MONTREAL, Que. – Andy Transport has announced a new start-up that will provide trucks and drivers to customers with fluctuating transportation needs.

Tristan Cartage is a power-only fleet that will be marketed to for-hire carriers, private fleets, third-party logistics companies, and retailers, manufacturers and distributors.

“We often receive calls from customers and partner carriers, requesting Andy Transport to provide power-only services,” said Andreea Crisan, COO and executive vice-president of Andy. “But cartage services largely differ from Andy Transport’s usual operations, in terms of human resources, assets and dispatching. This is why we have launched Tristan Cartage, a power-only solution, offering a tractor and driver on demand, to counter the fluctuations in capacity, volume, and manpower of partner companies.”

“Tristan Cartage is based in Quebec and covers the Quebec-Ontario territory,” added Ilie Crisan, president of Andy. “We will provide a tractor and driver without any long-term commitment or business interruption. Our customers maintain control over the schedule and the routing, and benefit from cost savings by paying only for what they need.”

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General manager for the bridge Randy Spader said traffic started getting heavy in the morning, and things only got worse into the day. 

As to whether or not there is a problem with border agents due to the ongoing partial U.S. government shutdown, he said he simply does not know. 

"I haven't been given any of that information, haven't been told that at all," he told WWJ Sandra McNeill. "Just basically in our conversations with the facilities they have open (is that) they're going to maintain all facilities until they get he backlog clear."

CTV Windsor reported police noted traffic backups in Windsor along Huron Church Road, and reminded motorists to not block intersections.

Spader said all inspection lanes were open on the U.S. side, as of around 6 p.m.

As to whether some border agents -- who may not be paid this Friday -- have not been showing up for work, he said: "I'm not, you know...We're the operators of the bridge. I don't know."

Several calls by WWJ to  U.S. Customs and Border Protection have not been answered, likely due to the shutdown.

A notice on the CBP website reads: "Due to the lapse in federal funding, this website will not be actively managed. This website was last updated on December 21, 2018 and will not be updated until after finding is enacted. As such, information on this website may not be up to date."

Meanwhile, all Canada-bound traffic was not affected.

There were no reports of delays at the Detroit Windsor Tunnel. However, drivers should note that the tunnel will be closing Wednesday at 8 p.m. and re-opening Thursday at 5:30 a.m. for scheduled maintenance.

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Be prepared for some delays Saturday, Jan. 12 if your driving takes you on the part of the New York State Thruway near the old Tappan Zee Bridge.

That part of I-87/I-287 will be closed for at least 45 minutes starting at 9 a.m. as crews use explosives to perform a controlled demolition of part of the old Tappan Zee bridge. The Thruway Authority encourages drivers to avoid the area and find alternate routes during that time.

Crews will close entrance ramps to the northbound/westbound Thruway at:

• Exit 9 (Tarrytown – Sleepy Hollow – Route 9)
• Route 119 in Elmsford
• Saw Mill Parkway (Exit 22)

Entrance ramps to the southbound/eastbound Thruway will be closed at:

• Exit 10 (Nyack – South Nyack – US Route 9W)
• Exit 11 in Nyack (Nyack – South Nyack – US Route 9W).

New York State Police also will stop traffic in both directions on Interstate 87/287 between exit 11 in Nyack (Nyack – South Nyack – US Route 9W) and exit 9 (Tarrytown – Sleepy Hollow – Route 9) in Tarrytown for about 45 minutes. State police will reopen the ramps and release traffic after demolition is complete.

Motorists are strongly advised to avoid travel in this area during this time, according to the Thruway Authority.

In case of inclement weather, the operation will be postponed until the morning of Sunday, Jan. 13.

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CALGARY, Alta. – Husky Energy is considering selling off its commercial fuels and Canadian retail business, as well as its Prince George Refinery.

The company made the announcement Jan. 8, saying it would undertake a strategic review of the non-core downstream assets, as it increases focus on core assets in its integrated corridor and on its offshore business in Atlantic Canada and the Asia Pacific region.

