’t need to be women; there’s lots of great men and women out there who can sponsor you and help your career.

“Traditionally it’s always on the mentee to seek out the mentor. So do that. Seek out the person and ask him, but be prepared to tell him what you’re looking for, what you want to learn from that person.”

Going for the brass ring is also important. “One thing I would really encourage you to do is let them know where you want to go with your career,” Chinnery said, noting that one of the biggest mistakes she made was when a supply chain position was posted at her job and she didn’t go after it.

“I just assumed they’d come ask me because I was the best person for the role,” she said. “The posting just screamed my name, and then I didn’t get the job. And I was mad. You have to actually tell people that you want the job!”

Tooting one’s own horn doesn’t hurt in other ways, either. “Women doubt themselves,” Chinnery said. “Women tend to not like to brag. You need to stand up and tell people what you’re good at and where you want to go in your career. If you sit back and wait for everyone to mastermind your ca-reer it’ll never happen. You have to set your course and figure out where you’re going.”

And don’t be afraid to use your strengths. On that topic, Clark said she had learned that “standing pat and listening was my best skill. I learned never to take anything that the guys would tell me as the truth – not that they were trying to undermine me necessarily, but I became aware of the threat. Women don’t do what I’m doing. I’m the primary owner of the dealership and in North America there’s only a couple of women at this level and none in Canada.”

Women, Clark said, actually have an advantage over men in some ways. “One of the things that’s been really good about being a female in this industry is that (people) automat-ically disqualify me right away and that gives us as females the greatest opportunity to shine, because while they’re wait-ing around, we can take over.”

On the other hand, women can be their own worst enemies. Chinnery and Clark both noted that women should be concerned about how they carry themselves in the work environment.

“A lot of women don’t dress appropriately for the office,” Chinnery said. “Men have suits, and you don’t see them in all sorts of bizarre outfits. If you want to undermine your credibil-ity in an office – which by the way is still run by men whether you like it or not – go in with your cleavage hanging out be-cause that’s not going to do you any good. There’s no room for cleavage or short skirts, in an office.”

“Women dress down, thinking that’s what clients want,” Clark added, “instead of dressing up to who they want to be. As soon as you think nobody’s going to care, then you don’t care about yourself. And yes, people judge you, but it’s you that you’re taking care of, that you’re measuring.”

Despite the obvious focus on the distaff side of humani-ty – and the lack of males at the event who weren’t actually working there in one way or another – host Linda Lucas was quick to point out that the issue of putting new bums into empty supply chain seats isn’t just a female thing.

“This is an issue of talent, an issue of the things that make our economy work,” she said, “and we are collectively de-termined to bring supply chain into the fore, to reinforce the work done every day as part of a huge, huge network of extremely capable individuals.”

“We’re going to carry on this conversation and bring people into our meeting who will help us advance our own thinking about the supply chain,” Lucas said. “What are the values behind it? How is it changing? Who are the people in the world that we need to influence above us and around us, to have understand the importance of the work that people in the supply chain do? What are practices that other sectors use to develop talent – part of that talent being women?”

Lucas said the plan so far is that, at the end of the two days, participants will be invited to help shape the last two segments of the Women In Supply Chain program. “It’s kind of like writing your own end to a story,” she said.

“We’re looking for input from you, from the community, to tell us the things that you think are the most important. And we will build the last two events in March and May of 2013 around the input we get. Maybe we’ll take one of these issues and dig more deeply into it.” FE

What are practices that other sectors use to develop talent – part of that talent being women?

THE HUMAN EDGE


Human Edge Jan.indd 17 13-02-01 1:43 PM



From the highest highs to the lowest lows and then back again, the eventful history of Prime Inc. is probably best told by its founder and CEO Robert Low.

With his quick wit and self-deprecating sense of hu-mour, Low had the audience at the most recent Driving for Profit seminar hanging by his every word as he recounted the tumultuous early years in Prime’s colourful history.

Low was interviewed by editorial director Lou Smyrlis as part of the seminar’s popular How We Did It series.

Today, Springfield, Mo.-based Prime Inc. runs more than 5,000 tractors and some 7,000 trailers as a leader in the refriger-ated and flatdeck freight transportation segments. The fact it ex-ists at all is remarkable, given the turmoil the company faced in its formative years.

Low grew up on a Missouri farm raising cattle, hogs and chickens. His father was a market news reporter and many of Low’s friends were in the meat business. Low’s first rig was a previously owned dump truck he bought while in college and then drove during the summer. He hired a driver for it when he went back to school. “That went south in a hurry,” he recalled of the experience with his very first company driver.

Meanwhile, post-secondary education was proving to be a grind and Low’s engineering aspirations were cast in doubt. Low traded in his dump truck for a highway tractor and began calling on his contacts in the meat business looking for stuff to haul. As a one-truck operation, Low, like many others at that time, ran hard and fast with little regard for the law.

“At that time, with paper logs and fuel that was 18 cents a gallon, what you did was mashed on it and drove as fast as you could and got all the miles that you could,” Low admitted. “If you ever got home, you sat down with two pots of coffee and a logbook, filled everything out and made it all fit.”

Low founded Prime Inc. and began adding trucks. In 1979, Low’s company made a million dollars in profit – all this be-fore he turned 30.

“I was 29 years old and thought the world looked level and in 1980, I was in bankruptcy court just buried with no hope,” he

said. Low’s mistake was borrowing money in a rapid growth inflationary environment and “paying it back with cheaper dol-lars.” It worked for a while, until interest rates surged to 21% and the loans came due. It was a difficult lesson.

“I had it coming,” Low now admits. “I was pretty arrogant. I was young and thought this was easy. I had lost track of the things that were really important, like people and how they’re tied to the company’s success. I lost track of some really impor-tant things and I got my comeuppance real quick.”

The next few months were a constant struggle to stay afloat, every day a fight for survival. Low admitted luck played a major role in the company’s ability to stay in business. At one point, Low’s car was repossessed and he faced the prospect of – as the owner of a trucking company – being without a vehicle. But then almost immediately thereafter, Low won a new Cadillac in a Shriner’s draw. Another time, a cheque that was intended “to be shared” with his insurance company arrived in the mail. Out of money, Low said he cashed the cheque and only then was able to keep the lights on for another day. Things got real per-sonal, however, when Low’s own mother took a loan out on her house and contributed $50,000 to the company.

“We were burning off $17,000 per day, it wasn’t going to get us through the next week,” Low recalled. “We couldn’t talk her out of it. She was all-in, 100% all-in. It was just that close. I paid my mother back the $50,000. It took a while, but I did pay her back. Things like that got us by.”

Drivers, too, understood the pressure the company was un-der and many continued to drive, fully aware their next pay-cheque may not come in on schedule.

The most important lesson learned through the ordeal was a return to basics, or what Low referred to as “candy store ac-counting,” where you can buy only what you have enough money in your pocket to afford.

“You can’t borrow or lend anymore,” Low said of the com-pany’s time under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. “There is supervision by the court and creditors and you have to have as much money coming in today as you spend or it’s over, that’s

PROFITABILITY

From overnight success to Chapter 11 to another meteoric rise, Prime Inc. has travelled a rocky road to prosperity. What lessons does its tumultuous history hold for you?By James Menzies

PRIME TIMEPrime Inc. CEO Robert Low speaking with Lou Smyrlis

ProfitibilityFeb.indd 18 13-02-01 1:46 PM


the end. It was the best thing in the world for me. What you worried about was strictly cash flow. You had to manage to have enough cash to get through the next day.”

Another lesson learned was that “overexpansion without proper footing and solid financial foundation is a disaster,” Low revealed. This is a trap that remains today, particularly for publicly-trade companies that are ac-countable to shareholders who tout growth, even at the expense of profit-ability. Low warned that growing the top line while neglecting the bottom line is rewarded by the markets, and as such, many carriers feel they “have to have growth, even at the risk of their long-term viability.”

One of the keys to Prime Inc.’s recov-ery was an increased reliance on owner/operators. Prime Inc. developed a pro-gram to create new owner/operators from within its driver ranks. Some of the programs had to withstand legal chal-lenges from OOIDA and others, who questioned the operators’ independent status. Low said that today, one of the things he’s most proud of accomplishing is “developing a legal, ethical and fair independent contractor program for those who could not afford a down pay-ment on their truck.”

In short order, the program spawned the creation of more than 100 new own-er/operators and marked the beginning of Prime’s resurrection. The newly crowned owner/operators were earning more than they were as company drivers and at the same time, their units were more profitable for Prime Inc. than its own company trucks.

“Everybody was converting and want-ed to become an owner/operator,” Low recalled. “It was a very powerful busi-ness model. I believe in alignment. It worked well with our drivers and our sales guys. At the darkest times when we couldn’t hire people, we could say ‘Look, if you can bring some business here, if you can drive down costs, we’ll measure that and you’ll be in for a fraction of the action, so to speak, a percentage of the savings or improved revenue.’ We’ve seen it work with our drivers, it works great with managers and now virtually everyone in our company, with very few

exceptions, is on some type of incentive-based compensation.”Today, Prime Inc. is known for its driver amenities and focus

on health and wellness. The company has built a Millenium Building, complete with

showers, dorm-style rooms for sleeping, a day care, spa, gym and access to health care professionals. FE

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Being an early adopter of liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered trucks has landed Vedder Transportation Group some new business opportunities, including the formation of a solid waste division, which seems an unlike-ly fit for a company whose core business has been hauling dairy and food-grade products.

Fred Zweep, president of Vedder Transportation, said the opportunity came along in August 2010, when word was be-ginning to spread about the company’s investment in natural gas trucks.

He vividly remembers the phone call he received while travelling to Calgary to visit a client. The caller said he’d heard Vedder was investing in natural gas trucks and asked if they’d be able to service a solid waste haul contract shuttling trash from Metro Vancouver to a landfill in Cache Creek, B.C.

“People often ask how did we get into the business of haul-ing garbage when we’re a food-grade hauler,” Zweep recalled. “That was because of the natural gas technology. I remember when they phoned. I said ‘We haul food, you want me to haul garbage?’ He said ‘Will you think about it?’ and I said ‘I’ll have to think about it’.”

Today, Vedder has 15 LNG-fuelled Peterbilt 386s dedicated to the trash contract, hauling solid waste between Vancouver and Cache Creek, grossing a whopping 140,000 lbs each way along the 410-mile round-trip.

“Where we’re travelling with the solid waste is in a very sensitive airshed,” Zweep said. “This equipment produces 27-33% less greenhouse gases (than diesel-powered trucks).”

The route between Vancouver and Cache Creek was also a good test for the LNG trucks.

“I would have to say, 200 of those miles are probably some of the toughest pulling in the province of B.C. that you’d find,

maybe anywhere in North America, with 6-8% grades over about 50% of that round-trip,” Zweep said.

Vedder Transport deployed the latest of its 50 LNG-powered Peterbilt trucks in March 2012, and has now collected enough data to declare the program as a resounding success. The trucks are operated across three divisions: 22 in the dairy fleet (140,000-lb GVW); 15 in the solid waste fleet (140,000-lb GVW); and 13 in the food-grade fleet (105,000-lb GVW). The highest-mileage units now have about 250,000 kilometres on them.

“From a mechanical perspective, we’re seeing very good results,” Zweep said. “We’re now starting to pull oil samples and we’re seeing the cleanest oil samples we’ve ever seen in our fleet, and we’ve been around for over 50 years.”

Last month marked a milestone for Vedder Transportation, as its fuelling station – offering LNG, CNG and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) – opened for business in mid-December. Up till then, Vedder had been fuelling its trucks via a temporary fill-ing station. The new fuelling site has been opened as a com-mercial cardlock, available to other fleets operating natural gas-powered vehicles.

Zweep said he watched 11 of Vedder’s LNG trucks fill up at the new fuelling station during a half-hour interview with Fleet Executive. “We’re fuelling 77 times a day on average,” he said.

Vedder’s investment in natural gas trucks has been an un-mitigated success, according to Zweep. Not only did it launch a new solid waste division, but Zweep said the carrier is in discussions with two additional companies to operate natural gas trucks for them within their own fleets.

The trucks have been up to the task, with no widespread re-liability issues. Any mechanical issues the trucks have experi-enced have not been related to the natural gas components.

“It’s definitely a technology that works,” Zweep said. “There’s no question, we’re seeing the durability out of the

GREEN to GOLD

A NATURAL FIT…SORT OFHow being an early LNG adopter helped dairy and food-grade hauler Vedder Transport pave the way into new markets By James Menzies


Green.indd 20 13-02-01 1:51 PM


technology. Was there reason to be skeptical at first? No ques-tion. Were we nervous? Absolutely. But we also recognized from an economical perspective that we needed to satisfy our requirement of managing our fuel costs, so that’s why we took a good long look at the technology.”

Vedder Transportation extensively researched natural gas trucking before taking the plunge, and Zweep said there have been no surprises.

“We took a lot of time to plan,” Zweep said. “We were in the discovery and planning stage for about 18 months. We visited a number of locations, so we’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly of what was really going on in the market.”

Zweep wouldn’t disclose specific fuel savings, but he said they were right in line with expectations, as were mainten-ance costs. Upgrading the shop to accommodate LNG vehi-cles required an investment of $80,000-$120,000.

“The enhancements to the shop aren’t about the tools to work on the equipment,” he noted. “It’s about the safety pro-tection for the people who are functioning in the shop. You have to install methane detectors, automatic door openers and exhaust fans to be able to ventilate the building in the event methane is detected.”

Currently, Vedder’s 50 LNG tractors are consuming nearly 500,000 diesel equivalent litres of natural gas per month. Ved-der has employed dedicated fuellers to ensure the trucks are receiving consistent fills. Each of the initial 50 trucks are in return-to-base duty cycles, returning to the yard every 10-12 hours. Now, Vedder is looking to transition its long-haul flat-deck fleet to natural gas.

“We run a fleet of 100 vehicles every day between the Lower Mainland of B.C. and northern Alberta servicing the oil and gas industry with materials coming off the docks in Van-couver,” Zweep said. “The average length of haul one way will be 875 miles with a 105,000-lb GVW.”

Zweep said he’s already been in discussions with Peterbilt to spec’ a natural gas truck for the long-haul fleet. FE


A NATURAL FIT…SORT OF

FIRST BISON TRANSPORT LNG TRACTOR HITS THE ROAD IN CALGARY

The first of 15 Bison Transport LNG (Liquefied Nat-ural Gas) tractors rolled out of its Calgary termin-al a few days before Christmas, a development the company believes marks “a turning point in creating awareness of LNG as a sustainable and

abundant alternative fuel source.”Bison Transport has signed an agreement with Shell Can-

ada to run the 15 LNG tractors in Alberta. Bison’s five-year fuels supply agreement marks the first step in launching Shell’s LNG refueling infrastructure in the province.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bison will use Shell Fly-ing J refuelling facilities in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer which are scheduled to open in early 2013. This agreement is the first of its kind in Canada and will bring LNG to public access fuelling facilities; it also highlights LNG as a transport fuel option. Under specific conditions, the use of LNG in heavy-duty applications has the potential to deliver a 20% re-duction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Shell believes its LNG refueling infrastructure will support an increasing number of commercial fleets with LNG fuel options. The company is constructing a natural gas liquefac-tion plant at its Jumping Pound facility, west of Calgary, to supply this growing market. “LNG can be a cost-effective fuel from an abundant resource of natural gas, and we be-lieve it can help our customers build competitive advan-tage,” says Lorraine Mitchelmore, Shell Canada Country Chair. “The opportunity to work with one of Canada’s lead-ing fleets marks an exciting milestone for Shell.”

