October 2018 Volume 38, Issue 9
TRUCK NEWS Eastern Canada’s Trucking Newspaper Since 1981
Delivering daily news at trucknews.com
Page 23
Pages 26-29
Page 31
Page 56
Parking stress
Keeping score
A special visitor
Breaking down brakes
The inability to find parking spaces is the leading cause of stress among professional drivers.
Driver scorecards are evolving, and even finding a following among competitive owner-operators.
An Australian truck driver and road safety advocate visits Canada to share ideas.
Why do brake violations continue to be so high and how can they be reduced? We have some answers.
Record demand
RET ADVERTAIL ISING P AGES 57 -
August sets another new record for Class 8 truck orders North American Class 8 truck orders once again reached an all-time high in August, at 53,100 units, according to preliminary data from ACT Research. August bettered July numbers, which had set the previous all-time high. This over typically weak order intake months. “Preliminary data indicate that during the month of August, North American Class 8 orders rose 0.9% month-over-month and 150% from August 2017,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst. “Super strong orders in June and July are likely pulling large fleet orders ahead in the schedule, as truckers race to reserve build slots in a market where demand is running well above capacity.” Orders from June to August were booked at a 700,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate. Classes 5-7 net orders totaled 23,700 units, up 18% from July and 26% year-over-year. Continued on page 20
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Careers: 6, 36-55 Ad Index: 65
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The face of the trucking industry is changing. What are you doing to adapt and keep up?
Change of face Canada’s truck driver demographics are rapidly shifting By James Menzies TORONTO, ONTARIO The Canadian trucking industry is in the midst of a cultural and demographic evolution. The good ol’ boys who grew up on the farm and could dismantle an engine and transmission with their hands are getting older and retiring, and young people aren’t seeing the allure of the open highway. Attempts to draw women to the trucking industry have been largely unsuccessful to date, but immigrants have eagerly stepped up into the role as a viable way to generate a steady income soon after arriving in their new country. South Asian drivers represent by far the fastest-growing segment of the industry, especially in metro areas such as Toronto, where 53.9% of drivers are now of South Asian descent. These demographic changes will come as no surprise to anyone who’s been in the trucking industry for more than a few years. However, these observations to date have largely anecdotal in nature. Just how deep into
Canada’s trucking industry have South Asian drivers extended their roots? Why aren’t more women pursuing a truck driving career? What has become of the oldschool Canadian trucker? How are fleets adapting to the rapidly changing driver demographic? To answer these questions, and help the industry better understand the demographic changes that are occurring within the industry, Truck News – along with sister Newcom Media publications Truck West, Today’s Trucking, Transport Routier, and Road Today – is launching an unprecedented, multi-month series on The Changing Face of Trucking. We have comprehensively analyzed Canadian census data to identify and confirm employment trends. These will be broken down in each of our respective magazines based on the geographic area they serve. Truck News will focus primarily on Ontario and provinces east. The statistical breakdown will be complemented with feature articles, news stories, and personality and fleet profiles, that examine issues related to the changing demographics in the Canadian trucking industry and highlight the Continued on page 9