“Our retail network and the Prince George Refinery are excellent assets, with exceptional employees, which have made solid contributions to Husky over the years,” said CEO Rob Peabody. “However, as we further align our heavy oil and downstream businesses to form one integrated corridor, we’ve taken the decision to review and market these non-core properties.

“We expect the businesses will be highly marketable, attracting strong interest and valuations. Husky delivers value to its customers and we anticipate that high level of quality and service will continue whether or not the businesses are sold.”

The potential sale is being undertaken independent of the outcome of Husky’s proposed acquisition of MEG Energy.

Husky boasts more than 500 stations, travel centers, cardlock operations, and bulk distribution facilities in Canada, with approximately 1.6 million myHusky Rewards members.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Six professional truck drivers — three company drivers and three owner-operators — have been chosen as finalists in the Truckload Carriers Association’s 2018 Driver of the Year contest.

The six will now compete for the grand prize in each division.

The finalists were selected based on their ability to operate safely on public highways, their efforts to enhance the public image of the trucking industry, and their contributions to the communities in which they live, TCA officials said.

Esach grand prize winner will receive $25,000, while the two runners-up in each division will win $2,500.

Finalists in the Company Driver of the Year competition include:

2018 Company Driver of the Year Contest finalists:

• Don Lewis of Republic, Missouri, who drives for Wilson Logistics of Springfield, Missouri.
• David McGowan of Marinette, Wisconsin, who drives for WEL Companies of De Pere, Wisconsin.
• Ester Nemeth of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, who drives for Bison Transport also of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Finalists in the Owner-Operator of the Year competition include:

• Danny Jewell of Nebraska City, Nebraska, who is leased to Warren Transport of Waterloo, Iowa.
• Kevin Kocmich of Litchfield, Minnesota, who is leased to Diamond Transportation System of Racine, Wisconsin.
• Robert Roth of Coldwater, Ontario, Canada, who is leased to Erb International of New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada.

“Each one of our finalists is exceptional,” said TCA Chairman and Searcy Specialized President Dan Doran. “Regardless of who may take home the grand prize award in March, each driver has made significant contributions to the industry and should be applauded for their efforts as they’re setting the finest example possible.”

Grand prize winners will be announced at TCA’s 81st Annual Convention at the Wynn Las Vegas Resort on Tuesday, March 12 during the annual Awards Banquet.

For more information on the Driver of the Year Contests, please visit www.truckload.org/DOY.

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TORONTO, Ont. – It was a record year for Canadian spot market load volumes in 2018, but the capacity crunch appears to be easing.

TransCore Link Logistics reported the fourth quarter ended with the lowest load volumes on the year, while truck volumes set a new record for the quarter. Load volumes were down 31% in Q4 compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, and were down 15% compared to Q3 2018.

December load volumes were down 9% from November, but there were fewer shipping days. When taking that into account, the daily average number of loads posted on TransCore’s load board was up 6%.

The best month of 2018 for load postings was January, with the lowest being December. January’s load volumes were the highest in Loadlink’s history. Monthly load volumes from January to July were the highest ever recorded in each of those months, TransCore reports.

The sharpest month-over-month increase took place in January, which was up 41% from December 2017. The year-over-year increase that month was 81%.

As the year progressed, equipment postings increased. January equipment postings were at their lowest levels since 2005, but October and November marked the two highest monthly equipment volumes since Loadlink began tracking this data.

In December, equipment postings were up 52% year-over-year.

The truck-to-load ratio in December was 2.82, down from 3.20 in November, marking a slight tightening of capacity. But the year began with a carrier-favored ratio of about one truck for every load posted, with capacity coming online beginning in the second quarter. The peak truck-to-load ratio was 3.22, reached in October.

Canadian spot market rates were up 8% year-over-year in December, or 17% when singling out cross-border van rates.

“Hard enforcement of electronic logging device (ELD) adoption in the U.S. along with new tariffs would have affected rates more severely compared to intra-Canadian rates,” TransCore concluded.