The entire LNG heavy-duty fleet was expected to be oper-ational by the end January. FE

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Green.indd 21 13-02-01 1:52 PM



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TIER

TOP

Our Annual look at the Nation’s Largest Carriers and their strategies for continued growth

Sponsored byPEOPLENET CANADAMACK CANADACASTROL

BEND THE LAWS OF PHYSICS IN YOUR FAVOR.

For more than 100 years, Mack’s integrated powertrain has been an unstoppable force of nature. The new Super Econodyne™ package kicks our legendary Pedigree™ powertrain up a notch. By optimizing hardware and software to cut 200 rpm at highway speeds, fuel economy improves up to 3.5% with no loss of power. Proving you don’t have to sacrifice performance to reduce costs and emissions. Not one little drop.

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MACK

Mack Trucks Canada has been serving the needs of the fleet market in Canada since 1921. Over the years, Mack has built up an extensive dealer network of almost 100 sales, parts and service locations across the country. Many truckers and fleet owners started their careers and businesses with Mack B mod-els and R models.

The Mack Pinnacle, with its redesigned interior and bigger cab, is an ideal fleet truck that is available in both daycab and sleeper configurations. The all new Mack MP series of engines with ClearTech emissions technology provides up to 505 hp and better fuel economy. They are well suited for both local and long-haul applications. Mack is also one of the first truck manu-facturers to make anti-roll stability a standard feature on all of its 2008 and later highway truck models.

CASTROL

While Castrol is well known to most people around the world as the lubricant of choice for their car, pick-up truck or SUV, some people may not be as familiar with Castrol’s groundbreaking products for the Commercial/Heavy-Duty marketplace. Whether on-road or off-road, Castrol has developed a complete line of unique commercial lubricants that is second to none when it comes to protecting the vehicle investment of the owner/opera-tor, commercial fleet or mining corporation.

Castrol’s Heavy Duty lubricants are designed for the single purpose of making your fleet as reliable and profitable as possible. By understanding the increasing technological demands of today’s engines, and working directly with OEM manufacturers, Castrol has employed the latest information, along with extensive knowl-edge of commercial lubricants to develop a full line of products to help you get the most out of your equipment. Congratulations to all Top Tier 100 fleets highlighted and continued success in 2013.

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By Lou Smyrlis

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2013 TOP 100 MTR.indd 24 13-02-01 3:22 PM


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PEOPLENET

PeopleNet increases the efficiency, improves the safety, and advances the profitability of fleet owners through the use of highly configurable and innovative solutions. PeopleNet’s suite of products enable an ever-growing set of high-value applications, including route management, supply-chain communications, end-to-end vehicle management, driver services, and safety, security and compliance. Anticipating your needs before potential problems happen. That’s the level of commitment you can expect from PeopleNet. It goes beyond the support involved in implementing a system. From project management to conducting a complete pro-cess flow analysis and implementation, PeopleNet can help improve operations on any level.

ur eighth annual Top Tier report offering a comprehensive look at the capacity of the nation’s largest for-hire carriers, finds an industry in the midst of what could prove to be monumental change. When I pore over the numbers from our Top Tier and other research, it’s hard to come to any other conclusion.

As the Ontario Trucking Association noted recently, ca-pacity remains “frozen” as carriers continue to be disciplined in adding both equipment and drivers in the absence of the proper economic conditions to support growth. Class 8 sales in 2012 (with one month left to report as of press time) were running above the five-year average and will make 2012 the third-best sales year on record. But this does not indicate a return to the free-spending days of the previous industry growth period from 2003 to 2008. The strong performance in Class 8 sales experienced in 2012 is best attributed to pent-up demand to renew aging vehicles rather than a willingness among fleet executives to once again grow their fleets.

More importantly, our research shows a great divide in the future outlook amongst Canada’s largest carriers and the rest of the industry. When we examine exactly which carriers have plans to purchase new Class 8 trucks in 2013, the differences are startling. Two-thirds of large carriers (those with 100 or more Class 8 trucks in their fleet) have new truck investment plans for this year, according to our just-completed annual Transportation Buying Trends survey of Canadian trucking ex-ecutives. In comparison, only 17% of small fleets (carriers with five to nine vehicles) have such purchasing plans.

Large carriers are far more optimistic about their busi-ness prospects, with their optimism averaging out at 6.6 on a scale of 1 to 10. Small carrier optimism averages out at just 5.6. And there are key reasons behind the muted optimism small carriers have for the future. While 38% of large carriers and 42% of medium-sized carriers (fleet sizes 10-99 trucks) expect higher freight volumes in 2013, only 27% of small carriers expect more business. The same trend is reflected south of the border in research conducted by the American Trucking Associations, which found that while large carriers increased their volumes 0.5% over the past year, small carri-ers are still suffering through a 4.6% decline.

Perhaps most telling, however, is what the different sized fleets expect to get for their business volumes. Three-quarters of the large carriers responding to our survey expect to raise rates this year, compared to just 39% of small fleets. No won-der small fleets are so unenthusiastic about adding to their capacity.

Small fleets currently make up three-quarters of the Cana-dian for-hire market. When you consider their present diffi-culties in combination with large-carriers’ often-stated desire to consolidate the market, it’s clear we may be in for great change in the years to come.

This comprehensive guide is not intended as a mere tally of vehicle counts. In fact, we have chosen not to list the top 100 carriers by size. The top 100 carriers are listed in alpha-betical order because we believe that after a certain thresh-old, optimum fleet size is a reflection of the different markets these fleets are meant to serve.

I would also like to thank the sponsors of our Top Tier re-port, PeopleNet Canada, Mack Canada and Castrol who con-tinue with their support. Their involvement is instrumental in helping us deliver such a comprehensive report.

We hope our report serves as a tool not only for the larg-est carriers to keep tabs on their competitors, but also as a tool for the smaller and medium-sized fleets to contrast their buying strategies with the industry’s largest and gain a fuller understanding of industry issues as they rebuild their companies.

I also hope you will continue the conversation on issues affecting all transportation modes by joining me in the Trans-portation Track at the upcoming Supply Chain Canada confer-ence, May 14-15 at the Mississauga Convention Centre as well as our own Surface Transportation Summit, scheduled for Oct. 16 also at the Mississauga Convention Centre. FE

Our annual in-depth report on the capacity of the nation’s largest carriers finds an industry in the midst of great change

TIERTIER

2013 TOP 100 MTR.indd 25 13-02-01 3:22 PM


LEGEND:THE TOP 100

Apex Motor Express Brampton, ON 800-895-APEX www.apexltl.com Multi-Regional D,I,LTL,TL,W 110 200 500 100 14 V,R,CArmour Transportation Systems Moncton, NB 506-857-0205 www.armour.ca Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,F,I,L,LB,LTL,P,TC,TL 150 900 3000 400 25 V,RArnold Bros. Transport Winnipeg, MB 800-665-8085 www.arnoldbros.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,F,L,P,TC,TL 3 350 850 5 V,R,CArrow Transportation Richmond, BC 604-324-1333 www.arrowtransportation.com North America D,DB,F,I,L,LB,TL, W 400 1050 33 RB&R Eckel’s Transport Bonnyville, AB 780-826-3889 www.breckels.com Multi-Regional D,DB,E,F,I,L,LB,LTL,TC,TL,W 204 251 1069 10 16 V, RBig Freight Systems Inc. Steinbach, MB 800-665-0415 www.bigfreight.com North America F,I,L,TL,W 200 400 6 V,R,CBison Transport Inc. Winnipeg, MB 800-GO-BISON www.bisontransport.com Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,I,L,TC,TL,W 1250 3500 200 8 V,R,CBLM Group Kitchener, ON 800-265-2743 www.blm.com North America D,E,F,LTL,TC,TL 125 400 2 VBruce R. Smith Limited Simcoe, ON 888-277-6484 www.brsmith.com Multi-Regional, North America D,F,L,LTL,TC,TL 285 770 7 VCalyx Ground Transportation Solutions (National Fast Freight, Totalline) Concord, ON 905-695-3841 www.calyxinc.com North America E,I,TC 6 9 733 171 6 V,R,C

Calyx Transportation Group Concord, ON 905-695-3841 www.calyxinc.com * see listings for individual fleets 14 154 1723 171 9 V,R,CCanada Cartage System Toronto, ON 800-268-2228 www.canadacartage.com Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,E,F,HG,L,LB,LTL,TL 371 1717 2207 24 V,R,CCanadian Freightways (TransForce) Calgary, AB 888-868-7923 www.canadianfreightways.com North America LTL 53 296 1002 25 V,R,CCanadian National Transportation Ltd. Concord, ON 888-MOVINCN www.cn.ca North America D,E,F,I,L,TC,TL,VC 800 7000 7000 16 V, RCanpar Transport (TransForce) Brampton, ON 800-387-9335 www.canpar.com Multi-Regional, North America, International P 817 76 315 54 V,R,CCaron Transportation Systems Sherwood Park, AB 780-449-6688 www.carontransport.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,F,L,LB,TL 1 270 600 6 VCAT Inc. Coteau du Lac, QC 800-363-5313 www.cat.ca Multi-Regional, International D,DB,E,L,TL 378 1200 8 V,CCeladon Canada Kitchener, ON 800-265-6467 www.celadoncanada.com Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,I,L,LTL,TL 325 900 1 V,R,CChallenger Motor Freight Cambridge, ON 800-265-6358 www.challenger.com Multi-Regional, North America, International D,DB,E,F,I,L,LTL,TC,TL,W 2 1500 3500 7 V,R,CClarke Transport Inc. Concord, ON 800-387-3558 www.clarkelink.com Multi-Regional D,F,I,L,LTL,TC,TL 338 739 371 11 V,R,CConsolidated Fastfrate Inc. Woodbridge, ON 800-268-1564 www.fastfrate.com North America D,E,I,LTL,P,TC,TL 40 550 920 490 17 V,R,CContrans Flatbed Group LP (Contrans) Hagersville, ON 800-263-8383 www.contransflatbedgroup.com North America FB,TL 1 247 416 4 Contrans Group Inc. Woodstock, ON 800-819-5259 www.contrans.ca * see listings for individual fleets 39 1355 2562 Cooney Group of Companies Belleville, ON 613-962-6666 www.cooney.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,F,I,TL 220 1000 7Day & Ross (Day & Ross) Hartland, NB 866-DAY-ROSS www.dayross.ca North America F,LTL,TC,TL 151 1215 2046 34 V,R,CDay & Ross Dedicated Logistics (Day & Ross) Brampton, ON 905-799-6500 www.dayross.ca/dedicated North America D,L,W 123 345 616 15 V,R,CDay & Ross Transportation Group Hartland, NB 866-DAY-ROSS www.dayrossgroup.com * see listings for individual fleets 337 1623 2832DCT Chambers Trucking Vernon, BC 250-549-2157 www.dctchambers.com Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,F,LB,TL 283 745 5 V,RErb Group of Companies New Hamburg, ON 800-665-2653 www.erbgroup.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,L,LTL,TC,TL 157 645 1134 11 V,RFastrax (Day and Ross) Florenceville, NB 506-392-2600 www.fastrax.ca North America F,I,TC,TL,VC 1 235 373 6 5 V,R,CFluke Transportation Group Hamilton, ON 800-263-4843 www.fluke.ca North America D,DB,E,F,L,LTL,TC,TL 18 200 500 1 VGibson Energy ULC Calgary, AB 403-206-4000 www.gibsons.com Multi-Regional, North America DB,LB,W 75 790 1818 15 RGroupe Boutin Plessisville, QC 800-267-4509 www.boutinexpress.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,F,I,L,LTL,TC,TL 5 270 650 7 7 V,R,CGroupe Guilbault Ltee. Quebec City, QC 800-361-2093 www.groupeguilbault.com Multi-Regional, North America D,I,L,LTL,TC,TL 325 1400 61 13 V,R,CH & R Transport Limited Lethbridge, AB 403-328-2345 www.hrtrans.com International I,L,TC,TL,W 650 1125 600 10 V,R,CHercules North York, ON 800-822-4512 www.herculesfreight.com North America LTL,TL 49 187 328 24 V,R,CHighland Transport (TransForce) Markham, ON 800-268-1729 www.highlandtransport.com Multi-Regional, North America E,L,TC,TL 180 458 4 V,RHudson’s Bay Company Mississauga, ON 416-644-2700 www.hbc.com Multi-Regional D,I,TL,L 150 1100 5 CHyndman Transport Wroxeter, ON 800-265-3071 www.hyndman.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,E,HG,L,TL 192 515 2 VInternational Truckload Services (ITS) Belleville, ON 800-267-1888 www.itstruck.ca Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,F,I,L,TC,TL 3 365 1150 6 V,R,CJC Germain (TransForce) Trois-Rivieres, QC 819-370-3422 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,F,HG,LTL,TC,TL 193 527 2 Kindersley – Siemens Transportation Group Saskatoon, SK 800.667.8557 www.siemenstransport.com North America E,F,HG,I,L,LTL,P,TC,TL 40 640 1778 20 19 VKingsway Transport (TransForce) Toronto, ON 800-856-5559 www.kingswaytransport.com Multi-Regional, North America I,LTL 13 296 732 12 V,R,CKleysen Transport Winnipeg, MB 888-488-6878 www.kleysen.com North America DB,F,I,L,TC,TL 250 500 600 5 V,CKriska Prescott, ON 800-461-8000 www.kriska.com Multi-Regional, North America L,TC,TL,W 400 1300 3 V,R,CLaidlaw Carriers Tank LP (Contrans) Woodstock, ON 800-465-8265 www.contrans.ca North America DB,LB,TL 216 356 2 Laidlaw Carriers Van LP (Contrans) Puslinch, ON 800-263-8267 www.contrans.ca North America TL 252 659 2 Landtran Systems Inc. Edmonton, AB 780-468-4300 www.landtran.com International D,E,F,L,LTL,TL,W 10 255 650 14 V,R,CLoomis Express (TransForce) Brampton, ON 855-256-6647 www.loomis-express.com Multi-Regional P 759 59 321 79 V,R,CMackie Moving Systems Oshawa, ON 800-565-4646 www.mackiegroup.com North America D,E,HG,I,L,LTL,TL,VC,W 20 225 420 4 V,R,CManitoulin Transport Group Gore Bay, ON 800-461-1168 www.manitoulintransport.com International D,E,F,I,L,LB,LTL,P,TC,TL,W 87 795 1900 6 68 V,R,CMaritime-Ontario Freight Lines Brampton, ON 905-792-6100 www.m-o.com Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,E,F,I,L,LB,LTL,TC,TL 144 403 927 496 22 V,RMcKevitt Trucking Thunder Bay, ON 807-623-0054 www.mckevitt-trucking.com North America D,F,L,LTL,TC,TL 180 500 4Meyers Transport Ltd. Belleville, ON 800-565-3708 www.shipmts.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,L,LTL,TC,TL 7 190 624 35 10 V,R,CMidland Transport Ltd. Dieppe, NB 888-MIDLAND www.midlandtransport.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,I,LTL,P,TC,TL,W 167 805 1924 174 27 V,R,CMuir’s Cartage (Calyx) Concord, ON 800-646-2013 www.muirscartage.com Multi-Regional, North America D,TL 8 145 941 3 V,R,CMullen Trucking LP Aldersyde, AB 800-661-1469 www.mullentrucking.com North America D,E,F,L,LTL,TL 145 411 2 VMusket/Melburn Group Mississauga, ON 905-823-7800 www.musket.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,I,TL 210 185 650 3 V,R,CMuskoka Transport Bracebridge, ON 800-461-5808 www.muskoka-transport.com Multi-Regional, North America F,L,TL 3 140 350 2Normandin Transit Napierville, QC 800-667-8780 www.normandintransit.com North America E,F,L,LTL,TC,TL,VC 3 321 875 1 V,R,CNorthern Industrial Carriers Edmonton, AB 780-465-0341 www.nictrucking.com North America D,E,I,TL 150 1200 4Paul’s Hauling Ltd. Winnipeg, MB 204-633-4330 www.paulshauling.com Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,E,L,LB,TL,W 10 251 625 6 V,R,CPenner International Steinbach, MB 866-729-7134 www.penner.ca North America D,E,TL,W 0 359 825 6 V,R,CPurolator Courier Mississauga, ON 888-744-7123 www.purolator.ca International D,E,LTL,TL 164 492 1171 123 V,R