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Now that Canada has legalized the recreational use of marijuana, professional truck drivers plying highways on both sides of the border are reminded that trucking in North America is still a “zero tolerance” industry.

That’s according to Garth Pitzel, who is director of safety and driver development for Canada-based Bison Transport, a safety award winner for many years.

Neither is Bison going to be involved in transporting cannabis or its derivative products, Pitzel said. “We’re not going to get involved in that; we’ll not jeopardize our employees. A fellow [in another company] was banned from the U.S. for life because he was involved in the cannabis business in Canada.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is warning travelers that pot remains an illegal narcotic in the U.S., noted Joanne Ritchie, executive director of the Owner-Operator Business Association of Canada (OBAC).

And, she told The Trucker, although Canada has no federal/provincial labor rules on drug and alcohol testing outside the military because of privacy issues, “most workplaces, including trucking companies, have their own policies around the use of drugs and alcohol, including an obligation to follow U.S. rules when in the U.S.

“Leading up to pot legalization in Canada there was a lot of emphasis on making sure the trucking industry was ready with updated policies in place.”

In Canada, she said, local provinces and territories are responsible for determining how cannabis is distributed and sold within their jurisdictions. They’re also responsible for how roadside inspections are conducted, with drug-impaired driving offenses treated the same as driving alcohol-impaired, meaning zero tolerance for novice drivers, young drivers up to 22 years of age and commercial drivers.

So far in Canada, Ritchie said, the only federally approved device for testing THC, the psychoactive agent in pot, is roadside saliva testing, which shows if cannabis was consumed in the last 12 hours.

“The issue of roadside drug-testing is still under debate,” Ritchie said. “Most police forces are planning to keep it ‘business as usual’ with sobriety field tests at roadside, but it’s less clear which jurisdictions will be using oral screening devices.”

Unlike tests for alcohol intoxication, the saliva tests don’t show the level of cannabis impairment, according to Pitzel.

He said Canada’s national policy says a person is allowed only so much cannabis in their possession and provisional jurisdictions break it down further as to where cannabis can be consumed, which doesn’t include public places.

“The provinces really clamped down; you can’t do it in any public spots so it’s really only [allowed] in your house,” he said.

There are a lot of professional truck drivers on the roads who are at risk of other drivers’ impairment, Pitzel said, “and we want to make sure they [truckers] get home safely as far as training and procedures.”

He added that penalties for driving while drunk have increased but not for driving while impaired by cannabis.

News sources report Canada law enforcement are wrestling with the sale and consumption of cannabis edible products, such as candy or bakery items infused with cannabis. Those kinds of items are attractive to children but can contain amounts of THC which can be harmful to them.

“One complication is that unlike alcohol, there is no clear consensus on what constitutes marijuana impairment,” Ritchie said, “and current testing methods such as urine and blood tests can be misleading since THC can linger in the body for days or weeks. So the test indicates only prior consumption, not current impairment.”

In short, she said, “it’s not a straightforward issue.”

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When we're talking about the industry of trucking, the career field itself hasn't seen too much growth, however, their job responsibilities have.

The trucking industry in Great Falls has seen a dramatic increase in importing and exporting goods; especially with our Canadian neighbors to the north.

The Canadian dollar is less valuable than ours, and as a result, there are an abundance of exports.

However, as the Canadian dollar changes, we’ll begin to see more imports as well.  

In fact, Turbo Auto Transport carries anywhere between three to five hundred vehicles a month through Canada, which is not only great business, but good for the economy as well.

"Brings jobs to Great Falls. I mean currently, we’re at thirty employees in our little company right? And a lot of those employees have come on since we’ve started to import and export so it’s good for our economy," explains Aaron Corbett, Transportation Director at Turbo Auto Transport.

Aaron continued to explain that trucking is the main way we're able to receive our goods and merchandise in America. 

With such a promising future, Aaron says becoming a trucker is a great opportunity and career. 

The industry has continued to change for the better and truckers can make anywhere between $70,000-$100,000 annually. 