Company Name Headquarters Customer Line Web Address Operating Area Service Straight Trucks Tractors Trailers Containers Terminals Web

The Top 100

THE TOP 100 were chosen according to vehicle counts which included straight trucks, tractors, trailers and intermodal containers domiciled in or controlled from Canada. Top 100 carriers are listed in alphabetical order. Both parent company and holdings shown if large enough. Companies not reporting new capacity figures for more than 2 years are removed from the list.


http://www.apexltl.com

http://www.armour.ca

http://www.arnoldbros.com

http://www.arrowtransportation.com

http://www.breckels.com

http://www.bigfreight.com

http://www.bisontransport.com

http://www.blm.com

http://www.brsmith.com

http://www.calyxinc.com


http://www.canadacartage.com

http://www.canadianfreightways.com

http://www.cn.ca

http://www.canpar.com

http://www.carontransport.ca

http://www.cat.ca

http://www.celadoncanada.com

http://www.challenger.com

http://www.clarkelink.com

http://www.fastfrate.com

http://www.contransflatbedgroup.com

http://www.contrans.ca

http://www.cooney.ca

http://www.dayross.ca

http://www.dayross.ca/dedicated

http://www.dayrossgroup.com

http://www.dctchambers.com

http://www.erbgroup.com

http://www.fastrax.ca

http://www.fluke.ca

http://www.gibsons.com

http://www.boutinexpress.com

http://www.groupeguilbault.com

http://www.hrtrans.com

http://www.herculesfreight.com

http://www.highlandtransport.com

http://www.hbc.com

http://www.hyndman.ca

http://www.itstruck.ca

http://www.transforcecompany.com

http://www.siemenstransport.com

http://www.kingswaytransport.com

http://www.kleysen.com

http://www.kriska.com



http://www.landtran.com

http://www.loomis-express.com

http://www.mackiegroup.com

http://www.manitoulintransport.com

http://www.m-o.com

http://www.mckevitt-trucking.com

http://www.shipmts.com

http://www.midlandtransport.com

http://www.muirscartage.com

http://www.mullentrucking.com

http://www.musket.ca

http://www.muskoka-transport.com

http://www.normandintransit.com

http://www.nictrucking.com

http://www.paulshauling.com

http://www.penner.ca

http://www.purolator.ca


Operating Area: Regional – One province/state; Multi-Regional – Selected provinces/states; North America – Canada, U.S.; International – Canada, U.S., Mexico/Other. Types of Service: D – Dedicated Contract; DB – Dry Bulk; E – Expedited; F – Flatbed; HG – Household Goods; I – Intermodal; L – Logistics; LB – Liquid Bulk; LTL – Less than Truckload; P – Package; TC – Temperature Controlled; TL – Truckload; VC – Vehicle Carrier; W – Warehousing. Web Services: Web Visibility – Tracking & tracing (V); Web Reports – Downloadable reports (R); Web Custom – Customizable reports (C).

Apex Motor Express Brampton, ON 800-895-APEX www.apexltl.com Multi-Regional D,I,LTL,TL,W 110 200 500 100 14 V,R,CArmour Transportation Systems Moncton, NB 506-857-0205 www.armour.ca Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,F,I,L,LB,LTL,P,TC,TL 150 900 3000 400 25 V,RArnold Bros. Transport Winnipeg, MB 800-665-8085 www.arnoldbros.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,F,L,P,TC,TL 3 350 850 5 V,R,CArrow Transportation Richmond, BC 604-324-1333 www.arrowtransportation.com North America D,DB,F,I,L,LB,TL, W 400 1050 33 RB&R Eckel’s Transport Bonnyville, AB 780-826-3889 www.breckels.com Multi-Regional D,DB,E,F,I,L,LB,LTL,TC,TL,W 204 251 1069 10 16 V, RBig Freight Systems Inc. Steinbach, MB 800-665-0415 www.bigfreight.com North America F,I,L,TL,W 200 400 6 V,R,CBison Transport Inc. Winnipeg, MB 800-GO-BISON www.bisontransport.com Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,I,L,TC,TL,W 1250 3500 200 8 V,R,CBLM Group Kitchener, ON 800-265-2743 www.blm.com North America D,E,F,LTL,TC,TL 125 400 2 VBruce R. Smith Limited Simcoe, ON 888-277-6484 www.brsmith.com Multi-Regional, North America D,F,L,LTL,TC,TL 285 770 7 VCalyx Ground Transportation Solutions (National Fast Freight, Totalline) Concord, ON 905-695-3841 www.calyxinc.com North America E,I,TC 6 9 733 171 6 V,R,C

Calyx Transportation Group Concord, ON 905-695-3841 www.calyxinc.com * see listings for individual fleets 14 154 1723 171 9 V,R,CCanada Cartage System Toronto, ON 800-268-2228 www.canadacartage.com Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,E,F,HG,L,LB,LTL,TL 371 1717 2207 24 V,R,CCanadian Freightways (TransForce) Calgary, AB 888-868-7923 www.canadianfreightways.com North America LTL 53 296 1002 25 V,R,CCanadian National Transportation Ltd. Concord, ON 888-MOVINCN www.cn.ca North America D,E,F,I,L,TC,TL,VC 800 7000 7000 16 V, RCanpar Transport (TransForce) Brampton, ON 800-387-9335 www.canpar.com Multi-Regional, North America, International P 817 76 315 54 V,R,CCaron Transportation Systems Sherwood Park, AB 780-449-6688 www.carontransport.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,F,L,LB,TL 1 270 600 6 VCAT Inc. Coteau du Lac, QC 800-363-5313 www.cat.ca Multi-Regional, International D,DB,E,L,TL 378 1200 8 V,CCeladon Canada Kitchener, ON 800-265-6467 www.celadoncanada.com Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,I,L,LTL,TL 325 900 1 V,R,CChallenger Motor Freight Cambridge, ON 800-265-6358 www.challenger.com Multi-Regional, North America, International D,DB,E,F,I,L,LTL,TC,TL,W 2 1500 3500 7 V,R,CClarke Transport Inc. Concord, ON 800-387-3558 www.clarkelink.com Multi-Regional D,F,I,L,LTL,TC,TL 338 739 371 11 V,R,CConsolidated Fastfrate Inc. Woodbridge, ON 800-268-1564 www.fastfrate.com North America D,E,I,LTL,P,TC,TL 40 550 920 490 17 V,R,CContrans Flatbed Group LP (Contrans) Hagersville, ON 800-263-8383 www.contransflatbedgroup.com North America FB,TL 1 247 416 4 Contrans Group Inc. Woodstock, ON 800-819-5259 www.contrans.ca * see listings for individual fleets 39 1355 2562 Cooney Group of Companies Belleville, ON 613-962-6666 www.cooney.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,F,I,TL 220 1000 7Day & Ross (Day & Ross) Hartland, NB 866-DAY-ROSS www.dayross.ca North America F,LTL,TC,TL 151 1215 2046 34 V,R,CDay & Ross Dedicated Logistics (Day & Ross) Brampton, ON 905-799-6500 www.dayross.ca/dedicated North America D,L,W 123 345 616 15 V,R,CDay & Ross Transportation Group Hartland, NB 866-DAY-ROSS www.dayrossgroup.com * see listings for individual fleets 337 1623 2832DCT Chambers Trucking Vernon, BC 250-549-2157 www.dctchambers.com Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,F,LB,TL 283 745 5 V,RErb Group of Companies New Hamburg, ON 800-665-2653 www.erbgroup.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,L,LTL,TC,TL 157 645 1134 11 V,RFastrax (Day and Ross) Florenceville, NB 506-392-2600 www.fastrax.ca North America F,I,TC,TL,VC 1 235 373 6 5 V,R,CFluke Transportation Group Hamilton, ON 800-263-4843 www.fluke.ca North America D,DB,E,F,L,LTL,TC,TL 18 200 500 1 VGibson Energy ULC Calgary, AB 403-206-4000 www.gibsons.com Multi-Regional, North America DB,LB,W 75 790 1818 15 RGroupe Boutin Plessisville, QC 800-267-4509 www.boutinexpress.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,F,I,L,LTL,TC,TL 5 270 650 7 7 V,R,CGroupe Guilbault Ltee. Quebec City, QC 800-361-2093 www.groupeguilbault.com Multi-Regional, North America D,I,L,LTL,TC,TL 325 1400 61 13 V,R,CH & R Transport Limited Lethbridge, AB 403-328-2345 www.hrtrans.com International I,L,TC,TL,W 650 1125 600 10 V,R,CHercules North York, ON 800-822-4512 www.herculesfreight.com North America LTL,TL 49 187 328 24 V,R,CHighland Transport (TransForce) Markham, ON 800-268-1729 www.highlandtransport.com Multi-Regional, North America E,L,TC,TL 180 458 4 V,RHudson’s Bay Company Mississauga, ON 416-644-2700 www.hbc.com Multi-Regional D,I,TL,L 150 1100 5 CHyndman Transport Wroxeter, ON 800-265-3071 www.hyndman.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,E,HG,L,TL 192 515 2 VInternational Truckload Services (ITS) Belleville, ON 800-267-1888 www.itstruck.ca Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,F,I,L,TC,TL 3 365 1150 6 V,R,CJC Germain (TransForce) Trois-Rivieres, QC 819-370-3422 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,F,HG,LTL,TC,TL 193 527 2 Kindersley – Siemens Transportation Group Saskatoon, SK 800.667.8557 www.siemenstransport.com North America E,F,HG,I,L,LTL,P,TC,TL 40 640 1778 20 19 VKingsway Transport (TransForce) Toronto, ON 800-856-5559 www.kingswaytransport.com Multi-Regional, North America I,LTL 13 296 732 12 V,R,CKleysen Transport Winnipeg, MB 888-488-6878 www.kleysen.com North America DB,F,I,L,TC,TL 250 500 600 5 V,CKriska Prescott, ON 800-461-8000 www.kriska.com Multi-Regional, North America L,TC,TL,W 400 1300 3 V,R,CLaidlaw Carriers Tank LP (Contrans) Woodstock, ON 800-465-8265 www.contrans.ca North America DB,LB,TL 216 356 2 Laidlaw Carriers Van LP (Contrans) Puslinch, ON 800-263-8267 www.contrans.ca North America TL 252 659 2 Landtran Systems Inc. Edmonton, AB 780-468-4300 www.landtran.com International D,E,F,L,LTL,TL,W 10 255 650 14 V,R,CLoomis Express (TransForce) Brampton, ON 855-256-6647 www.loomis-express.com Multi-Regional P 759 59 321 79 V,R,CMackie Moving Systems Oshawa, ON 800-565-4646 www.mackiegroup.com North America D,E,HG,I,L,LTL,TL,VC,W 20 225 420 4 V,R,CManitoulin Transport Group Gore Bay, ON 800-461-1168 www.manitoulintransport.com International D,E,F,I,L,LB,LTL,P,TC,TL,W 87 795 1900 6 68 V,R,CMaritime-Ontario Freight Lines Brampton, ON 905-792-6100 www.m-o.com Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,E,F,I,L,LB,LTL,TC,TL 144 403 927 496 22 V,RMcKevitt Trucking Thunder Bay, ON 807-623-0054 www.mckevitt-trucking.com North America D,F,L,LTL,TC,TL 180 500 4Meyers Transport Ltd. Belleville, ON 800-565-3708 www.shipmts.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,L,LTL,TC,TL 7 190 624 35 10 V,R,CMidland Transport Ltd. Dieppe, NB 888-MIDLAND www.midlandtransport.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,I,LTL,P,TC,TL,W 167 805 1924 174 27 V,R,CMuir’s Cartage (Calyx) Concord, ON 800-646-2013 www.muirscartage.com Multi-Regional, North America D,TL 8 145 941 3 V,R,CMullen Trucking LP Aldersyde, AB 800-661-1469 www.mullentrucking.com North America D,E,F,L,LTL,TL 145 411 2 VMusket/Melburn Group Mississauga, ON 905-823-7800 www.musket.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,I,TL 210 185 650 3 V,R,CMuskoka Transport Bracebridge, ON 800-461-5808 www.muskoka-transport.com Multi-Regional, North America F,L,TL 3 140 350 2Normandin Transit Napierville, QC 800-667-8780 www.normandintransit.com North America E,F,L,LTL,TC,TL,VC 3 321 875 1 V,R,CNorthern Industrial Carriers Edmonton, AB 780-465-0341 www.nictrucking.com North America D,E,I,TL 150 1200 4Paul’s Hauling Ltd. Winnipeg, MB 204-633-4330 www.paulshauling.com Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,E,L,LB,TL,W 10 251 625 6 V,R,CPenner International Steinbach, MB 866-729-7134 www.penner.ca North America D,E,TL,W 0 359 825 6 V,R,CPurolator Courier Mississauga, ON 888-744-7123 www.purolator.ca International D,E,LTL,TL 164 492 1171 123 V,R


CODES


A capacity and capability guide for the country’s largest motor carriers By WordSmith Media Inc.


Quik X Transportation (TransForce) Mississauga, QC 800-461-8023 www.quikx.com North America LTL 2 167 536 250 12 V,CRobert Transport (1973) Ltd. Rougemont, QC 800-361-8281 www.robert.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,E,F,I,L,LB,LTL,TC,TL,W 15 1200 4000 200 12 V,R,CRosedale Transport Mississauga, ON 877-588-0057 www.rosedalegroup.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,I,L,LTL,TC,TL,W 50 325 1013 14 V, RRosenau Transport Edmonton, AB 800-371-6895 www.rosenau.org Multi-Regional D,DB,E,F,I,L,LB,LTL,P,TC,TL,W 70 300 1050 22 V,R,CSchneider National Carriers Guelph, ON 800-461-3168 www.schneider.com International D,DB,E,I,L,LB,TL 400 1200 400 1 V,R,CSGT 2000 St-Germain-de-Grantham, QC 800-363-4216 www.sgt2000.com North America DB,E,F,I,L,LTL,TC,TL,W 358 1100 230 8 VShadow Lines Transportation Group Langley, BC 800-663-1421 www.shadowlines.com North America D,E,I,LTL,TL,W 3 289 962 120 6 R,CSimard Transport Lachine, QC 514-636-9411 www.simard.ca Multi-Regional D,E,I,L,LTL,TL 65 353 350 560 7 V,R,CSLH Transport Kingston, ON 800-661-2146 www.slh.ca Multi-regional, North America D,E,I,L,LTL,TL,W 0 683 3300 15 VSokil Transportation Group Edmonton, AB 800-661-9923 www.sokil.com North America D,E,F,I,L,LTL,P,TC,TL 100 175 600 5 V,R,CSpeedy Transport Brampton, ON 905-455-8005 www.speedy.ca Multi-Regional, North America LTL 80 179 624 5 V,R,CSunbury Transport Ltd. Fredericton, NB 800-SUNBURY www.sunbury.ca North America DB,E,F,L,TC,TL 150 350 4 V,R,CSystem 55 Transport Oakville, ON 800-268-5070 www.system55.com Multi-Regional, North America D,F,L,TL 4 128 410 1 CTForce Energy Services (TransForce) Denver, CO 307-382-5650 www.Tforceenergy.com North America F 126 735 565 17 Thomson Terminals Ltd. Rexdale, ON 800-771-7487 www.thomsongroup.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,F,L,TC,TL,W 2 250 800 3 V,R,CTotal Logistics Trucking Toronto, ON 888-827-8521 www.totallogistics.com North America D,E,F,I,L,LTL,TC,TL 200 420 6 V, RTransForce Inc Montreal, QC 514-331-4000 www.transforcecompany.com * see listings for individual fleets 2471 4015 12097 639 TransFreight Kitchener, ON 859-372-5935 www.transfreight.com International D,E,I,L,LTL,TL 222 2065 12 V,R,CTransport Couture et fils (TransForce) Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce, QC 418-484-2104 www.tcfl.com Multi-Regional, North America L,LTL,TL 2 85 293 67 2 V,R,CTransport Herve Lemieux St-Laurent, QC 514-337-2203 www.transportlemieux.com Regional D,F,I,TC,TL 39 261 222 2 Transport Morneau Ste-Arsene, QC 514-325-2727 www.groupemorneau.com Multi-Regional D,E,L,LTL,TC,TL 31 250 736 14 V,R,CTransX Group of Companies Winnipeg, MB 800-665-7392 www.transx.com Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,F,I,L,LTL,TC,TL 33 1500 3000 900 13 V,R,CTravelers Transportation Brampton, ON 800-265-8789 www.travelers.ca North America D,E,F,L,LTL,TC,TL 3 275 800 6 V,CTrimac Transportation Ltd. Calgary, AB 403-298-5100 www.trimac.com International D,DB,I,L,LB,TC,W 1011 2397 47 V,R,CTST Overland Express Mississauga, ON 888-878-9229 www.tstoverland.com North America LTL 18 350 1018 22 UPS Freight Mississauga, ON 800-PICKUPS www.ups.com International E,I,L,LTL,P,TC,TL 2804 145 282 48 V,R,CVA Inc. – Transport-Logistix Laurier Station, QC 800-363-8175 www.vatransport.com Multi-Regional D,L,LTL,P,TL,W 10 195 795 5 V,RVan Kam Freightways Surrey, BC 888-229-9889 www.vankam.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,F,HG,I,L,LTL,P,TC,TL 10 350 700 7 V,CVerspeeten Cartage Ltd. Ingersoll, ON 800-265-6701 www.verspeeten.com Multi-Regional, North America D,I,TL 280 518 1 CVitran Express Canada Toronto, ON 800-263-9588 www.vitran.com North America E,I,LTL,TL 102 428 1345 599 21 V,R,CWarren Gibson Alliston, ON 800-461-4374 www.warrengibson.com Multi-Regional, North America F,I,TL,W 280 1120 100 2 VWilliams Moving and Storage Coquitlam, BC 877-410-9411 www.williamsmoving.com North America D,E,F,HG,I,L,LTL,TL,W 113 94 225 250 12 R,CWilson’s Truck Lines Limited Etobicoke, ON 416-621-9020 www.wilsonlogistics.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,L,TC,TL 325 690 2 VXTL Transport Toronto, ON 800-361-5576 www.xtl.com North America D,TL,W 355 1100 5 V,R,CYanke Group of Companies Saskatoon, SK 800-667-7988 www.yanke.ca North America D,E,I,TL 12 326 755 210 8 V,RYRC Reimer Express Lines Ltd. Mississauga, ON 877-330-3321 www.reimerexpress.com Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,LTL,TL 35 475 1281 21 V,R,C

Top 100 continued

The next 25


Company Name Headquarters Customer Line Web Address Operating Area Service Straight Trucks Tractors Trailers Containers Terminals WebATS Retail Solutions (TransForce) Toronto, ON 416-679-7969 www.atssolutions.ca Multi-Regional E,LTL,P,TL 126 25 166 15 VBesner (TransForce) St-Romuald, QC 800-463-4460 www.besner.com North America D,HG,L,TC,TL 0 90 265 4 Cavalier Transportation Services Bolton, ON 800-263-2394 www.cavalier.ca North America E,L,LTL,TL,W 15 90 230 5 V,R,CDeckX Transport (QuikX) Calgary, AB 403-277-1166 www.transx.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,F,I,L,TL 150 200 4Empire Transportation Grimsby, ON 800-263-0240 www.empiretrans.com Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,F,TL 1 68 311 1Entrec Transportation Services, Ltd. Calgary, AB 403-777-1644 www.entrectransport.com Multi-Regional DB,L,LB,LTL 60 240 5 VGolden International (TransForce) Bois-des-Filion, QC 450-628-0787 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,F,L,LTL,TL 107 220 1 Grégoire (TransForce) Plessisville, QC 800-461-8813 www.transportgregoire.com North America TL 100 340 2 GTL Transportation Inc. Dartmouth, NS 902-468-3100 www.gtltransportation.com North America D,I,LTL,TC,TL 85 250 65 2 V,R,CICS Courier (TransForce) Mississauga, ON 888-427-8729 www.ics-canada.net Multi-Regional, North America P 341 1 3 30 V,RInternational Freight Systems Tilbury, ON 519-682-3544 www.international-freight.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,F,TL 125 150 2Kingsway Bulk (TransForce) Pintendre, QC 800-263-3642 www.kingswayvrac.com North America DB,LB 84 150 3 Laidlaw Carriers Bulk LP (Contrans) Woodstock, ON 888-209-3867 www.contrans.ca North America TL 140 282 2 MacKinnon Transport Guelph, ON 800-265-0444 www.mackinnontransport.com North America D,F,L,TL,W 75 183 1 V,R,CMcArthur Express (TransForce) Cambridge, ON 800-668-9691 www.mcarthurexpress.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,L,LB,LTL,TC,TL,W 88 248 1 VMill Creek Motors Ayr, ON 800-265-7868 www.millcreek.on.ca International D,L,TL,W 120 162 1 V,R,CP&W Intermodal / MTMX Logistics (TransForce) Oakville, ON 905-815-9412 www.mtmx.ca Multi-Regional, North America F,I 76 0 175 1 V,RPapineau International (TransForce) Saint-Jerome, QC 800-363-3666 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,HG,L,LTL,TC,TL 95 275 20 2 Roadfast (TransForce) Mississauga, QC 800-461-8023 www.quikx.com Multi-Regional TL 17 222 1 V, CSameday Worldwide (Day & Ross) Mississauga, ON 905-676-3750 www.sameday.ca North America, International E,HG,L,LTL,P,TC 63 63 170 32 V,R,CTrans 4 Logistics (TransForce) Mississauga, ON 905-212-9001 www.trans4.com North America D,I,L,TL 19 128 250 1 V,R,CTransport Bourret Drummondville, QC 800-567-1470 www.bourret.ca Multi-Regional, North America, International E,HG,I,L,LTL,TL,W 10 110 300 2 V,R,CTri-Line Carriers LP (Contrans) Rocky View, AB 800-661-9191 www.contrans.ca Multi-Regional, North America FB,TL 128 193 2 TVM Ltd. Cottam, ON 800-749-6960 www.tvmltd.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,L,TL 124 285 2Westfreight Systems (TransForce) Calgary, AB 403-279-8388 www.westfreight.com Multi-Regional, North America F,LTL,TL 1 111 150 5

LEGEND:THE TOP 100THE TOP 100 were chosen according to vehicle counts which included straight trucks, tractors, trailers and intermodal containers domiciled in or controlled from Canada. Top 100 carriers are listed in alphabetical order. Both parent company and holdings shown if large enough. Companies not reporting new capacity figures for more than 2 years are removed from the list.


http://www.quikx.com

http://www.robert.ca

http://www.rosedalegroup.com

http://www.rosenau.org

http://www.schneider.com

http://www.sgt2000.com

http://www.shadowlines.com

http://www.simard.ca

http://www.slh.ca

http://www.sokil.com

http://www.speedy.ca

http://www.sunbury.ca

http://www.system55.com

http://www.Tforceenergy.com

http://www.thomsongroup.com

http://www.totallogistics.com


http://www.transfreight.com

http://www.tcfl.com

http://www.transportlemieux.com

http://www.groupemorneau.com

http://www.transx.com

http://www.travelers.ca

http://www.trimac.com

http://www.tstoverland.com

http://www.ups.com

http://www.vatransport.com

http://www.vankam.com

http://www.verspeeten.com

http://www.vitran.com

http://www.warrengibson.com

http://www.williamsmoving.com

http://www.wilsonlogistics.ca

http://www.xtl.com

http://www.yanke.ca

http://www.reimerexpress.com

http://www.atssolutions.ca

http://www.besner.com

http://www.cavalier.ca

http://www.transx.com

http://www.empiretrans.com

http://www.entrectransport.com


http://www.transportgregoire.com

http://www.gtltransportation.com

http://www.ics-canada.net

http://www.international-freight.com

http://www.kingswayvrac.com


http://www.mackinnontransport.com

http://www.mcarthurexpress.com

http://www.millcreek.on.ca

http://www.mtmx.ca



http://www.sameday.ca

http://www.trans4.com

http://www.bourret.ca


http://www.tvmltd.ca

http://www.westfreight.com


Quik X Transportation (TransForce) Mississauga, QC 800-461-8023 www.quikx.com North America LTL 2 167 536 250 12 V,CRobert Transport (1973) Ltd. Rougemont, QC 800-361-8281 www.robert.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,E,F,I,L,LB,LTL,TC,TL,W 15 1200 4000 200 12 V,R,CRosedale Transport Mississauga, ON 877-588-0057 www.rosedalegroup.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,I,L,LTL,TC,TL,W 50 325 1013 14 V, RRosenau Transport Edmonton, AB 800-371-6895 www.rosenau.org Multi-Regional D,DB,E,F,I,L,LB,LTL,P,TC,TL,W 70 300 1050 22 V,R,CSchneider National Carriers Guelph, ON 800-461-3168 www.schneider.com International D,DB,E,I,L,LB,TL 400 1200 400 1 V,R,CSGT 2000 St-Germain-de-Grantham, QC 800-363-4216 www.sgt2000.com North America DB,E,F,I,L,LTL,TC,TL,W 358 1100 230 8 VShadow Lines Transportation Group Langley, BC 800-663-1421 www.shadowlines.com North America D,E,I,LTL,TL,W 3 289 962 120 6 R,CSimard Transport Lachine, QC 514-636-9411 www.simard.ca Multi-Regional D,E,I,L,LTL,TL 65 353 350 560 7 V,R,CSLH Transport Kingston, ON 800-661-2146 www.slh.ca Multi-regional, North America D,E,I,L,LTL,TL,W 0 683 3300 15 VSokil Transportation Group Edmonton, AB 800-661-9923 www.sokil.com North America D,E,F,I,L,LTL,P,TC,TL 100 175 600 5 V,R,CSpeedy Transport Brampton, ON 905-455-8005 www.speedy.ca Multi-Regional, North America LTL 80 179 624 5 V,R,CSunbury Transport Ltd. Fredericton, NB 800-SUNBURY www.sunbury.ca North America DB,E,F,L,TC,TL 150 350 4 V,R,CSystem 55 Transport Oakville, ON 800-268-5070 www.system55.com Multi-Regional, North America D,F,L,TL 4 128 410 1 CTForce Energy Services (TransForce) Denver, CO 307-382-5650 www.Tforceenergy.com North America F 126 735 565 17 Thomson Terminals Ltd. Rexdale, ON 800-771-7487 www.thomsongroup.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,F,L,TC,TL,W 2 250 800 3 V,R,CTotal Logistics Trucking Toronto, ON 888-827-8521 www.totallogistics.com North America D,E,F,I,L,LTL,TC,TL 200 420 6 V, RTransForce Inc Montreal, QC 514-331-4000 www.transforcecompany.com * see listings for individual fleets 2471 4015 12097 639 TransFreight Kitchener, ON 859-372-5935 www.transfreight.com International D,E,I,L,LTL,TL 222 2065 12 V,R,CTransport Couture et fils (TransForce) Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce, QC 418-484-2104 www.tcfl.com Multi-Regional, North America L,LTL,TL 2 85 293 67 2 V,R,CTransport Herve Lemieux St-Laurent, QC 514-337-2203 www.transportlemieux.com Regional D,F,I,TC,TL 39 261 222 2 Transport Morneau Ste-Arsene, QC 514-325-2727 www.groupemorneau.com Multi-Regional D,E,L,LTL,TC,TL 31 250 736 14 V,R,CTransX Group of Companies Winnipeg, MB 800-665-7392 www.transx.com Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,F,I,L,LTL,TC,TL 33 1500 3000 900 13 V,R,CTravelers Transportation Brampton, ON 800-265-8789 www.travelers.ca North America D,E,F,L,LTL,TC,TL 3 275 800 6 V,CTrimac Transportation Ltd. Calgary, AB 403-298-5100 www.trimac.com International D,DB,I,L,LB,TC,W 1011 2397 47 V,R,CTST Overland Express Mississauga, ON 888-878-9229 www.tstoverland.com North America LTL 18 350 1018 22 UPS Freight Mississauga, ON 800-PICKUPS www.ups.com International E,I,L,LTL,P,TC,TL 2804 145 282 48 V,R,CVA Inc. – Transport-Logistix Laurier Station, QC 800-363-8175 www.vatransport.com Multi-Regional D,L,LTL,P,TL,W 10 195 795 5 V,RVan Kam Freightways Surrey, BC 888-229-9889 www.vankam.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,F,HG,I,L,LTL,P,TC,TL 10 350 700 7 V,CVerspeeten Cartage Ltd. Ingersoll, ON 800-265-6701 www.verspeeten.com Multi-Regional, North America D,I,TL 280 518 1 CVitran Express Canada Toronto, ON 800-263-9588 www.vitran.com North America E,I,LTL,TL 102 428 1345 599 21 V,R,CWarren Gibson Alliston, ON 800-461-4374 www.warrengibson.com Multi-Regional, North America F,I,TL,W 280 1120 100 2 VWilliams Moving and Storage Coquitlam, BC 877-410-9411 www.williamsmoving.com North America D,E,F,HG,I,L,LTL,TL,W 113 94 225 250 12 R,CWilson’s Truck Lines Limited Etobicoke, ON 416-621-9020 www.wilsonlogistics.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,L,TC,TL 325 690 2 VXTL Transport Toronto, ON 800-361-5576 www.xtl.com North America D,TL,W 355 1100 5 V,R,CYanke Group of Companies Saskatoon, SK 800-667-7988 www.yanke.ca North America D,E,I,TL 12 326 755 210 8 V,RYRC Reimer Express Lines Ltd. Mississauga, ON 877-330-3321 www.reimerexpress.com Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,LTL,TL 35 475 1281 21 V,R,C