As for the future of trucking in Great Falls, Aaron believes we'll continue to see more imports and exports within the next few years, and as a result, a growing career field and an even stronger economy.

Source of article and more great articles click here : ABC NEWS

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – To build an electric Class 8 truck requires the same battery power as 32 electric Smart cars, but Daimler Trucks North America is forging ahead with an all-electric eCascadia, as well as an electric eM2 medium-duty truck.

The first of these smaller units was delivered to Penske before Christmas, and was the first of 30 electric trucks Daimler will deploy in the coming months. Dr. Andreas Juretzka, head of Daimler’s electric mobility group, said the truck maker is pursuing a “co-creation” strategy with customers, working alongside them to develop the electric models.

As part of this effort, the company established an electric vehicle council in October, consisting of a variety of carriers.

The first of these electric trucks were made available to the trucking press to drive for the first time this week ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show. While drives were limited to a 1.3-mile track, the trucks were extremely quiet and the torque was impressive. In fact, it was difficult to tell if the trucks were even keyed on, as they were completely silent at idle.

Penske and NFI are the carriers who will operate, in their real-world operations, the first Freightliner electric trucks. Daimler plans to commercialize the trucks in 2021. While the company is building a Class 8 eCascadia, Juretzka said “the medium-duty area is probably more fruitful for e-mobility than Class 8 at this point in time.”

While an electric truck requires plenty of heavy batteries, it also is ridded of the engine, aftertreatment, and diesel tanks. But this means accessories normally driven by belt must now be powered by an electric motor, Juretzka noted.

“So, the HVAC and air compressor must now have an electric component to it,” he said. “We tried to figure out how many different cooling systems do we need? There’s a lot of piping that goes on and cooling every little part of the truck differently.”

Batteries work best at room temperature, Juretzka explained, so in hot weather they’ll need to be cooled and in extreme cold, heated. So far, Freightliner has achieved a range of 230 miles for the eM2 and 250 miles for the eCascadia. They can be charged to 80% of their power within 60 minutes for the eM2 and 90 minutes for the eCascadia. Juretzka said traditionally Class 8 trucks would ideally run 500 miles in a driving shift but that it’s not yet realistic to add the batteries needed to meet that range.

“Will there be a time when we go higher? I’d say yes, but at this point in time that’s not economically practical,” he said.

Still, 20 of the 30 trucks in the Freightliner innovation fleet will be eCascadias.

Another challenge is determining what the total cost of ownership will be for fleets. What will their resale value be? Who will perform maintenance on the vehicles? And will charging infrastructure be widely available? These are some of the questions Daimler is aiming to answer along with its fleet customers through its co-creation approach.

It must also develop a strategy to dispose of the batteries, or find a suitable second life for them. Juretzka noted the batteries are no longer useful for transportation applications once they’ve reached 70-80% of their capacity, so there is still plenty of life left in those batteries if they can be repurposed.

Where the trucks are deployed is also important, and may mean adoption rates in Canada will be slower than stateside. Turning the heater on, for instance, can reduce range from 180 miles to 120 miles, Juretzka said.

“If you say, ‘Give me some trucks in Alaska,’ I will say ‘Can do, but range will suffer’,” he explained. “You have to make a decision: Do I make it home or keep my cab warm?”

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The Love’s Truck Tire Care center in Casa Grande/Eloy, Arizona, (Interstate 10, Exit 200) is closing permanently on Tuesday, Jan. 1, and merging with the Love’s-owned Speedco across the street at 8212 S. Sunland Gin Road.

The Speedco in Casa Grande/Eloy will be open 24 hours a day starting Jan. 1 and offer tire, lube and mechanical services for professional drivers.

Most Speedco locations will be closed on New Year’s Day. These Speedco locations that will remain open 24 hours on Tuesday, Jan. 1:

• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Conley, Georgia
• Laredo, Texas
• Milan, New Mexico
• Ripon, California
• West Memphis, Arkansas
• Casa Grande, Arizona