Company Name Headquarters Customer Line Web Address Operating Area Service Straight Trucks Tractors Trailers Containers Terminals WebATS Retail Solutions (TransForce) Toronto, ON 416-679-7969 www.atssolutions.ca Multi-Regional E,LTL,P,TL 126 25 166 15 VBesner (TransForce) St-Romuald, QC 800-463-4460 www.besner.com North America D,HG,L,TC,TL 0 90 265 4 Cavalier Transportation Services Bolton, ON 800-263-2394 www.cavalier.ca North America E,L,LTL,TL,W 15 90 230 5 V,R,CDeckX Transport (QuikX) Calgary, AB 403-277-1166 www.transx.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,F,I,L,TL 150 200 4Empire Transportation Grimsby, ON 800-263-0240 www.empiretrans.com Multi-Regional, North America, International D,E,F,TL 1 68 311 1Entrec Transportation Services, Ltd. Calgary, AB 403-777-1644 www.entrectransport.com Multi-Regional DB,L,LB,LTL 60 240 5 VGolden International (TransForce) Bois-des-Filion, QC 450-628-0787 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,F,L,LTL,TL 107 220 1 Grégoire (TransForce) Plessisville, QC 800-461-8813 www.transportgregoire.com North America TL 100 340 2 GTL Transportation Inc. Dartmouth, NS 902-468-3100 www.gtltransportation.com North America D,I,LTL,TC,TL 85 250 65 2 V,R,CICS Courier (TransForce) Mississauga, ON 888-427-8729 www.ics-canada.net Multi-Regional, North America P 341 1 3 30 V,RInternational Freight Systems Tilbury, ON 519-682-3544 www.international-freight.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,F,TL 125 150 2Kingsway Bulk (TransForce) Pintendre, QC 800-263-3642 www.kingswayvrac.com North America DB,LB 84 150 3 Laidlaw Carriers Bulk LP (Contrans) Woodstock, ON 888-209-3867 www.contrans.ca North America TL 140 282 2 MacKinnon Transport Guelph, ON 800-265-0444 www.mackinnontransport.com North America D,F,L,TL,W 75 183 1 V,R,CMcArthur Express (TransForce) Cambridge, ON 800-668-9691 www.mcarthurexpress.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,L,LB,LTL,TC,TL,W 88 248 1 VMill Creek Motors Ayr, ON 800-265-7868 www.millcreek.on.ca International D,L,TL,W 120 162 1 V,R,CP&W Intermodal / MTMX Logistics (TransForce) Oakville, ON 905-815-9412 www.mtmx.ca Multi-Regional, North America F,I 76 0 175 1 V,RPapineau International (TransForce) Saint-Jerome, QC 800-363-3666 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,HG,L,LTL,TC,TL 95 275 20 2 Roadfast (TransForce) Mississauga, QC 800-461-8023 www.quikx.com Multi-Regional TL 17 222 1 V, CSameday Worldwide (Day & Ross) Mississauga, ON 905-676-3750 www.sameday.ca North America, International E,HG,L,LTL,P,TC 63 63 170 32 V,R,CTrans 4 Logistics (TransForce) Mississauga, ON 905-212-9001 www.trans4.com North America D,I,L,TL 19 128 250 1 V,R,CTransport Bourret Drummondville, QC 800-567-1470 www.bourret.ca Multi-Regional, North America, International E,HG,I,L,LTL,TL,W 10 110 300 2 V,R,CTri-Line Carriers LP (Contrans) Rocky View, AB 800-661-9191 www.contrans.ca Multi-Regional, North America FB,TL 128 193 2 TVM Ltd. Cottam, ON 800-749-6960 www.tvmltd.ca Multi-Regional, North America D,L,TL 124 285 2Westfreight Systems (TransForce) Calgary, AB 403-279-8388 www.westfreight.com Multi-Regional, North America F,LTL,TL 1 111 150 5


CODES



Transforce owned companiesCompany Name Headquarters Customer Line Web Address Operating Area Service Straight Trucks Tractors Trailers Containers Terminals Web

TransForce Inc Montreal, QC 514-331-4000 www.transforcecompany.com 2471 4015 12097 639 A&M International (TransForce) East Angus, QC 800-832-3865 www.transforcecompany.com North America L,TL 1 31 127 1 ATS Retail Solutions (TransForce) Toronto, ON 416-679-7969 www.atssolutions.ca Multi-Regional E,TL,LTL,P 126 25 166 15 VBergeron-Maybois (TransForce) Amos, QC 819-727-9404 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional D,DB,F,TL 48 101 3 Besner (TransForce) St-Romuald, QC 800-463-4460 www.besner.com North America D,HG,L,TC,TL 90 265 4 Canadian Freightways (TransForce) Calgary, AB 888-868-7923 www.canadianfreightways.com North America LTL 53 296 1002 25 V,R,CCanpar Transport (TransForce) Brampton, ON 800-387-9335 www.canpar.com Multi-Regional, North America, International P 817 76 315 54 V,R,CCF Dedicated Services (TransForce) Edmonton, AB 780-637-8749 www.cfmvmt.com Multi-Regional D,F,TL 6 59 1 CF Truckload & Logistics (TransForce) Edmonton, AB 780-637-8749 www.cfmvmt.com Multi-Regional D,F,TL 98 2 CK Logistics (Transforce) St Laurent, QC 877-856-7580 www.cklogistics.ca International L 1 Click Express (Transforce) Edmonton, AB 780-637-8749 www.clickexpress.com North America LTL 8 27 1 V,R,CConcord Transport (TransForce) Toronto, ON 416-679-7400 www.concordtransportation.com North America E,L,LTL,TL 58 108 6 V,CDurocher International (TransForce) St-Felix-de-Kingsey, QC 800-267-2042 www.durocherinternational.com North America F 61 116 2 VE&L Logistics (Transforce) Brossard, QC 450-462-0941 www.ellogistics.ca North America L 1 Ganeca (TransForce) Carignan, QC 800-561-7444 www.ganeca.ca North America HG,L,TL 1 29 95 1 GHL Transport (TransForce) Anjou, QC 514-351-4501 www.camionnageghl.com Multi-Regional LB 1 32 50 1 VGolden International (TransForce) Bois-des-Filion, QC 450-628-0787 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,F,L,LTL,TL 107 220 1 Grégoire (TransForce) Plessisville, QC 800-461-8813 www.transportgregoire.com North America TL 100 340 2 Highland Intermodal (TransForce) Markham, ON 800-268-6794 www.highlandtransport.com Multi-Regional, North America I,L 60 121 1 V,RHighland Transport (TransForce) Markham, ON 800-268-1729 www.highlandtransport.com Multi-Regional, North America E,L,TC,TL 180 458 4 V,RICS Courier (TransForce) Mississauga, ON 888-427-8729 www.ics-canada.net Multi-Regional, North America P 341 1 3 30 V,RJC Germain (TransForce) Trois-Rivieres, QC 819-370-3422 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,F,HG,LTL,TC,TL 193 527 2 Kingsway Bulk (TransForce) Pintendre, QC 800-263-3642 www.kingswayvrac.com North America DB,LB 84 150 3 Kingsway Transport (TransForce) Toronto, ON 800-856-5559 www.kingswaytransport.com Multi-Regional, North America I,LTL 13 296 732 12 V,R,CKobelt Transportation (Transforce) Sherbrooke, QC 819-566-6688 www.kobelttransportation.com North America L 1 La Crete Transport Lacrete, AB 780-928-3989 www.latrans.com Multi-Regional LTL,TL 36 56 5 Legal Freight Services (TransForce) Edmonton, AB 780-452-7221 www.legalfreight.com Multi-Regional D,F,L,TL 39 52 2 Loomis Express (TransForce) Brampton, ON 855-256-6647 www.loomis-express.com Multi-Regional P 759 59 321 79 V,R,CMcArthur Express (TransForce) Cambridge, ON 800-668-9691 www.mcarthurexpress.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,TL,LTL,L,LB, TC,W 88 248 1 VMcMurray Serv-U Expediting (TransForce) Fort McMurray, AB 780-791-3530 www.mcmurrayservu.com Multi-Regional D,E,F,LTL 20 4 5 1 Mirabel Logistic (TransForce) Anjou, QC 514-353-8186 www.transforcecompany.com Regional D,TL 20 48 1 VP&W Intermodal / MTMX Logistics (TransForce) Oakville, ON 905-815-9412 www.mtmx.ca Multi-Regional, North America F,I 76 175 1 V,R

Papineau International (TransForce) Saint-Jerome, QC 800-363-3666 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,HG,L,LTL,TC,TL 95 275 20 2 Pedersen Transport (Transforce) Claresholm, AB 877-965-2583 www.pedersentransport.com Multi-Regional LTL,TL 17 34 115 5 Quik X Logistics (Transforce) Mississauga, QC 800-461-8023 www.quikx.com North America L 1 Quik X Transportation (Transforce) Mississauga, QC 800-461-8023 www.quikx.com North America LTL 2 167 536 250 12 V,CRebel Transport (TransForce) Edmonton, AB 780-464-5171 www.rebeltransport.ca North America TL 19 60 2 VRoadfast (Transforce) Mississauga, QC 800-461-8023 www.quikx.com Multi-Regional TL 17 222 1 V,CSt-Lambert (TransForce) Saint-Romuald, QC 888-338-3381 www.st-lambert-transport.com North America F,L 16 32 1 Stream (Transforce) Mississauga, ON 905-625-1770 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional W 4 18 TForce Energy Services (Transforce) Denver, CO 307-382-5650 www.Tforceenergy.com North America F 126 735 565 17 Trans 4 Logistics (Transforce) Mississauga, ON 905-212-9001 www.trans4.com North America D,I,L,TL 19 128 250 1 V,R,CTransport Couture et fils (TransForce) Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce, QC 418-484-2104 www.tcfl.com Multi-Regional, North America L,LTL,TL 2 85 293 67 2 V,R,CTransport Nordique (TransForce) Saint-Jerome, QC 800-363-3666 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,L,LB,TL,HG 4 42 100 6 1 TST Expedited Services/TST Air (TransForce) Windsor, ON 888-486-8911 www.tst911.com International D,E 146 8 12 2 V,R,CTST Overland Express (TransForce) Mississauga, ON 888-878-9229 www.tstoverland.com North America LTL 18 350 1018 22 TST Truckload Express (TransForce) Mississauga, ON 888-878-9755 www.tstoverland.com North America D, TL 65 165 1 Westfreight Systems (TransForce) Calgary, AB 403-279-8388 www.westfreight.com Multi-Regional, North America F,LTL,TL 1 111 150 5 Winalta (TransForce) Edmonton, AB 780-447-3521 www.winaltatransport.com Multi-Regional F,L 9 19 1



Company Name Headquarters Customer Line Web Address Operating Area Service Straight Trucks Tractors Trailers Containers Terminals WebContrans Group Inc. Woodstock, ON 800-819-5259 www.contrans.ca 39 1355 2562 Brookville Carriers Flatbed Limited Partnership (Contrans) Truro, NS 800-565-7554 www.brookville.ca North America FB,TL 57 88 1

Cornerstone Logistics LP (Contrans) Oakville, ON 877-388-2888 www.cornerstonelogistics.com North America L 1 ECL Carriers LP (Contrans) London, ON 800-265-0934 www.contrans.ca North America TL 64 99 1 Glen Tay Transportation LP (Contrans) Perth, ON 800-450-9483 www.contrans.ca North America DB,LB,TL 61 108 2 Laidlaw Carriers Bulk LP (Contrans) Woodstock, ON 888-209-3867 www.contrans.ca North America TL 140 282 2 Contrans Flatbed Group LP (Contrans) Hagersville, ON 800-263-8383 www.contransflatbedgroup.com North America FB,TL 1 247 416 4 Laidlaw Carriers Tank LP (Contrans) Woodstock, ON 800-465-8265 www.contrans.ca North America DB,LB,TL 216 356 2 Laidlaw Carriers Van LP (Contrans) Puslinch, ON 800-263-8267 www.contrans.ca North America TL 252 659 2 Peter Hodge Transport Limited (Contrans) Milton, ON 800-387-6933 www.peterhodgetransport.com North America DB,LB,TL 85 149 1 S&S Enterprises (Contrans) Saint-Barthelemy, QC 450-885-3911 www.contrans.ca North America TL 24 44 1

Contrans owned companies



http://www.atssolutions.ca


http://www.besner.com

http://www.canadianfreightways.com

http://www.canpar.com

http://www.cfmvmt.com

http://www.cfmvmt.com

http://www.cklogistics.ca

http://www.clickexpress.com

http://www.concordtransportation.com

http://www.durocherinternational.com

http://www.ellogistics.ca

http://www.ganeca.ca

http://www.camionnageghl.com


http://www.transportgregoire.com



http://www.ics-canada.net


http://www.kingswayvrac.com

http://www.kingswaytransport.com

http://www.kobelttransportation.com

http://www.latrans.com

http://www.legalfreight.com

http://www.loomis-express.com

http://www.mcarthurexpress.com

http://www.mcmurrayservu.com


http://www.mtmx.ca


http://www.pedersentransport.com



http://www.rebeltransport.ca


http://www.st-lambert-transport.com


http://www.Tforceenergy.com

http://www.trans4.com

http://www.tcfl.com


http://www.tst911.com



http://www.westfreight.com

http://www.winaltatransport.com


http://www.brookville.ca

http://www.cornerstonelogistics.com




http://www.contransflatbedgroup.com



http://www.peterhodgetransport.com




TransForce Inc Montreal, QC 514-331-4000 www.transforcecompany.com 2471 4015 12097 639 A&M International (TransForce) East Angus, QC 800-832-3865 www.transforcecompany.com North America L,TL 1 31 127 1 ATS Retail Solutions (TransForce) Toronto, ON 416-679-7969 www.atssolutions.ca Multi-Regional E,TL,LTL,P 126 25 166 15 VBergeron-Maybois (TransForce) Amos, QC 819-727-9404 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional D,DB,F,TL 48 101 3 Besner (TransForce) St-Romuald, QC 800-463-4460 www.besner.com North America D,HG,L,TC,TL 90 265 4 Canadian Freightways (TransForce) Calgary, AB 888-868-7923 www.canadianfreightways.com North America LTL 53 296 1002 25 V,R,CCanpar Transport (TransForce) Brampton, ON 800-387-9335 www.canpar.com Multi-Regional, North America, International P 817 76 315 54 V,R,CCF Dedicated Services (TransForce) Edmonton, AB 780-637-8749 www.cfmvmt.com Multi-Regional D,F,TL 6 59 1 CF Truckload & Logistics (TransForce) Edmonton, AB 780-637-8749 www.cfmvmt.com Multi-Regional D,F,TL 98 2 CK Logistics (Transforce) St Laurent, QC 877-856-7580 www.cklogistics.ca International L 1 Click Express (Transforce) Edmonton, AB 780-637-8749 www.clickexpress.com North America LTL 8 27 1 V,R,CConcord Transport (TransForce) Toronto, ON 416-679-7400 www.concordtransportation.com North America E,L,LTL,TL 58 108 6 V,CDurocher International (TransForce) St-Felix-de-Kingsey, QC 800-267-2042 www.durocherinternational.com North America F 61 116 2 VE&L Logistics (Transforce) Brossard, QC 450-462-0941 www.ellogistics.ca North America L 1 Ganeca (TransForce) Carignan, QC 800-561-7444 www.ganeca.ca North America HG,L,TL 1 29 95 1 GHL Transport (TransForce) Anjou, QC 514-351-4501 www.camionnageghl.com Multi-Regional LB 1 32 50 1 VGolden International (TransForce) Bois-des-Filion, QC 450-628-0787 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,F,L,LTL,TL 107 220 1 Grégoire (TransForce) Plessisville, QC 800-461-8813 www.transportgregoire.com North America TL 100 340 2 Highland Intermodal (TransForce) Markham, ON 800-268-6794 www.highlandtransport.com Multi-Regional, North America I,L 60 121 1 V,RHighland Transport (TransForce) Markham, ON 800-268-1729 www.highlandtransport.com Multi-Regional, North America E,L,TC,TL 180 458 4 V,RICS Courier (TransForce) Mississauga, ON 888-427-8729 www.ics-canada.net Multi-Regional, North America P 341 1 3 30 V,RJC Germain (TransForce) Trois-Rivieres, QC 819-370-3422 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,DB,F,HG,LTL,TC,TL 193 527 2 Kingsway Bulk (TransForce) Pintendre, QC 800-263-3642 www.kingswayvrac.com North America DB,LB 84 150 3 Kingsway Transport (TransForce) Toronto, ON 800-856-5559 www.kingswaytransport.com Multi-Regional, North America I,LTL 13 296 732 12 V,R,CKobelt Transportation (Transforce) Sherbrooke, QC 819-566-6688 www.kobelttransportation.com North America L 1 La Crete Transport Lacrete, AB 780-928-3989 www.latrans.com Multi-Regional LTL,TL 36 56 5 Legal Freight Services (TransForce) Edmonton, AB 780-452-7221 www.legalfreight.com Multi-Regional D,F,L,TL 39 52 2 Loomis Express (TransForce) Brampton, ON 855-256-6647 www.loomis-express.com Multi-Regional P 759 59 321 79 V,R,CMcArthur Express (TransForce) Cambridge, ON 800-668-9691 www.mcarthurexpress.com Multi-Regional, North America D,E,TL,LTL,L,LB, TC,W 88 248 1 VMcMurray Serv-U Expediting (TransForce) Fort McMurray, AB 780-791-3530 www.mcmurrayservu.com Multi-Regional D,E,F,LTL 20 4 5 1 Mirabel Logistic (TransForce) Anjou, QC 514-353-8186 www.transforcecompany.com Regional D,TL 20 48 1 VP&W Intermodal / MTMX Logistics (TransForce) Oakville, ON 905-815-9412 www.mtmx.ca Multi-Regional, North America F,I 76 175 1 V,R

Papineau International (TransForce) Saint-Jerome, QC 800-363-3666 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,HG,L,LTL,TC,TL 95 275 20 2 Pedersen Transport (Transforce) Claresholm, AB 877-965-2583 www.pedersentransport.com Multi-Regional LTL,TL 17 34 115 5 Quik X Logistics (Transforce) Mississauga, QC 800-461-8023 www.quikx.com North America L 1 Quik X Transportation (Transforce) Mississauga, QC 800-461-8023 www.quikx.com North America LTL 2 167 536 250 12 V,CRebel Transport (TransForce) Edmonton, AB 780-464-5171 www.rebeltransport.ca North America TL 19 60 2 VRoadfast (Transforce) Mississauga, QC 800-461-8023 www.quikx.com Multi-Regional TL 17 222 1 V,CSt-Lambert (TransForce) Saint-Romuald, QC 888-338-3381 www.st-lambert-transport.com North America F,L 16 32 1 Stream (Transforce) Mississauga, ON 905-625-1770 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional W 4 18 TForce Energy Services (Transforce) Denver, CO 307-382-5650 www.Tforceenergy.com North America F 126 735 565 17 Trans 4 Logistics (Transforce) Mississauga, ON 905-212-9001 www.trans4.com North America D,I,L,TL 19 128 250 1 V,R,CTransport Couture et fils (TransForce) Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce, QC 418-484-2104 www.tcfl.com Multi-Regional, North America L,LTL,TL 2 85 293 67 2 V,R,CTransport Nordique (TransForce) Saint-Jerome, QC 800-363-3666 www.transforcecompany.com Multi-Regional, North America D,L,LB,TL,HG 4 42 100 6 1 TST Expedited Services/TST Air (TransForce) Windsor, ON 888-486-8911 www.tst911.com International D,E 146 8 12 2 V,R,CTST Overland Express (TransForce) Mississauga, ON 888-878-9229 www.tstoverland.com North America LTL 18 350 1018 22 TST Truckload Express (TransForce) Mississauga, ON 888-878-9755 www.tstoverland.com North America D, TL 65 165 1 Westfreight Systems (TransForce) Calgary, AB 403-279-8388 www.westfreight.com Multi-Regional, North America F,LTL,TL 1 111 150 5 Winalta (TransForce) Edmonton, AB 780-447-3521 www.winaltatransport.com Multi-Regional F,L 9 19 1


CODES


Company Name Headquarters Customer Line Web Address Operating Area Service Straight Trucks Tractors Trailers Containers Terminals WebContrans Group Inc. Woodstock, ON 800-819-5259 www.contrans.ca 39 1355 2562 Brookville Carriers Flatbed Limited Partnership (Contrans) Truro, NS 800-565-7554 www.brookville.ca North America FB,TL 57 88 1

Cornerstone Logistics LP (Contrans) Oakville, ON 877-388-2888 www.cornerstonelogistics.com North America L 1 ECL Carriers LP (Contrans) London, ON 800-265-0934 www.contrans.ca North America TL 64 99 1 Glen Tay Transportation LP (Contrans) Perth, ON 800-450-9483 www.contrans.ca North America DB,LB,TL 61 108 2 Laidlaw Carriers Bulk LP (Contrans) Woodstock, ON 888-209-3867 www.contrans.ca North America TL 140 282 2 Contrans Flatbed Group LP (Contrans) Hagersville, ON 800-263-8383 www.contransflatbedgroup.com North America FB,TL 1 247 416 4 Laidlaw Carriers Tank LP (Contrans) Woodstock, ON 800-465-8265 www.contrans.ca North America DB,LB,TL 216 356 2 Laidlaw Carriers Van LP (Contrans) Puslinch, ON 800-263-8267 www.contrans.ca North America TL 252 659 2 Peter Hodge Transport Limited (Contrans) Milton, ON 800-387-6933 www.peterhodgetransport.com North America DB,LB,TL 85 149 1 S&S Enterprises (Contrans) Saint-Barthelemy, QC 450-885-3911 www.contrans.ca North America TL 24 44 1


Company Name Headquarters Customer Line Web Address Operating Area Service Straight Trucks Tractors Trailers Containers Terminals WebDay & Ross Transportation Group Hartland, NB 866-DAY-ROSS www.dayrossgroup.com 337 1623 2832Sameday Worldwide (Day & Ross) Mississauga, ON 905-676-3750 www.sameday.ca North America, International E,HG,L,LTL,P,TC 63 63 170 32 V,R,CDay & Ross (Day & Ross) Hartland, NB 866-DAY-ROSS www.dayross.ca North America LTL,TC,TL,F 151 1215 2046 34 V,R,CDay & Ross Dedicated Logistics (Day & Ross) Brampton, ON 905-799-6500 www.dayross.ca/dedicated North America D,L,W 123 345 616 15 V,R,C

Day & Ross owned companies

Company Name Headquarters Customer Line Web Address Operating Area Service Straight Trucks Tractors Trailers Containers Terminals WebCalyx Transportation Group Concord, ON 905-695-3841 www.calyxinc.com 14 154 1723 171 9 V,R,CCalyx Ground Transportation Solutions (National Fast Freight, Totalline) Concord, ON 905-695-3841 www.calyxinc.com North America E,I,TC 6 9 733 171 6 V,R,C

Kreative Carriers (Calyx) Vaughan, ON 905-695-3841 www.kreativecarriers.com North America TL 14 49 1Muir’s Cartage (Calyx) Concord, ON 800-646-2013 www.muirscartage.com Multi-Regional, North America D,TL 8 145 941 3 V,R,C

Calyx owned companies

Tri-Line Carriers LP (Contrans) Rocky View, AB 800-661-9191 www.contrans.ca Multi-Regional, North America FB,TL 128 193 2 Tri-Line Disposal Inc. (Contrans) Edmonton, AB 780-444-8805 www.contrans.ca North America TL 34 1 Tripar Transportation LP (Contrans) Oakville, ON 800-387-7210 www.contrans.ca North America LTL,TL 4 35 103 2 Wilburn Archer Trucking (Contrans) Norwood, ON 800-463-8136 www.contrans.ca North America DB,LB,TL 46 65 1


Contrans owned companies continued


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Company Name Headquarters Customer Line Web Address Operating Area Service Straight Trucks Tractors Trailers Containers Terminals WebDay & Ross Transportation Group Hartland, NB 866-DAY-ROSS www.dayrossgroup.com 337 1623 2832Sameday Worldwide (Day & Ross) Mississauga, ON 905-676-3750 www.sameday.ca North America, International E,HG,L,LTL,P,TC 63 63 170 32 V,R,CDay & Ross (Day & Ross) Hartland, NB 866-DAY-ROSS www.dayross.ca North America LTL,TC,TL,F 151 1215 2046 34 V,R,CDay & Ross Dedicated Logistics (Day & Ross) Brampton, ON 905-799-6500 www.dayross.ca/dedicated North America D,L,W 123 345 616 15 V,R,C

Company Name Headquarters Customer Line Web Address Operating Area Service Straight Trucks Tractors Trailers Containers Terminals WebCalyx Transportation Group Concord, ON 905-695-3841 www.calyxinc.com 14 154 1723 171 9 V,R,CCalyx Ground Transportation Solutions (National Fast Freight, Totalline) Concord, ON 905-695-3841 www.calyxinc.com North America E,I,TC 6 9 733 171 6 V,R,C

Kreative Carriers (Calyx) Vaughan, ON 905-695-3841 www.kreativecarriers.com North America TL 14 49 1Muir’s Cartage (Calyx) Concord, ON 800-646-2013 www.muirscartage.com Multi-Regional, North America D,TL 8 145 941 3 V,R,C

Tri-Line Carriers LP (Contrans) Rocky View, AB 800-661-9191 www.contrans.ca Multi-Regional, North America FB,TL 128 193 2 Tri-Line Disposal Inc. (Contrans) Edmonton, AB 780-444-8805 www.contrans.ca North America TL 34 1 Tripar Transportation LP (Contrans) Oakville, ON 800-387-7210 www.contrans.ca North America LTL,TL 4 35 103 2 Wilburn Archer Trucking (Contrans) Norwood, ON 800-463-8136 www.contrans.ca North America DB,LB,TL 46 65 1



CODES

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A FLEET MANAGEMENT, MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS AND ONBOARD COMPUTING COMPANY ©2012 PeopleNet.

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12-PEC-005 MotorTruck HalfSprdAD.indd 1 5/15/12 1:25 PM


Top Tier

Consolidation will continue to drive the trucking industry with interest in 3PLs and specialized haulers heating up. But will the ‘big deal’ remain elusive?

In searchof the

BIGDEAL

Last year didn’t see the major deals like the ones TransForce made for DHL Canada and Dynamex in 2011. But although ac-quisitions may have been flatter in the TL and LTL sectors, things have been heating up at the other ends of the spectrum.

David Newman, transportation analyst with Cormark Securities, believes this bi-furcation of transactions in the trucking in-dustry toward asset-light and asset-heavy concerns is the result of a flat freight market

up the middle, while activity in heavy haul and bulk was the result of fairly robust energy markets. Also, asset-light tends to perform better on a relative basis in periods of weaker economic activity.

Newman sees the increased interest in non-asset 3PLs as a re-sponse to a tepid economy. “With extra capacity in a weaker eco-nomic environment, shippers tend to look for better deals, which 3PLs may be able to source,” says Newman.

Mike McCarron, former managing partner of MSM Transporta-tion, recently sold to Wheels Group of Mississauga, Ont., for $18.6 million. He thinks there’s lots of room for growth in this segment. “The use of third-party logistics providers is more prev-alent in other parts of the world than North America, and it’s become a $13 billion industry in Canada. Many of those guys who started those 3PLs back in the early 1980s are now graying

and looking for an exit strategy. I think you’ll see lots of deals among 3PLs as consolidation continues,” says McCarron.

Although the MSM purchase was between two Canadian com-panies, US firms are also keenly interested in the Canadian 3PL market. In August, XPO Logistics of Greenwhich, Conn. acquired Kelron Logistics, a non-asset 3PL with operations in Toronto and Vancouver. Later in the year, Torus Freight Systems of Richmond Hill, Ont. was purchased by Transplace, a large 3PL and technol-ogy firm based near Dallas, Texas.

“Yes Canada is of particular interest to us,” according to Trans-place CEO Tom Sanderson. “We have a strong US presence and we started from scratch in Mexico five years ago. But we needed a foothold in Canada to complete our North American service pack.”

Specialized and bulk commodity trucking sits at the other end of the scale from the logistics sector, but it, too, experienced in-creased interest and activity in 2012. These are asset-heavy, niche-driven operations that require a significant investment in specialized equipment.

TransForce entered the US oilfield business after buying I.E. Miller Services in 2011, an oilfield transport provider with eight terminals from North Dakota to Louisiana. In 2012, the Canadian trucking giant increased its presence by acquiring as-sets from Peak USA Energy Services of Texas, a similar oilfield service company based in Texas.

But TransForce has also been busy acquiring shares in the

By Harry Rudolfs

Top T mergers.indd 34 13-02-01 2:54 PM


LTL market, and recently disclosed a 6.2% stake in Vitran that it had bought on the open market in December. Cormark’s New-man sees this as either a small investment or potentially the start of a strategic takeover. “We believe Vitran could be in play. If the hoped-for recovery does not come to fruition, then TFI may be interested in bidding for Vitran’s profitable Canadian LTL business, which has a strong coast-to-coast overlap with TFI’s LTL operations,” says Newman.

Nonetheless, TransForce’s recent moves into the US market in-dicate that it is looking south of the border for growth opportuni-ties. But the US market can be a difficult place to navigate, as many Canadians have learned.

“The competitive dynamics of the US market is prohibitive to a smaller Canadian carrier,” says Walter Spracklin, analyst for RBC Dominion Securities. “Vitran has tried and it hasn’t been an easy thing. But TransForce has been building in the US, keeping its fo-cus on its same-day delivery service through Dynamex and its spe-cialized services through its oilfield division in the US.”

TransForce is growing very attractive bundles of services that could accrue high valuations when and if they’re sold. “We see (TransForce’s) waste haulage, in particular, as a gem,” says Sprack-lin. “It’s a less competitive market with higher barriers to entry and more attractive pricing.”

Trimac is another Canadian company that is not afraid to play in the US pool. A publicly-traded company with a strong family history, this specialized commodity hauler has been op-erating in the US since 1979, and runs the American division as a separate entity. In 2012, Trimac US pur-chased two tanker washing businesses in Spartanburg S.C., and Charlotte, N.C., an area that is strategically important because of a large volume of tanker traffic.

Trimac Transportation Services chair and CEO Jeffrey J. McCaig suggests the key to working in the US is to separate the Canadian and US divisions and run them independently. “I think we have the right approach,” he says. “It’s a different market with a different set of strate-gies and approaches, and we see as much or greater potential for growth in the US. We do have a central dispatch and a central planning arm. When we have a truck crossing the border, there’s someone on our team looking for a load to come back.”

Trimac was busy acquiring companies on the Cana-dian front as well. In 2012, it bought the tanker division of Liquid Cargo in Mississauga, and controlling interest in Fortress Transport in Guelph, Ont. Another interest-ing project is Northern Resources Trucking which is a partnership between Trimac and several First Nations bands in northern Saskatchewan. Trimac recently took back majority interest in Northern Resources, whose share had become diluted over the years as other First Nations bands joined the partnership.

McCaig’s position on acquisitions is perhaps unique. For one thing, Trimac doesn’t believe in selling proper-ties after it has acquired them – they’re in it for the long

haul. And the corporation doesn’t cater to using consultants or agents to find deals, nor does Trimac have a department specifi-cally looking at acquisitions.

“Our operations people know who the competitors are,” says McCaig. “I don’t like the model of going out and chasing acquisi-tions. Liquid Cargo was a competitor for many years that has a paving business and other interests. And when they wanted to divest themselves of their truck line, they knew we could provide it a good home.”

Interestingly, another major player, Mullen Group, made no ac-quisitions in 2012. Mullen’s acquisition team typically looks at about one hundred possible deals during the year, about a dozen of them seriously. “We didn’t do anything in 2012, and I don’t know why, there are lots of opportunities, but nothing jumped out at us,” says CEO Murray Mullen. “But we don’t target acquisitions on an annual basis, and sometimes they come in bunches.”

But acquisitions seem to have come in bunches for Stan Dunford, chair of Contrans, another chief executive who, like Murray Mullen, is not interested in looking Stateside for acquisi-tions. Contrans had a busy year, beginning by acquiring bulk and pneumatic tank carrier Wilburn Archer Trucking of Nor-wood, Ont., finalizing the deal to absorb MacKinnon Trans-port’s van division and drivers, and then acquiring Peter Hodge Trucking of Milton, Ont., giving it a significant presence in the dump and tank sector in southern Ontario.

Meyers Transportation Services of Belleville, Ont., also found a good fit for their transportation business-es, but they had to go across the border to find it. Meyers just completed a transaction to acquire an 80,000-sq.-ft. warehouse in Cheektowaga, N.Y., close to the Canadian border.

According to Meyers’ president Jacquie Meyers, the new warehouse will allow them to consolidate the small warehousing operation they already had in Buffalo and

I don’t like the model of going out and chasing acquisitions.Jeffrey J. McCaig, chair and CEO, Trimac Transportation Services

”

“




to integrate it with the trucking business they own in St. Cathe-rine’s, Ont. “We are always trying to strengthen our ties with US carriers by giving them easy access to the Canadian market,” she says. “It was the synergies that sealed the deal in the end.”

Dan Goodwill of Dan Goodwill and Associates, suggests that cooperation between Canadian and US carriers is a paradigm that runs throughout the industry. “Typically, Canadian LTL carriers form partnerships with US regional and national carriers,” he says. “This seems to be more prudent financially than sticking their toe in the US market. Canadian LTL carriers haven’t been all that suc-cessful setting up shop in the US.”

One major Canadian carrier that espouses the cooperative model is Day and Ross Transportation, headquartered in Hartland, N.B. According to COO Douglas Harrison, “We have a partner-ship with R and L Carriers, the fourth largest LTL carrier in the US,” he says. “It’s a great way to leverage our expertise and market posi-tions on both sides of the border. This is not an interline relation-ship, but a true exclusive relationship. Our executives meet to-gether on a quarterly basis.”

Most recently, Cavalier announced a new partnership with RIST Transport, which will combine the two carriers’ networks and pro-vide two-day service between the northeastern US and markets in Ontario and Quebec. RIST has 11 terminals in the northeastern US, covering Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The partnership also will include freight con-solidation services and warehousing on both sides of the border.

Maritime-Ontario Freight Lines also followed the US partner-ship model, partnering with U.S. Xpress to launch a cross-border North American shipping solution. Through the partnership, each company will leverage its dominant national network to move freight across the border and throughout each country, cre-ating one seamless North American network, covering the US, Canada and Mexico. M-O will carry the freight across the Cana-da/ US border crossing and U.S. Xpress will be responsible for Mexico/US Border crossings.

“While many companies on both sides of the border claim to have an international presence, the extent of their reach is lim-ited,” said Maritime-Ontario chief operating officer, Bill Hen-derson. “With our partnership, we will have more than just a few trucks over the border. Both companies offer best-in-class transportation solutions and are recognized premium brands in their respective countries. Needless to say, we believe this

is a true game-changer for North American freight hauling.”With the focus on acquisitions as a prescription for growth, it’s

not surprising that American investors are looking north. “In the past few years, we’ve seen Canadian companies coming to the US, and recently the push has been to do cross-border business with Mexico, and now the emphasis is doing business in Canada,” says Andy Ahern, president of Ahern and Associates of Phoenix, Ariz.

Ahern suggests that there is equity money available in the US and that Canada looks like a good prospect. “They (US investors) see Canada as a stable market. Look at Canada Cartage for exam-ple (long-standing Canadian family trucking business bought by a US equity firm in 2007). This was an old-line company with lots of dedicated carriage work. This was a good company with not a lot of risk and a lot of upside.”

But can we expect to see a real big deal in the future along the lines of what YRC did a few years ago, bringing Yellow, Roadway and Reimer together under the same banner? “I don’t see it hap-pening,” says Douglas Nix, vice chairman of Corporate Finance Associates. “There’s a lot of guys shopping for distressed assets and under-performing companies. You could line up a hundred buyers for a company but that doesn’t mean you’ll get a premium valua-tion from any of them.”

Nix thinks there has to be a compelling reason for a company to buy out another one. “As far as general freight goes it’s hard to tell the difference between one carrier and another except on rates. What I’ve seen is a lot of guys looking to fill niches and service holes. They’re focusing less on size and more on their needs.”

But Nix does see growth happening in the contract and dedi-cated services division. “Where I do see an advantage is for those providers who can supply a customer with dedicated equipment and drivers. This takes the transport provider out of the spot market and into a deeper relationship with the shipper.” FE

Let’s continue the discussion. Plan to attend our annual Surface Transportation Summit at the Mississauga Convention Centre to hear about the most pressing issues in truck and rail transportation. Mark Oct. 16 on your calendar.

Harry Rudolfs is the rare combination of a journalist with direct industry experience, having spent 35 years working in the trucking industry. This behind-the-scenes insight al-lows him to tackle the issues transportation professionals love to talk about – and, occasionally, a few they don’t.


Top Tier

“As far as general freight goes it’s hard to tell the difference between one carrier and another except on rates.“ Douglas Nix, vice chairman of Corporate Finance Associates



“As far as general freight goes it’s hard to tell the difference between one carrier and another except on rates.“ Douglas Nix, vice chairman of Corporate Finance Associates

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Einwechter: It has to happen. Forget that we are truckers or shippers. As citizens of this coun-try, for us to stay competitive and have a vibrant economy, forces are going to dictate that there is going to have to be better collaboration. We are going to be short-staffed and overregulated and we are going to have to work very collaborative-ly to make sure we can still move our freight as cost effectively as possible and in a timely fash-ion. I think it is going to happen. I’ve seen it. I’ve been hoping for it to be much closer by now

than what it is. Unfortunately, 2008 was a bit of a reality check and set us back for a bit with a shellshock effect, but we are still marching for-ward. It has to happen.

Springer: I think collaboration can’t be an overused word. We are just scratching the sur-face to breaking down carrier-shipper relation-ships. Gone are the days where shippers just demanded without understanding the true cost from the carrier’s perspective. It really comes

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Shaw Tracking continues to act as founding sponsor of the “Ship-per-Carrier Issues Roundtable” for the seventh consecutive year. Shaw Tracking is pleased to continue to support the important insight and dialogue brought forward by prominent industry stakeholders.

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FROM THE SPONSOR

RATE NEGOTIATIONS: LEADING SHIPPERS AND CARRIERS LOOK AHEAD

SHIPPER-CARRIER ROUNDTABLE


In a panel session specifically dedicated to rate negotiations, leading shippers and carriers considered if there is a better way to approach what has become a virtual tug-of-war. In this second and final installment, editorial director Lou Smyrlis asked the panellists to look into the future and consider whether the differences between the two sides can realistically be smoothed and their priorities be brought into sync. Here’s what they had to say:

Decisions pt2.indd 38 13-02-01 3:44 PM

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MICHAEL TAN Vice-president, supply chain and transportation, Hudson’s Bay Company

BRIAN SPRINGER Vice-president, transportation, eastern Canada, Loblaw Companies

WESLEY ARMOURPresident, Armour Transport

DAN EINWECHTER CEO, Challenger Group of Companies

down to the opportunity of tak-ing the waste out of the system. Until we sit down and under-stand that and drive towards a win-win scenario, we’ll never get there. The key to making that happen is going to come down to a lot of trust. When you get into that collaborative environment, it means we real-ly need to truly understand each other’s costs, and how what we are doing is affecting the other’s bottom line.

Tan: I’m going to reiterate the collaboration. I don’t think we can afford not to be collabora-tive going forward. Supply chain demands are only growing in complexity from both the carri-er and shipper perspective. Carriers have real cost pressures to deal with and shippers in Canada will be pressured more than ever by ever-increasing competition, not only nationally, but globally. We need to be much more transparent with each other to identify mutually beneficial opportunities and I think we owe it to ourselves, our businesses, our national economy and, frankly, the environment to collaborate on ways to reduce idle time, excess capacity and empty miles.

Armour: I think it’s so important today that a rela-tionship of trust and respect is built up between the customer and the carrier. Also, I think it’s im-portant that the people who are involved in the negotiations for each company know that trust and respect is there. Without that, I’m not sure how far we are going to go. The other issue is the availability of people in the future. I don’t think there is anyone who can say it isn’t tougher to find good people for all industry positions – not

just drivers. It’s much tougher than it was five or 10 years ago. We all realize it’s just going to get harder to do. The only thing that could prevent a carrier from expanding is finding good talent for the company. It’s not the assets that’s the issue; all of us can go out and buy assets.

I don’t think we want to see this industry get to a point where it becomes very unprofitable and with no competitive solutions. I know that’s not where ship-pers want to be. So how do we make sure the customer really understands carrier costs and wants the carrier to be successful because that’s so important long-term? We have to do that together as a team. We have to trust each other, we have to be open about what our costs are, but we have to be careful who we do that with because you have to make sure they understand and that you are both on the same page. FE

videostreamTo view our video coverage of this year’s shipper-carrier roundtable panel, visit www.trucknews.com/videos.

Truckload

LENGTH OF CONTRACT PERIODS

Less than Truckload

49%28%

20%

54%

26%2%

2%

2%

1%

16%

4-5 year

4-5 year

5+ year

WHERE’S THE SECURITY? Although there appears to be a growing move towards RFPs when dealing with motor carriers, Canadian shippers are still predominantly using contracts of a year’s duration or less, according to our latest Transportation Buying Trends survey. The national survey was conducted in late 2012 in partnership with the Canadian Industrial Transportation Association, Cormark Securities and CITT.

5+ year

<1 year

<1 year

2-3 year

2-3 year

1 year

1 year

Decisions pt2.indd 39 13-02-01 3:44 PM

http://www.trucknews.com/videos


Together again

ProStar+ Day Cab

Cummins ISX15

Geared Up Jan.indd 40 13-02-04 1:29 PM

Navistar International reached an important milestone re-cently when it achieved an internal ‘Ok-to-ship’ status on the first 300 ProStar+ builds with ISX15 engines. The des- ignation, reached five days ahead of schedule, means the ProStar+ with ISX15 has been sufficiently field-tested and is now ready for deployment into customer fleets. It’s a sig-

nificant milestone for Navistar, considering the launch of the ProStar+ with ISX power was only announced in August, requir-ing an unprecedented four-month development program.

I visited Navistar’s Lisle, Ill. headquarters within days of the announcement and enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of Navi-star’s ‘SCR War Room,’ as well as a spin in one of the very first International ProStar+ tractors with a Cummins ISX15 engine.

The challengeNavistar’s long and winding journey to EPA10 compliance has been well documented. While all other North American truck and engine manufacturers chose selective catalytic reduction (SCR) exhaust aftertreatment to meet the EPA10 NOx standard, Navistar saw an opportunity to differentiate itself from its com-petitors and offer what it perceived to be a more customer-friendly solution. Navistar would opt to eliminate NOx emis-sions in-cylinder, through heightened levels of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), a technology employed to some extent by all engine manufacturers.

Detractors felt it wasn’t possible to achieve the mandated NOx reductions using EGR alone, at least not without signifi-cant compromises in engine performance and reliability. One of those engine manufacturers was Cummins, which initially declared it would meet the EPA10 standard without SCR, but backtracked soon after and announced it would join the rest of the pack, minus Navistar, in pursuing SCR.

That left Navistar at a crossroads, as the lone manufac-turer to shun SCR. Would the company join Cummins in changing course and employing SCR, or continue to pursue the EPA10 standard without exhaust aftertreatment? Navistar opted to proceed with its in-cylinder solution, effectively

ending its longtime relationship with Cummins, at least in the North American market. (Navistar continued to offer Cummins engines in certain export markets with less strin-gent emissions requirements).

Here in North America, Navistar’s International trucks would not be reconfigured to accommodate the bulky SCR hardware and its related plumbing. Instead, the company would forge ahead with what it dubbed Advanced-EGR and would cease offering Cummins engines.

Navistar, having banked a sizeable stockpile of EPA emis-sions credits for having been cleaner than required in previ-ous emissions go-rounds, was able to work on its in-cylinder solution well after the Jan. 1, 2010 implementation date for EPA10. While the industry came to accept, even embrace SCR, Navistar steadfastly defended its position to eliminate

emissions in-cylinder. That all changed this past July, when Navistar acknowledged it would be unable to meet the EPA10 standard before its steadily dwindling bank of emis-sions credits would be exhausted.

“That’s really where the wheels came off the cart,” Jack Allen, Navistar’s North America truck and parts president, told a small group of trucking industry journalists in August. “It’s not in the technology; it’s really in the timing of that technology being ready versus when the credits were going to run out. We got to the point in the intersection where those two factors were coming together like a freight train.”

Allen’s comments followed a July 6 conference call, in which Navistar declared it would change directions and adopt SCR. On Aug. 2, it announced it would bring Cummins back into the fold and offer its ISX15 in several of its trucks. That same day, Navistar announced it would begin by offering the ISX15 in the ProStar+ in January 2013. It was an ambitious target, and meeting it would require a Herculean effort from the engineering departments of both Navistar and Cummins.

The executionWhen I arrived in Navistar’s Lisle, Ill. headquarters, much had changed since the last time I visited in August. Former CEO Dan Ustian had been replaced with Lewis Campbell, who was charged with making the difficult decisions required to get Navistar’s financial house in order. Troy Clarke, the recent-ly named president and chief operating officer of Navistar, was taking on a more visible role in the company’s restructur-

The International ProStar and Cummins ISX engine – at one time one of the best-selling truck and engine combinations in the North Amer-ican Class 8 market – are officially back together. And we get to go on the road in one of the very first ProStar+ tractors powered by an ISX. Together again


By James Menzies



ing. A very public battle for seats around the boardroom table had been resolved, with Navistar finally relenting to activist investors Carl Icahn and Mark Rachesky and granting them or their representatives, positions as directors.

Very quickly, the new leadership has instilled a culture of transparency. For example, staff now receive daily updates on how the company is performing in relation to key performance indicators. This transparency was on full display during my visit in December when I was invited into what Navistar has dubbed its ‘SCR War Room.’ This is the command centre from which the transition from Advanced-EGR to SCR has been orchestrated.

Here, Thomas Smith, director of integrated ISX and SCR programs, serves as General.

“A well-planned effort is really what leads to a well-execut-ed effort,” he told me while explaining the meaning behind dozens of wall-mounted charts, timelines and diagrams. The largest of these charts is dubbed the “Integrated Master Sched-ule” in which every task is assigned and then updated by the team that’s working on the project.

“The champions of those tasks update it so that as leaders, we can come in and quickly visualize if we are falling behind on something (marked in red) or are on track and completed (marked green),” Smith told me. “All this is done so we can get fixated down to the detail level of what people need to do to meet our deadlines with quality and really make a flawless launch. It’s a visual representation of what’s in front of us.”

Another chart serves as a “Risk Matrix,” highlighting poten-tial pitfalls and action plans to ensure they don’t come to bear. One example identified on the chart was a potential shortage of electrical harnesses.

“We wanted to monitor that very closely,” Smith explained.

“There was a lot of risk of not being able to have the physical parts we needed when we built the trucks. I’m happy to report we didn’t have any significant harness issues with our builds. No risks have manifested themselves into issues.”

With its transition to SCR, Navistar is fast-tracking a launch process that would ordinarily take years. That, said Smith, has been the greatest challenge.

“The time scale we’ve had has made us become more rig-orous because we don’t have time to make a mistake and then recover from a mistake,” he explained. “This team didn’t have the chance to not hit it the first time, so we added some sub-elements to ensure we did hit it the first time. Typically, a 36-month to a four-year program builds in some ‘what-if?’ scenarios. We had to streamline that. We didn’t have the lux-ury to do a lot of development. We successfully squeezed this program down because we didn’t have a lot of development to do. We have a proven product in the ISX, we had an after-treatment system that has been in production for four years


ProStar+ 15L

“”

From the ISX program, there isn’t a milestone we established back in August that we haven’t met



and a truck that’s been in production since 2007 and that had this engine in it at one time. We just had to marry those back together again. We’re not developing any new technology and that was the real key.”

The obvious risk in accelerating such an important project would be that of taking shortcuts, resulting in mistakes that would manifest themselves somewhere down the line. Smith insisted that hasn’t been the case.

“The common misconception people have about engi-neering is, they think to go fast you have to cut corners, but in fact it’s the exact opposite,” Smith told me. “To go fast, you have to overlay more tests and more analysis, because you can’t afford to have a failure and back yourself up again – it’ll set you too far back.”

While most of the initial focus within the SCR War Room has been on integrating the ISX15 and Cummins’ SCR after-treatment system within the International ProStar+, at the same time, engineers are adapting Navistar’s own Interna-tional MaxxForce 13 engine to accommodate SCR. The ISX project, however, has thus far presented the greatest challenge.

“The ISX was the most challenging (proj-ect) because of the time scale,” Smith said. “We have a little bit more time with the other launches. Relative to when we made the decision to put the ISX in our trucks to when we had to produce the trucks that are going to customers at a great quality level, that was the most challenging aspect.”

Navistar officials, including Smith, are quick to credit Cummins and its team of engineers with contributing to the success of the program. The two companies have fully-integrated engi-neering departments working together on the proj-ect and those not working under the same roof have twice-daily conference calls to discuss progress and to resolve any issues that have surfaced.

Another wall chart within the War Room details Navistar’s timeline for its transition to SCR. So far, all the deadlines have been met, however unrealistic they may have seemed at the outset.

“From the ISX program, there isn’t a milestone we estab-lished back in August that we haven’t met,” Smith said. “De-livery is key to this program and we have to hit our mark.”

The resultsShane Spencer is director of integrated reliability and quality with Navistar. It was his job to oversee field-testing of the ini-tial International ProStar+ tractors with ISX engines. In addi-tion to the 300 ProStar+ tractors slated to be delivered to cus-tomers as early as this week, Navistar’s Escobedo, Mexico plant has also churned out 15 more that were placed into the “Q-build” (Q for quality) fleet that Spencer oversees.

He has these trucks scattered between test sites in Dallas, Texas; Denver, Col.; Boston, Mass.; Las Vegas, Nev.; and Fair-banks, Alaska. Then there was the truck parked in the Navistar parking lot on the day I visited. It was a ProStar+ 122 day cab with 450-hp ISX15 engine. The SCR system was tidily packaged in what Navistar calls a ‘switchback’ configuration. This com-mon installation will be suitable for over 90% of Class 8 tractors operating in linehaul applications. The SCR packaging is similar, if not identical, to what you’ll find on any other truck make.

Of the 15 Q-build tractors Navistar has produced, most have now reached about 230,000 miles in real-world testing. They’re run 22 hours a day, leaving two hours between driving shifts for engineers to conduct inspections, make necessary repairs, download trip reports, etc. During a two-hour drive over a combination of interstates and city streets, Spencer ex-plained that testing has revealed no significant failures.

“It has all been minor,” Spencer said of any problems that have arisen in testing. “Nothing has fallen off the truck. There

have been no mechanical failures throughout the pro-gram. The only things we’ve had have been some on-board diagnostics monitoring tuning that

we’re working on with Cummins.”One advantage Navistar enjoys by be-

ing the last to employ SCR, is that most of the initial hiccups with the technology have already been worked through.

The Cummins engine and aftertreatment system are well proven, leaving Navistar to spend more time focusing on the smaller details, such as how the hardware is pack-

aged and mounted to the vehicle.“We relied really heavily on the Cummins ex-

perience on the engine side of it,” Spencer ex-plained. “We assumed they did their job right and it

looks like they have, and we have focused more on the structural components; the new electrical system and plumbing that our trucks never had a need for and all that extra stuff, like the routing and clipping of harnesses. We’ve added extra clips even if we didn’t think we needed them to make sure the har-nesses are staying put and staying dry.”

The performance of the Cummins engine on the highway presented no surprises. It’s the same Cummins ISX15 you already know. On our drive, it was as smooth as ever, pulled our 77,000-lb load effortlessly and lived up to its reputation as the bench-mark to which other 15-litre engines are compared. As for the ProStar+, it’s a well-designed, fuel-efficient tractor. Navistar has taken its share of criticism over the course of the past two years, but few, if any, shots were directed at its flagship tractor. The truck we were in was a fairly basic spec’, but forward visibility was excellent and the cab was comfortable and ergonomic.

The ProStar/ISX combination was a winner before, and there’s little reason to believe it won’t once again return to its former glory. FE




The ability to access and transmit critical truck engine data from trucks on the road to key decision makers responsible for their maintenance in a manner timely enough and accurate enough to allow smart decisions to be made is key to reducing downtime, Volvo Trucks North America executives believe.

After listening to several motor carrier executives speak openly about the downtime plaguing the industry due to pre-mature engine failure (an issue experienced by all engine brands) at a Volvo press event in Nashville, Tenn. at the start of the year, David Pardue, vice-president of aftermarket sales, was one of several Volvo executives who said they are working hard to be part of the solution.

“The need for information is quicker and more thorough and what we are satisfied with today, we won’t be satisfied with to-morrow,” Pardue said.

Volvo believes part of the answer lies with its Remote Diag-nostics service, now a standard feature on every Volvo-powered VN model highway truck. The service provides proactive diag-nostic and repair planning assistance with detailed analysis of

critical diagnostic trouble codes. It’s the first service being of-fered under the new Connected Vehicle Services category of the Volvo Trucks Support Services bundled aftermarket offering.

The remote communication platform facilitates live dealer and customer communication through Volvo Action Service, Volvo’s 24/7 support team. Proactive diagnostics streamline service procedures with confirmation of parts on-hand be-fore a truck arrives at a service location, increasing uptime, the company says.

But Conal Deedy, product manager, communication and electronics, cautioned against the trap of “technology for the sake of technology.” There are thousands of fault codes on to-day’s commercial trucks that can be monitored and quickly re-ported – but that doesn’t mean they all should. Rather, the focus should only be on those critical to keeping the truck on the road.

“It has to be about using technology to improve service and uptime. Our customers want actionable data that is accurate. They don’t want to be overloaded with fault codes,” Deedy said.

Deedy also pointed to some impressive statistics racked up by the Remote Diagnostics program since its launch last May (it was tested for a year prior to that with more than 1,300 Volvo VNs being part of the field tests. Challenger Mo-tor Freight was a test fleet in Canada). There are now more than 5,000 Volvos equipped with Remote Diagnostics and so far the service has managed to reduce average diagnostic time for targeted fault codes by 71%, reduce average repair time for targeted fault codes by 25%; and improve average uptime by one day per event.

“Remote Diagnostics is streamlining the service procedure. It’s getting the right information to the technician,” Deedy said.

Remote Diagnostics comes free of charge for two years with the purchase of all new Volvo trucks.

Another wrinkle soon to be added to help streamline the ser-vice procedure when the truck comes into a Volvo dealership is a QR code label and reader capable of capturing all the vehicle information encrypted on the QR code label, such as the vehicle identification number, mileage, etc. and create a registered case number before the vehicle is assigned to a technician.

This application, which will be made available on every Volvo coming out of the factory by around the end of the first quarter, will also capture the entire inspection and maintenance process, date stamp it, and maintain it as part of the vehicle’s history on a secure server. Customers will be able to log in and read up on the history of their vehicles. The truck’s file can also be assigned to other Volvo dealers should the truck require ser-vice beyond its home dealer.

Volvo Trucks’ dealer network is also expanding, resulting in additional truck service bays, Volvo-certified technicians, and larger part inventories.

For example, the new Nacarato dealership, which hosted the press conference, keeps $2 million worth of parts inven-tory on hand and is capable of servicing 30% more trucks at its new 80,000-sq.-ft. facility with 28 service bays. FE


Remote diagnostics proven to reduce downtime: VolvoBy Lou Smyrlis



TransCore’s Canadian Freight Index remains steady in NovemberSpot market freight saw no change in month-over-month volumes in November, according to TransCore’s Link Logistics Canadian Freight Index. Year-over-year load volumes, however, were down 15% from November 2011. In spite of the decrease, load volumes are still well above the November 2008 recessionary levels by 51%.

Cross-border postings were very similar to October’s, which accounted for 69% of overall load volumes. Intra-Canada post-ings contributed 26% of the total load volumes, a decrease of 1% from the previous month.

Equipment postings dipped slightly at 5% month-over-month, but experienced a year-over-year increase of 17%. Available capacity corresponds with numbers shown in November 2007.

The top states of origin for loads destined to Canada were Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Texas. Texas moved from last month’s eighth spot to replace Michigan in the number five spot for November.

Top destinations for loads imported into Canada were: • Ontario (56.5%), Western (21.2%), Quebec (20.1%), and

Atlantic 2.1%. Top regions for import equipment into Canada were: • Ontario (51.5%), Western (22.6%), Quebec (22.1%), and

Atlantic (3.9%).Regions of origins of loads within Canada were:• Western (49%), Ontario (29%), Quebec (16%), and

Atlantic (6%).TransCore’s Canadian-based Loadlink freight matching data-

base constitutes the largest Canadian network of carriers, owner/operators, freight brokers and intermediaries. More than 13 million full loads, less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments and trucks are post-ed to the Loadlink network annually.

The first six columns include monthly index values for years 2007 through 2012. The seventh column indicates the percentage change from 2011 to 2012. The last column indicates the percent-age change from the previous month to the current month. For the purpose of establishing a baseline for the index, January 2002 (index value of 100) has been used.

Canadian shippers face rising trucking costs: CGFIThe cost of ground transportation for Canadian shippers increased by 0.45 % in October when compared with September results, ac-cording to the Canadian General Freight Index (CGFI).

The Base Rate Index, which excludes the impact of accesso-rial charges assessed by carriers, increased by .01% when com-pared to September. Average fuel surcharges assessed by carriers have seen an increase from 20.48% of base rates in September to 21.27% in October. This is the fourth consecutive month of fuel surcharges increasing.

“Total costs for domestic LTL and truckload increased this month. Domestic LTL has seen an increase of 13.9% from a year

ago while the domestic truckload is still 6.5% below a year ago,” said Doug Payne, president and COO of Nulogx. “Cross-border LTL and truckload were both down in October from September; however, compared to a year ago, LTL and truckload are up 2.2% and 4.7%, respectively.”

The CGFI is sponsored by Nulogx, a transportation manage-ment solutions provider, and is used by shippers and carriers to benchmark performance, develop business plans, and secure competitive agreements. It was developed with the assistance of Dr. Alan Saipe. The most recent results are available at the CGFI Web site: www.cgfi.ca.

US truck tonnage rebounds in NovemberUS for-hire truck tonnage rebounded in November, with a 3.7% gain that erased a loss of the same amount in October.

November’s gain was the first since July of this year, according to the American Trucking Associations. The ATA’s for-hire truck tonnage index was up 1% compared to November 2011. Year-to-date, tonnage is up 2.8% over the same period last year.

“Sandy impacted both October’s and November’s tonnage readings,” ATA chief economist Bob Costello said. “But it was still good to see tonnage snap back in November.” Costello added he expects a boost to flatbed tonnage from the rebuilding in the areas impacted by Sandy, but most of that won’t happen until the spring when the money starts flowing and the weather is conducive to building.

Costello predicts slower tonnage growth in 2013 than 2012 as better housing starts and auto sales will be offset by slower fac-tory output and consumer spending. FE

% % 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Change Change

Y-O-Y M-O-M

Jan 173 214 140 171 222 220 -1% 1%

Feb 174 217 117 182 248 222 -10% 1%

Mar 228 264 131 249 337 276 -18% 24%

Apr 212 296 142 261 300 266 -11% -3%

May 280 316 164 283 307 301 -2% 13%

Jun 288 307 185 294 315 295 -6% -2%

Jul 219 264 156 238 245 233 -5% -21%

Aug 235 219 160 240 270 235 -13% 1%

Sep 206 203 180 234 263 200 24% -15%

Oct 238 186 168 211 251 215 -14% 8%

Nov 227 143 157 215 252 215 -15% 0%

Dec 214 139 168 225 217

TransCore Canadian Spot Market Freight Index 2007-2012

TransCore Canadian Spot Market Freight Index 2007-2012


DASHBOARD

Dashboard Jan.indd 45 13-02-01 3:50 PM

http://www.cgfi.ca


INSIDE THE NUMBERS

6.1%+4.1-6%2.1-4%1-2%

4-5 years

2-3 years

1 year

< 1 year

6.1%+4.1-6%2.1-4%1-2%6.1%+4.1-6%2.1-4%1-2%

4-5 years

2-3 years

1 year

< 1 year

6.1%+4.1-6%2.1-4%1-2%6.1%+4.1-6%2.1-4%1-2%

4-5 years

2-3 years

1 year

< 1 year

6.1%+4.1-6%2.1-4%1-2%

6.3EXPECTATIONS FOR CORE

PRICING IN 2013

MAGNITUDE OF EXPECTED RATE INCREASES

CONTRACT PERIOD USED MOST OFTEN

Decrease

11%

Increase

37%

Increase

51%

Increase

29%

Decrease

10%

Decrease

5%

EXPECTATIONS FOR FREIGHT VOLUMES IN 2013

EXPECTATIONS FOR FUEL SURCHARGES IN 2013

MAGNITUDE OF EXPECTED FUEL SURCHARGE INCREASES

Stay aboutthe same

51%

Stay aboutthe same

39% Stay aboutthe same

66%

41% 44%

16% 17%6%

17%

37%

22%

30%

48%

18%

4%

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Canada and U.S. (800) 387-4800www.espar.com

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That’s the level of optimism, on a scale of 1 to 10, motor carrier executives feel about their business prospects this year, according to our latest research

WHERE’S THE FREIGHT?Canadian carrier executives less optimistic about freight volumes in 2013

Forecasting business prospects for 2013 is proving a challenge for motor carrier executives. Our latest Transportation Buy-ing Trends Survey, completed in December and early January, found that only 37% of re-sponding Canadian motor car-rier executives expect shipment volumes to be higher in 2013 than the previous year. In com-parison, 44% thought likewise a year ago. With freight volume demand expected to be slow in a sluggish recovery, the upward push on rates may also not be as great as once assumed. While 51% of carrier executives ex-pect to increase their core pric-ing in 2013, the vast majority are forecasting increases below 5% with the average increase calculated at 1.5%. Fuel sur-charges are also expected to moderate considerably in 2013.

Inside the # Jan.indd 46 13-02-01 3:02 PM

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